A lot on the corner of Stockton Street and Lewis Avenue has been receiving lots of love from Bushwick City Farm and neighborhood volunteers over the last few months, and it’s quickly taking shape as a public park that will produce free food for the community.
The 9,000-square-foot lot had been abandoned for 30 years and was a place of illegal dumping, squatting, and violence, which came to a head with a homicide involving a rusty shovel last summer. Seeing an opportunity to green another space, Bushwick’s guerrilla urban farmers, led by Masha Radzinsky and Vincent Olsen, waited a while, and then they moved in.
The police have not said a word, and the locals are excited. “The first questions we got were not, ‘How are you in here?’ it was ‘When are the chickens coming?’” said Radzinsky. “Everyone knows we don’t own that land, we don’t pay rent. And nobody minds.”
The Stockton Street lot is about five times bigger than the Broadway farm, where the hens are laying a steady stream of eggs, and the plan for it is grand. It will feature an area to house a flock of at least 50 chickens; a big vegetable garden; an organic orchard with apple trees, peach trees, and fig trees; and a recreational area with native plants and a field.
“There’ll be enough space for kids to kick a ball around or for people to picnic on,” said Radzinsky. “We’ll continue to host our various workshops, and I’ve talked to a local yoga teacher about possibly giving yoga classes on the future field.”
Since April, the garbage and rubble have been hauled out, the ground has been leveled and covered in woodchips, and a 100-foot-long fence around the lot has been completed, with flowers, shrubs, magnolias, and other greenery planted along it. Now, the chicken coop is being constructed at their woodshop on Troutman Street; next, the veggie beds.
“By fall, the farm will be fully functioning and will look like it’s going to look,” said Radzinsky, but in the meantime, $5,000 is needed to buy 72 yards of clean topsoil, supplies, and fruit trees. “We really need people to donate because we can’t do this without the soil,” she said.
Elsewhere in the area, Bushwick City Farm has started work on another vacant lot in the housing projects on Stagg Street between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street. It’s also in negotiations with housing organization RBSCC about greening some lots, such as the slice of land between Bushwick Avenue and Beaver Street, but progress has been slow.
Radzinsky says she’s looked over the property records for the Stockton Street lot, and with so many fines and violations hanging over it, “I think we’re gonna have it for a long, long time.”
“Picnics in Bushwick – get ready for it.”
Visit the Stockton Street farm on Fridays and Saturdays (3:30pm – 7pm) to get your hands dirty.
OK August 9th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Uh… cool, but is anyone farming this site or writing the story aware that the new site is in Bedford-Stuyvesant? Not to split hairs, but the ever-expanding Bushwick borders thing is silly.
“Picnics in Bed-Stuy – get ready for it.”
Jeremy Sapienza August 9th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Dammit, I wanted to be the first post to nitpick borders! Yes, this is Bed-Stuy. BushwickBK didn’t say it was Bushwick, the Bushwick City Farm did. We chose not to correct the quote. It remains to be seen if the locals will care.
Masha Radzinsky August 9th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Help us build this huge free farm and produce FREE organic local food for our community! Check out our online kickstarter fundraiser, we got a great video and fun rewards for donors – dig down deep in your hearts and pockets and show some love! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1946953896/urban-free-farm-producing-free-food-in-brooklyn
BKGardener August 9th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Hello, I am a volunteer with Bushwick City Farm and we are aware that The Stockton Farm is located in Bed-Stuy. The border between Bushwick and Bed-Stuy is at Broadway Ave. which is 1/2 block from the location. I think that borders are way over-rated… Both neighborhoods were named by some Dutch guy named Peter Stuyvesant in the 1600′s so who really cares. We are all neighbors, right?
The good news is that Bushwick City Farm (operating in Bushwick and Bedford Stuyvesant) is producing free food in two locations now and constantly expanding. So come check it out and see for yourselves that it is possible to make a positive impact in any neighborhood regardless of which colonist it is named after.
