First Look At Brooklyn Grange's Massive New Roof Farm At Brooklyn Navy Yard

Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop farm that first sprouted up in Queens, today celebrated the first harvest from its first Brooklyn location, which is now the largest rooftop farm in NYC. The 43,000 square-foot farm, located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was financed in part by a $592,730 grant from the DEP's Green Infrastructure Grant Program. Currently the crops are salad greens, rainbow chard, kale, basil, eggplant, cucumbers and ground cherries. Take a look around with Mike Bloomberg, y'all!

During his tour of the roof this morning, Mayor Bloomberg touted some of the farm's environmental benefits. Aside from insulating the building under it from heat and cold, the garden will absorb more than a million gallons of storm water and help keep our harbors and streams clean. "This is one of the biggest projects we’ve funded as part of our Green Infrastructure program and will help us meet our PlaNYC goals for a greener, greater New York," Bloomberg declared.

Brooklyn Brorough President Marty Markowitz vowed to make such gardens easier to create in the near future, as the Grange certainly had its share of problems getting off the ground. “Here in New York, we don’t have acres and acres of land to grow fresh food, and that’s why I’ve been advocating for the changing of zoning laws to maximize rooftop space and open up our borough’s industrial buildings for growing fresh produce."

Brooklyn Grange’s new farm anticipates an estimated annual yield of 20,000 pounds of fresh produce per year. During the winter, they'll plant cover crops, such as clover and vetch, to prevent soil erosion and replenish vital nutrients. And in addition to the crops, the new Brooklyn Grange has an Apiary that consists of over 30 hives, which will yield approximately 1,500 pounds of honey annually.