Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 8/13/12

Project Description & Details

Brooklyn Grange’s second farm, located atop Building no. 3 at the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard, is a massive 65,000 sq ft roof towering eleven stories over the East River. The lion’s share of the financing for the installation of the Navy Yard farm was granted by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Infrastructure Stormwater Management Initiative under PlaNYC. With over 45,000 sq ft of the roof covered in growing media and planted, they manage over one million gallons of stormwater each year, easing the burden on the overtaxed Red Hook Wastewater Pollution Control Plant.

The farm’s 12-inch deep growing beds are comprised of a special soil medium, rooflite® intensive ag, blended specifically for rooftop use and custom designed by Brooklyn Grange and Skyland USA. With high productivity already underway, Brooklyn Grange’s second farm anticipates an estimated annual yield of 20,000 pounds of fresh produce per year. Crops will include leafy greens, aromatic herbs, heirloom tomatoes and carrots. The farm is productive during the months of April-November, while winter months see the planting of cover crops, such as clover and vetch, to prevent soil erosion and replenish vital nutrients.

Year: 2012
Owner: Lessor - Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Building Type: Commercial
Type: Intensive
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 65,000 sq.ft.
Slope: 1%
Access: Accessible, By Appointment

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

President/Head Farmer: Ben Flanner, Brooklyn Grange
Greenroof System: Carlisle Roof Garden by Carlisle SynTec
Growing Media: rooflite intensive ag and rooflite drain granular drainage layer, rooflite®
Landscape Architect: Elizabeth Kennedy Landscape Architects
Roofing Contractor: Marfi Contracting Corp
Pneumatic Placement: Downes Forest Products