OK August 9th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
I don’t think anyone will care, but that’s about the most “hard”/wholly-accepted boundary in the area, and it just makes folks look bad/out-of-touch if they don’t it.
P.S. Jeremy, I’ve always been curious about why you guys cover Ridgewood and East Williamsburg but generally not Bed-Stuy? Is this a conscious decision?
Dave August 10th, 2011 at 7:55 am
I was raised up the block on Lewis Ave and Vernon Ave which is Bed-Stuy. This lot is indeed in Bushwick. Myrtle Ave is the borderline.
OK August 10th, 2011 at 11:39 am
Dave, Myrtle Ave is the border of nothing. Sorry. It runs through the heart of Bushwick, Bed Stuy, and Ridgewood equally.
Fred Dresser August 10th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Take your border and shove it loser.
Diana August 10th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Ok forget the border wars! it’s not the point of the article.
I’m very happy to see someone doing something with the empty lots in our area! keep it up!
Pat August 10th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
This is great, but the organization should recognize and correct the mistake in regards to the location of the farm. It makes the organization look ignorant and less than professional by not knowing the geographic areas they operate in. If they more participants it would make good sense to start out on the right foot, many people in the area take pride in their neighborhood and WHERE they come from. I know it can be confusing for someone that just came from another part of America.
BKGardener August 11th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
We have been working very diligently at the Stockton Farm since April cleaning, constructing a fence and hauling fresh woodchips to create a place for all community members regardless of race, gender, age, nationality or place of residence. While also continuing to operate the farm at our Broadway location where we provide free food and clothing and an open space for community members.
For centuries, humans have been divided by religion, ethnicity, race, gender, politics, greed and geography. We do not support any of those things.
We have had a lot of support from neighbors who reside in both Bed-Stuy, Bushwick and elsewhere. The whole idea is to unite the neighborhood residents and create unity, community and understanding not division.
Also, we are in the process of dropping “Bushwick” from the official name of the organization so that we can create farms everywhere without confusing people who are tied to the divisions that the establishment has created to keep us divided.
OK August 11th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Really, the “establishment” is trying to keep people divided? Call me old fashioned, but I think the “neighborhood” is (after the block) about the most human-scale signifier of identity and community. If you didn’t find something appealing about the idea of a “neighborhood” you wouldn’t have named your organization after yours in the first place.
Not everything is some sort of conspiracy to oppress you.
BKGardener August 11th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Ok. OK – I’m sure you are a nice person and you do care about what is going on in Bushwick/Bedstuy and that’s why you read this article. You should come check the farm this weekend if you have a chance. If you are interested in the idea of neighborhoods and positive community projects, I know you will enjoy it!
Jeremy Sapienza August 11th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Probably a better conspiracy theory to say the establishment is trying to keep us all united under its banner. Anyway, City Farm is great but as someone who might give money, I am concerned all those labor hours and apple trees can be ripped up in a minute to plop down a condo. You don’t own, rent, or really anything the land. In a world where there would be no icy city bureaucracy to uncaringly send in bulldozers to uproot unapproved spontaneous community organizing — that’s social work! you need a degree ! — I would love to sponsor a tree. In this world, I think we’re all counting the months until some agency boots you off the land. Or at least says “Congratulations! The land is yours! Now pay all the taxes and fines or we’ll make it a city vehicle repair lot.”
Bushwick City Farmer August 15th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
WHO CARES IF THE FARM IS IN BUSHWICK, BEDSTUY OR THE MOON..
We’re trying to build a COMMUNITY FARM FOR THE PEOPLE OF BROOKLYN. We don’t sell, or trade off the food we grow, people bring what they want and take what they need. I think it’s a good approach and a great step towards uniting and helping out the community.
Instead of wasting so much time arguing over borders how about focusing on what is important, the project itself..
@ JEREMY
You clearly have no idea what it takes to build an urban farm, and for as much as we would welcome your donation, if your concern is that you might “waste” your precious money IF, for whatever reason, the project is shut down by the city, then we don’t need your “help”.
