Artist Jenna Spevack Turns Ordinary Furniture Into Clever Gardens With Her Microfarms

Artist Jenna Spevack Turns Ordinary Furniture Into Clever Gardens With Her Microfarms

In her upcoming exhibition at New York’s Mixed Greens gallery, artist Jenna Spevack will adapt ordinary furniture objects to include "microfarms” – edible and nutritious mini-fields of greens cleverly embedded within desks, bookcases, tables, and chairs. “Eight Extraordinary Greens” demonstrates how virtually anyone can grow their own affordable and healthy food in the tiniest of spaces (even New York City apartments), while also encouraging a discussion about the societal value of food as a commodity that is bought and sold – or in this case, exchanged and donated.
 

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New Green Playgrounds Will Capture Stormwater Throughout NYC

New Green Playgrounds Will Capture Stormwater Throughout NYC

Playgrounds may be a favorite place for New York City children, but they have also become an ideal environmental solution for city officials. With a possibly rainy summer season ahead, the Department of Environmental Protection is teaming up with the Trust

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Designs Unveiled for the Final Section of the High Line!

Designs Unveiled for the Final Section of the High Line!

The moment we've all been waiting for has finally come. At a community meeting Monday night, Friends of the High Line released the initial design plans for the third and final section of the High Line at the Hudson Rail Yards. The renderings from architects James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro are available on the High Line's website (and our photo gallery!), and they show the final section of the elevated park incorporating familiar elements, as well as several brand new features. The design will be closely integrated to the massive Hudson Yards development, as the park will wrap around the new buildings, and construction is expected to be complete by the end of next year!
 

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New Leopard Frog Species Discovered in New York City!

New Leopard Frog Species Discovered in New York City!

image via New York Times

If you think cities are devoid of nature and wildlife, think again. Last fall, scientists announced that they discovered a new bee species in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and now, a new group of researchers have identified a new

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Terreform, Inc. Proposes Covering NYC With Vertical Gardens & Urban Farms to Become Self-Sufficient

Terreform, Inc. Proposes Covering NYC With Vertical Gardens & Urban Farms to Become Self-Sufficient

In response to global urban population, Terreform, Inc.* has come up with an innovative way for New York City to deal with the issues that arise from this world wide problem. The plan, called New York City Steady State (NYCSS), calls for a system that would render New York entirely self-sufficient, reducing its ecological and carbon footprint exponentially. The new green plan is based on intensive data collected by NYCSS about the city’s supply and demand, and would rely heavy on urban farming.
 

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The Rockefeller Center’s Rooftop Gardens are a Hidden Urban Treasure

The Rockefeller Center’s Rooftop Gardens are a Hidden Urban Treasure

We've written about more rooftop gardens than we can count, but more often than not, these sky-high oases are private terraces atop homes - meaning that regular old people like us never get to experience their green delights. But there is one place in New York City that boasts an entire collection of elaborate rooftop gardens, and every now and then these landscaped escapes are open to the public. For the last 75 years, the Rockefeller Center has maintained impeccably manicured shrubs, flowers, and lawns, making their gardens some of the oldest in the city. Access to the gardens is rare - mostly reserved for Rockefeller employees - but their secrecy only lends to their allure. We've gathered a collection of stunning images of the gardens, so feast your eyes here while you wait for this rooftop haven to open to the public again.
 

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Revamped Dyckman Marina Will Become New Upper Manhattan Waterfront Retreat

Revamped Dyckman Marina Will Become New Upper Manhattan Waterfront Retreat

With warm weather right around the corner, waterfront hot spots will soon be packed with New Yorkers looking for a refreshing and relaxed getaway from the sweltering city. A brand new development at upper Manhattan's Dyckman Marina in Inwood Hill Park will offer casual coastal enjoyment and open-air amenities for the whole family. With panoramic views of the breathtaking Palisades, this new Hudson River destination will quickly become the perfect summer day trip -- and you won't even have to leave the city!
 

