We’ve written about Greenpointer, rooftop gardener and farming renaissance woman Annie Novak before—she heads up the Eagle Street Rooftop Farm (44 Eagle St), founded Growing Chefs, is manager of the Edible Academy at the New York Botanical Garden, and she literally wrote the book on how to turn your urban rooftop into a farm or garden. What you probably don’t know is that she’s also a wildlife and nature illustrator, with a new book coming out on bird migration. This Wednesday Oct 11th from 6-8pm at Kingsland Wildflowers (520 Kingsland Ave) you can see her give a lecture on her latest research and slideshow of her illustrations. The event kicks off at 6pm with a walking tour of Kingsland Wildflowers’ green roof and a cocktail hour, with the “Safe Flight IPA” featured beer—a collaboration by local brewers KCBC & NYC Audubon to raise awareness of annual bird collisions.
The event is part of Kingsland Wildflowers’ monthly artist lecture series, featuring local Greenpoint artists who have created environmentally-focused bodies of work. Once a month various artists will speak at Kingsland Wildflowers about their process, inspiration, and ideas behind their unique take on the world around us and the habitat in which we coexist.
From my first handshake with Lucky Lee, vice president and founder of Lucky’s Real Tomatoes, it was immediately apparent to me how important her team was to her business. Before she started talking about her tomatoes, she introduced me to her team and gathered everyone together for a group photo.
“One person doesn’t make a company like this — it’s a team of people,” Lee said, referring to not only those who work in her facility on Meserole Ave., but also the family members and employees at her Florida and North Carolina farms and facilities. “Our team can make it through anything.”
From left to right: Bevon Drakes – warehouse staff; Eillin Cabrera – warehouse staff; Irma Fajardo – packer; Stanislawa Kopec – packer; Alejandro Toro – shipping/receiving; Richard Cuevas – shipping/receiving; Jose Camacho – warehouse and operations manager
It’s this team that has made Lucky’s Real Tomatoes so successful and carried the company through major setbacks like Hurricane Sandy, which required the company to completely rebuild its Greenpoint facility. Since Lee and her sister drove a truck of fresh tomatoes from Florida to New York City in the middle of winter in 1978 and founded Lucky’s with her brother and CEO, Alan Marcelli, she’s had a consistently growing client base of chefs who are eager to have quality, field-grown tomatoes—many of whom have been Lucky’s customers for over 30 years. Continue reading →
Greetings from Down to Earth Markets, the crew behind the McGolrick Park Farmers Market! We’re open indoors through the winter on Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm. Find us at the Lutheran Church of the Messiah on Russell Street, between Driggs and Nassau Avenues.
Did you know there is a commercial hydroponic urban farm on a rooftop in Greenpoint? Have you tried their salads? They are wonderful!
Viraj Puri, the founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, kicks off Wakefield’s Electric Locomotive on Wednesday September 20, 2012 at 6:30pm with a talk about how this magical farm on top of an old bowling alley in North Brooklyn came to be.
Wakefield is an awesome and free daily email that connects you with the stories behind the startups, great jobs and new products.
The wonderful folks at Ovenly will provide treats for all.
Do you find it ironic that Greenpoint features the environmentally friendly Rooftop Farms, the new McGolrick Park Farmers Market, a Clean Green Dry Cleaners on Nassau Ave, among many other “green” initiatives? Are you confused that the Earth Day Celebration in McCarren Park is sponsored by Exxon Mobil?
We live on top of an oil spill nearly as big as the Exxon Valdez spill, cause by Exxon Mobil that has rendered the Newtown Creek and the soil underneath our homes extremely toxic. Almost half of the city’s trash is stored and processed in North Brooklyn. Part of Greenpoint, near McGolrick Park, sits directly on top of the Meeker Avenue Plumes which releases the vapors of carcinogenic dry cleaning chemicals into the homes of residents. That all sucks!
It seems contradictory to be living in a very toxic place and at the same time celebrate so many eco-friendly things. It’s like eating organic kale in one hand and smoking a cigarette in the other hand.
So what is the point?
Photo: Bill Rhodes
The point is, we live here and we love it! And we can’t just give up on Greenpoint. Generations ahead of us will call this place home and it’s important we make sure it is cleaner and healthier for them and safe for us in the meantime.
Instead of being cynical about all of these exciting “green” developments in the community, embrace them and look at them as steps towards cleaning up Greenpoint.
A very important panel discussion called Is Greenpoint Safe? was held at Anella recently. Organizers created this important document to help you become more informed and understand how you can get involved, get educated and get Greenpoint on the right track.
A few important things to note: The Newtown Creek is a Superfund Site, if you live above or near the Meeker Ave plumes it’s important to get your home tested right away for harmful fumes, oil spills and bad odors are cause for action, houseplants can help improve air quality in your home, eating food from your garden may be contaminated with lead or other toxic chemical so test the soil, and composting, limiting the use of harmful cleaners in your home and adopting a tree are all ways you can directly act towards making Greenpoint a cleaner and healthier place.
Please discuss and share this information with friends and neighbors.
