This month, New York City is conducting a month-long design festival called Archtober. Part of this event will be a tour open to the public on October 8 of a one-acre urban farm in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. It is one of the first models in the country of a working farm on public housing property.
Added Value, a local nonprofit with a three-acre farm a few blocks away, initiated this project, called The Red Hook West Urban Farm, which it is maintaining and operating with Green City Force’s Clean Energy Corp. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) launched this project in June 2013, and the farm was installed by participants in the Center for Economic Opportunity’s Work Progress Program, a component of the Young Men’s Initiative.
The Red Hook West Urban Farm’s primary missions are the growth and distribution of healthy foods, the education of local residents about healthy diets, and a green jobs training program for NYCHA youth who are out of school and unemployed. Green City Force and Added Value manage a work readiness program to provide hands-on job skills training in the field of urban agriculture, as well as educational support and life-skills development.
Gita Nandan, RA, LEED AP, Principal and architect; and landscape architect Elliott Maltby, both of the firm thread collective, designed the Red Hook West Urban Farm, and will conduct the tour. The farm is described as “a built representation” of thread collective’s Lowlands concept for urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and resiliency.
As part of its Urban Agriculture Initiative, NYCHA—the largest such agency in North America, with 328 public housing developments—intends to replicate this farm on at least five other sites, the locations of which have yet to be disclosed.
NYCHA’s Garden and Greening Program manages one the largest and longest-running public gardening programs in the U.S., and has supported residents in developing more than 650 community-based garden plots.
In 2011, NYCHA partnered with Added Value and Green City Force in to launch a model NYCHA farm with the goal of increasing opportunities for affordable housing neighborhoods to gain access to fresh produce, horticultural training opportunities, and building community capacity.
The Red Hook farm received funding from the Center for Economic Opportunity and in-kind donations from the New York Department of Sanitation and Department of Parks and recreation.
Related Stories
| Feb 4, 2011
U.S. Green Building Council applauds President Obama’s Green Building Initiative
The U.S. Green Building Council applauded a key element of President Obama’s plan to “win the future” by making America’s commercial buildings more energy- and resource-efficient over the next decade. The President’s plan, entitled Better Buildings Initiative, catalyzes private-sector investment through a series of incentives to upgrade offices, stores, schools and universities, hospitals and other commercial and municipal buildings.
| Feb 4, 2011
President Obama: 20% improvement in energy efficiency will save $40 billion
President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative, announced February 3, 2011, aims to achieve a 20% improvement in energy efficiency in commercial buildings by 2020, improvements that will save American businesses $40 billion a year.
| Jan 19, 2011
U.S. Green Building Council Welcomes New Board Directors
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced newly elected officers and new directors to its 2011 Board of Directors, including Elizabeth J. Heider from Skanska; Kirsten Ritchi from Gensler; and Dennis Maloskey, from the Pennsylvania Governor's Green Government Council.
| Jan 7, 2011
Mixed-Use on Steroids
Mixed-use development has been one of the few bright spots in real estate in the last few years. Successful mixed-use projects are almost always located in dense urban or suburban areas, usually close to public transportation. It’s a sign of the times that the residential component tends to be rental rather than for-sale.
| Dec 7, 2010
Blue is the future of green design
Blue design creates places that are not just neutral, but actually add back to the world and is the future of sustainable design and architecture, according to an interview with Paul Eagle, managing director of Perkins+Will, New York; and Janice Barnes, principal at the firm and global discipline leader for planning and strategies.
| Nov 29, 2010
Renovating for Sustainability
Motivated by the prospect of increased property values, reduced utility bills, and an interest in jumping on the sustainability bandwagon, a noted upturn in green building upgrades is helping designers and real estate developers stay busy while waiting for the economy to recover. In fact, many of the larger property management outfits have set up teams to undertake projects seeking LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EBOM, also referred to as LEED-EB), a certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
| Nov 16, 2010
Brazil Olympics spurring green construction
Brazil's green building industry will expand in the coming years, spurred by construction of low-impact venues being built for the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee requires arenas built for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro meet international standards for low-carbon emissions and energy efficiency. This has boosted local interest in developing real estate with lower environmental impact than existing buildings. The timing couldn’t be better: the Brazilian government is just beginning its long-term infrastructure expansion program.
| Nov 16, 2010
Green building market grows 50% in two years; Green Outlook 2011 report
The U.S. green building market is up 50% from 2008 to 2010—from $42 billion to $55 billion-$71 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction's Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report. Today, a third of all new nonresidential construction is green; in five years, nonresidential green building activity is expected to triple, representing $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction.
| Nov 11, 2010
USGBC certifies more than 1 billion square feet of commercial space
This month, the total footprint of commercial projects certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System surpassed one billion square feet. Another six billion square feet of projects are registered and currently working toward LEED certification around the world. Since 2000, more than 36,000 commercial projects and 38,000 single-family homes have participated in LEED.
