A remarkable collection of agricultural entrepreneurs has chosen Brooklyn as the venue for rooftop projects ranging from water-based hydroponic to traditional soil-based. (Photo by Jenna Telesca)
“People like being connected to the food they eat and the people who produce it,” said Kate Siskel, marketing and press associate for BrightFarms. (Photo by Jenna Telesca)
BrightFarms’ business plan is to build hydroponic greenhouses — preferably on rooftops — throughout the country that are dedicated year-round to particular retailers. (Photo courtesy of BrightFarms)
The hydroponic greenhouse BrightFarms is building for McCaffrey’s, expected to open in October, is located on farmland about a mile from McCaffrey’s store in Yardley, Pa. (Photo courtesy of BrightFarms)
BrightFarms also plans to build what it calls the world’s largest rooftop garden — 100,000 square feet — atop a former U.S. Navy building in the Sunset Park neighborhood in Brooklyn, where it will produce one million pounds of tomatoes, lettuces and herbs annually for an as yet unnamed retailer. (Photo courtesy of BrightFarms)
The Greenpoint, Brooklyn, hydroponic greenhouse Gotham Greens has been supplying varieties of lettuce and herbs to restaurants and 26 supermarkets in New York City, including D’Agostino, Whole Foods Market and online grocer FreshDirect.
(Photo by Michael Garry)
Gotham Greens produces between two and three tons of produce weekly, but “the demand has exceeded our supply,” said Viraj Puri, co-founder and chief executive officer of Gotham Greens. (Photo by Michael Garry)
Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, also located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is a three-year-old, 6,000-square-foot open-air farm on top of a warehouse, whose growing medium is a mixture of compost, rock particulates and shale.
(Photo by Jenna Telesca)
As an outdoor facility in the Northeast, Eagle Street has a limited growing season. In its first three seasons, the farm grew a variety of vegetables, but this year it is focusing on hot peppers.
(Photo by Jenna Telesca)
Eagle Street holds an open house for the neighborhood every Sunday. (Photo by Jenna Telesca)
Two-year-old Brooklyn Grange, whose founder Ben Flanner started at Eagle Street, has opened a second one-acre open-air rooftop farm in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, to go with its original farm in Long Island City. (Photo courtesy of Living Architecture Monitor magazine)