32 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 17, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Borough president teams up with Queens Farm
to bring new farm stand to Queens Borough Hall
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
A new weekly farm stand is set to open
in front of Queens Borough Hall next
month.
Borough President Donovan Richards
announced the new joint venture with
Queens County Farm Museum. From July
1 through Nov. 4, residents can head to 120-
55 Queens Blvd. to pick up hyper locally
grown fruits, vegetables, herbs, fl owers and
other farm products.
Th e farm stand is Queens Farm’s third
in the borough, joining an onsite stand
in Floral Park and a stand at with Jamaica
Hospital Medical Center’s “Axel” Building.
“We saw food insecurity hit record
highs during the COVID-19 pandemic,
exposing a true need for access throughout
Garden School makes big plans for 100-year anniversary
BY JULIA MORO
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Garden School, an independent academy
in Jackson Heights, set 100 goals
to reach before celebrating the 100-year
anniversary of its creation in 2023.
Th e head of the school, Christopher
Herman, started his position last July and
hit the ground running with new ideas.
Th e school will focus on growing programs
in visual arts, digital media, music,
entrepreneurship, robotics, engineering,
coding and programming.
On Monday, June 7, Garden School
also started renovations to their building,
located at 33-16 79th St., adding new
technology, collaborative learning spaces,
a theater and a fi tness center.
Herman said this school really stands
out among others in New York City.
“We really refl ect our community,”
Herman said. “Th ere are many fi rstgeneration
families. We’re not your quintessential
private school. Th at’s a really special
aspect of who we are: super diverse,
really aff ordable and a really dynamic,
individualized education.”
Tuition is about $23,500 for each grade
level with opportunities for merit-based
scholarships. Garden School includes
nursery-level to 12th grade; the school
is made up of about 250 students with 20
kids in each grade level. Th ere is also a
pre-K program serving over 200 3- and
4-year-olds on campus.
“Th e best outcomes come from nurturing
close relationships between students
and teachers,” Herman said. “By design,
we are very small. Our program is dynamic
and responsive. We think about the
individual child and we have an amazing
college acceptance track record.”
Herman also mentioned that interdisciplinary
projects, where higher and lower
grade levels interact for lessons, are vital
to their school. One program gets eighthgraders
to teach younger kids how to
build rockets aft er studying the topic for
themselves.
Th e school is open to any child in New
York City. For more information, visit
their website at GardenSchool.org.
our borough. Th anks to this eff ort
with the Queens County Farm Museum,
we are providing access in front of Queens
Borough Hall to locally grown, nutritious
food. As we bounce back from the fallout
of this pandemic, we must continue
to ensure we do all we can to put fruits
and vegetables on Queens families’ tables,”
Richards said.
Produce for all of the farm stands are
locally grown on Queens Farm’s 47-acre
site, which features over 200 varieties
of fruits, vegetables, herbs and fl owers.
In addition to a traditional farm stand,
patrons can also drop off food scraps
to Borough Hall, which will be used for
composting back at the farm.
In 2021, the farm crop plan included the
following 30 new produce varieties:
• Artichokes
• Mardi Gras (blend of bush beans)
• Beet greens
• Eastern Magic broccoli
• Merlot Napa cabbage
• Celery
• Collard greens
• Cucamelons
• Ginger
• Coastal Star lettuce
• Mini honeydew
• Mini watermelon
• Carmine Splendor okra (red)
• Poblano peppers
• Sugar Rush Cream hot pepper
• Red potatoes
• Yukon potatoes
• Pumpkin pie
• Strawberry spinach
• Patty pan squash
• Spaghetti squash
• Acorn squash
• Two new sweet potato varieties
• Two new tomato varieties
• One new cherry tomato variety
• Turmeric
• Zaatar
“We thank Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards for providing access
to farm fresh produce at Queens Borough
Hall,” said Jennifer Walden Weprin, executive
director of Queens County Farm
Museum. “With the increased demand
for locally grown produce, this farm stand
expansion supports Queen Farm’s mission
to help feed New Yorkers.”
Th e Queens Borough Hall weekly farm
stand will be open from July 1 through
Nov. 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every
Th ursday, weather permitting.
Patrons can access the stand at 120-
55 Queens Blvd. via the E/F train, LIRR,
three highways – Grand Central, Jackie
Robinson and Van Wyck Parkways – and
16 MTA bus stops less than one mile from
Queens Borough Hall.
Queens Farm accepts multiple forms
of nutrition assistance programs such
as SNAP/EBT benefi ts, WIC, FMNP
Checks, Health Bucks Fresh Connect
Checks along with cash, credit and debit
cards at each location.
Photo courtesy of Garden School
Garden School promotes individualized education for students.
Photo courtesy of Queens Farm
/GardenSchool.org
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