After a stressful day in the city, it can be hard to find a quiet place to rest. Good thing we know Brooklyn’s best kept secret, and don’t worry, we’re willing to share!
Get all the respite you need at Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof in Greenpoint. Located at 520 Kingsland Avenue, this massive garden on Broadway Stages’ rooftop is a bucolic oasis you’d never expect to find in an urban environment.
Spanning nearly 25,000-square-feet, you can roam through a meadow of wildflowers all the while taking in 360° views of the Manhattan skyline.
The garden originally sprouted from the mind of Marni Majorelle, founder of green roofing company Alive Structures. With a vision to integrate nature into the city, Majorelle wanted to target industrial zones. Kingsland Wildflowers was the perfect spot to grow a “green corridor” as it sits next to Newtown Creek in a polluted industrial area.
To make the project come to fruition, Alive Structures partnered with NYC Audubon, Newtown Creek Alliance and Broadway Stages in 2016. The Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund gave $1 million on top of Broadway Stages’ $2.5 million investment. Three years and a few million dollars later, the rooftop garden was complete.
Take a look at the construction process in the video below
In total, there are five green roofs at Kingsland Wildflowers, three of which are open to the public daily with a reservation via their website. The meadow takes up half of the space, supporting native grasses and wildflowers, while sedum carpet makes up the other half. The roofs work towards offsetting our environmental impact by soaking up rainwater, providing a habitat for native pollinators and birds, and cleaning and cooling the air.
The Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof & Community Space offers educational programs and artistic productions to the community. People can immerse themselves in nature with eco-festivals, walking tours, bird surveys, wine and beer tastings, author lectures, and more.
This weekend, the green roof will host the 6th Annual Kingsland Wildflowers Festival. From 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 23rd, the public can learn about local environmental initiatives and green infrastructure here in the city. Art, music and food will be available as well.
Find out more here.