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An 8,000-Square-Foot Student Farm Grows in Brownsville, Brooklyn

An 8,000-Square-Foot Student Farm Grows in Brownsville, Brooklyn

Throughout New York City’s five boroughs, there are thousands of acres of city land sitting completely empty. One such lot sits across the street from P.S. 323 in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Once filled with weeds and trash, the 8,000-square-foot lot is currently

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Mild Winter & Early Blooms Concern NYC-Area Farmers and Gardeners

Mild Winter & Early Blooms Concern NYC-Area Farmers and Gardeners

More photos: New York Botanic Garden Flickr

With temperatures barely dipping below freezing and a near non-existent snowfall, New York City, along with most of the country, has been experiencing one of the warmest winters on record. Just last week, temperatures

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Occupy Wall Street Sustainability Plans to Build a Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn

Occupy Wall Street Sustainability Plans to Build a Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, where 75 percent of children are born in poverty, has few venues for healthy local produce. Occupy Wall Street Sustainability and EcoStation:NY hope to change that by building a 12,000 square foot “Farm in the Sky” this

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NYC Phone Booths Turned Into Free Mini Libraries by Architect John Locke

NYC Phone Booths Turned Into Free Mini Libraries by Architect John Locke

When was the last time you used a phone booth? Despite cell phones being as common as clothing, rarely-used metal phones booths still exist throughout New York City, but architect John Locke has created a clever way to give them new life. Locke attached a pumpkin-orange set of shelves to an obsolete phone booth near 96th Street to create a mini, ultra-public library. Made out of plywood milled by Kontraptionist and stocked with books donated by local residents, Dub 002 is the designer's second attempt to create a free book distribution system sans any kind of prescriptive rules. His goal is to reinvent the obsolete phone booth as a new kind of public space.
 

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Inside the Subterranean Essex Street Trolley Terminal, the Proposed Space for the Low Line in NYC

Inside the Subterranean Essex Street Trolley Terminal, the Proposed Space for the Low Line in NYC

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Two months ago, we brought you the proposal for the “Low Line,” an awesome underground park located in the abandoned Essex Street trolley terminal under Delancey Street in the Lower East Side. Designed by architect James Ramsey, the principal of RAAD, in part with Dan Barasch of tech think tank PopTech, the park, which calls for pumping natural sunlight into the subterranean space with fiber optics, looked to many to be too out there and unrealistic. But the proposal for the Delancey Underground seems to have piqued the interest of the MTA, who recently released a fantastically interesting video tour of the station. Led by Peter Hine, a senior project manager for the MTA’s Real Estate Department, the tour gives a history of the space and conveys the MTA’s excitement over the creative possibility’s for the terminal’s restoration.


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Urban Organic Gardener Grows a Lush Vegetable Garden on His NYC Fire Escape

Urban Organic Gardener Grows a Lush Vegetable Garden on His NYC Fire Escape

With March just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start planning out this year's garden. You may think that your tiny New York City apartment has no room to grow delicious vegetables, but think again. All buildings may not have access to a porch or a yard, but there is one outdoor space that every apartment must have: a fire escape. Mike Lieberman, the brains behind the Urban Organic Gardener, grew a beautifully bountiful food-producing garden on his tiny 2" by 3" East Village fire escape, and by following his tips and tricks, you can do the same!
 

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Garden Up Plant Towers Make it Easy to Grown Your Own Veggies in Small NYC Apartments

Garden Up Plant Towers Make it Easy to Grown Your Own Veggies in Small NYC Apartments

There is nothing like the taste of local, garden fresh vegetables to accentuate a dish and entice our palettes. The New York-based Garden Up team sees the culinary and health benefits of home grown produce and wants to make it easy for individuals and businesses to grow their own herbs and veggies. Their affordable drip-system hydroponic garden towers let produce grow just about anywhere, whether it's a rooftop, a backyard, or a small New York City apartment.
 

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Chinatown’s Mini High Line to Be Designed by Renowned Artist Xu Bing

Chinatown’s Mini High Line to Be Designed by Renowned Artist Xu Bing

More photos at DNAinfo

It was almost a year ago to date when the Department of Transportation set its eye on an unused triangular plot of land in Chinatown and envisioned the city’s next High Line Park. Though much smaller, the raised area at the foot of

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Manhattan’s Riverside Park May Be Getting Solar-Powered, Composting Public Toilets

Manhattan’s Riverside Park May Be Getting Solar-Powered, Composting Public Toilets

The Upper West Side’s Riverside Tennis Club, inside the sprawling Riverside Park, may be getting new public restrooms, complete with composting toilets, designed to meet the strict Living Building Challenge standards. Proposed by Rick Cook of Cook + Fox,

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596 Acres Helps NYC Communities Reclaim Vacant Lots and Transform Them Into Gardens

596 Acres Helps NYC Communities Reclaim Vacant Lots and Transform Them Into Gardens

That vacant lot that you walk by everyday may just be waiting for you to transform it into a community garden! Many neighborhood vacant lots are actually publically owned, and 596 Acres wants you to know where they are and what you can do about it. Working

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Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park Named Best Public Space by Travel & Leisure

Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park Named Best Public Space by Travel & Leisure

Since opening last September, Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park has charmed countless New Yorkers and tourists with its old-fashioned fun and glimmering modern pavilion. Now the beautifully restored ride has won the hearts of the Travel and Leisure editors,

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Alligators & Turtles Crawl into NYC for a Swamp in the City at Chelsea Market

Alligators & Turtles Crawl into NYC for a Swamp in the City at Chelsea Market

While New York City is certainly home to its fair share of strange creatures, alligators are most definitely not on that list. But right now, these slithering creatures are happily hanging out in the most unusual of swampy locales: Chelsea Market. To drum up excitement for the History Channel's show Swamp People and to teach people about the Louisiana bayou ecosystem, a 12,100-cubic-foot swamp has been constructed in the bustling west side market. Complete with alligators, turtles, murky waters, and living cypress trees, the Swamp in the City is an incredibly unique and intriguing experience for all ages.
 

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Brooklyn-Based Contemporary Gardening Magazine Wilder Quarterly Offers Inhabitat Readers 15% Off

Brooklyn-Based Contemporary Gardening Magazine Wilder Quarterly Offers Inhabitat Readers 15% Off

Described as a publication for those enthralled by the natural world, Wilder Quarterly is a visually-stimulating new magazine aimed at modern day growers and gardeners. The Brooklyn-based print publication features everything from local farmers and foodies

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Low Line Creators Design a Sunlight Irrigation System Prototype for the Delancey Underground Park

Low Line Creators Design a Sunlight Irrigation System Prototype for the Delancey Underground Park

The ambitious Delancey Underground, also known as The Low Line, is making progress and moving forward. To bring natural light to the subterranean space, the project's creator, James Ramsey, has begun designing an innovative sunlight irrigation system in his friend’s apartment. Ramsey and project co-founder Dan Barasch announced at the Trespa Design Center this week that the initial tests were successful, and they plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign to help fund a larger scale prototype.
 

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NYC Farmer Annie Novak Shares the Ins & Outs of Rooftop Farming in the Winter

NYC Farmer Annie Novak Shares the Ins & Outs of Rooftop Farming in the Winter

photo © Jackie Snow for Wilder Quarterly, used with permission

Rooftop farming during the winter may seem like an oxymoron, but Annie Novak of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn says that winter on a farm is far from fallow. In the latest

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Former Brooklyn Navy Yard Cemetery to be Transformed into a Memorial Park

Former Brooklyn Navy Yard Cemetery to be Transformed into a Memorial Park

A plot of land that was once  used as the final resting place for 2,000 marines and naval shipmen will soon be transformed into a memorial park. The site is being developed as part of a larger plan by the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, which is developing

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‘Infinite Forest’ by Studio a+i Wins Design Competition for the AIDS Memorial Park

‘Infinite Forest’ by Studio a+i Wins Design Competition for the AIDS Memorial Park

The winning design has just been announced for the New York City AIDS Memorial Park across from St. Vincent’s Hospital. An international team of architects including Brooklyn based studio a+i have created an interactive site entitled “Infinite Forest.” The memorial park will not only honor the over 100,000 New York City residents who died of AIDS, but will also recognize the continual effort and support against the pandemic. The jury announced last week that architects John Thurtle, Insook Kim, and Esteban Erlich have joined a+i’s Mateao Paiva and Lily Lim in creating the winning memorial design, with renderings by Guillaume Paturel. The team beat out 475 entires from 26 states and 32 countries for honorable first place.



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UPDATE: Brooklyn Grange Farm is Expanding to a 45K Square Foot Rooftop in the Brooklyn Navy Yard

UPDATE: Brooklyn Grange Farm is Expanding to a 45K Square Foot Rooftop in the Brooklyn Navy Yard

As the world’s largest rooftop farm, Brooklyn Grange has been super busy for the last three years providing the local community with delicious fresh vegetables. While their 40,000 square foot space atop a warehouse in Long Island City has been enough to grow

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