Please don’t be concerned about the labour hours and trees if you have NEVER put in a minute worth of work or planted a single tree. I’ve been volunteering and working with bushwick city farms for 2 years and my only concern is to have enough materials to build up the projects as planned.
The farm on broadway is a clear example of what can be accomplished when we concentrate more on doing and less on the never ending list of “what ifs”..
You seem to talk too much and do too little.
If you want to do something to help with the project, DO SOMETHING other than feed your ego by thinking that you’re making the world a better place because you donated some pocket change..
John Dereszewski August 15th, 2011 at 9:32 pm
Congratulations on a great effort, whether or not it’s in Bushwick! If the group has not already taken these steps, it should reach out to local Community Board #3 to inform it of their efforts and, hopefully, gain its support. Jeremy’s comments that the risk of losing the whole investment to the impersonal wheels of City bureaucracy are right on point and it is highly advisable that the organizers of this terrific process move promptly to shore up as much official local support as possible. Perhaps the farm can receive some protection as an “interim-site” and, if successful, perhaps it can ultimately receive permanent protection. But the efforts to obtain this must start now.
Jeremy Sapienza August 16th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
City Farmer: great outreach there. I’m on your side, jerk. My comment had not a whiff of egomania, I was expressing concern that you are wasting your time and labor on a project that can be easily ripped away from you because you are not doing the appropriate due diligence, and we live in a city that hates people who just up and do shit.
My advice would be to take a rhetorical cue from your fellow farmers as shown above and be nice to people who are critical, never mind people like me who obviously want you to succeed but are concerned about huge potential problems.
BKGardener August 16th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Hello All,
Wow! This is getting awfully heated!
I just wanted update everyone on the Stockton farm…
We have been in contact with the representative of the landowner and have submitted a detailed proposal for the Stockton Farm to them. We are still waiting to hear back, but we are hoping to have a written agreement in the works very soon…
Either way, no time has been wasted and we have cleaned up what has been an eyesore for so many years…
When I was there on Saturday, a woman passing by and said a simple: “Thank you” and went on to explain how that lot has been a such mess for so long. She was so happy to see that someone decided to take just do something about it.
While it is important to eventually have permission to do these types of projects and Jeremy has a valid point about the possibility of getting kicked off the property, sometimes, initiative must be taken because it is simply the right thing to do…
Mike August 17th, 2011 at 1:22 am
These projects are fantastic for our neighborhood! Thank you to anyone who has put their energy into them. Seeing things like this come to life in are really inspiring and can really bring folks together.
I don’t feel worrying too much about whether they are going to last is of much consequence. We have to cut our teeth and get a few victories before we beat our selves up over “due diligence” which lets face it in this city can be a huge waste of time. It would be a shame for something like this to not have been started and thus not be seen as an example of what it possible. Take your lumps and keep up the hard work.
Things are dire in this city for a lot of us. A mirage like this is a welcome sight compared to another unaffordable condo hi-rise. Even if for only a while.
GP August 17th, 2011 at 10:40 am
I have a plot at a community garden on Jefferson Street right off of Irving. I am an avid gardener and was considering helping out at this new off shoot of Bushwick City Farm (in Bed Stuy), but it seems that some people involved in the project have a very negative, elitist and defensive attitude. I think I’ll pass on getting involved in that crew of charmers.
Jeremy Sapienza August 17th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Thanks for the update, BK Gardener. I appreciate your work and wish you all well. Please let us know what happens with the lot ownership situation.
Pat August 18th, 2011 at 12:05 am
@BKGARDENER
Well, you folks have to understand that just as you have pride in your garden, many people have pride of their homes and WHERE they are located. That means to some people it DOES matter that they live in Bedford Stuyvesant and not have it called Bushwick. Just as you are putting in hard work in the farm, they have put an entire life in their homes, so when something nice happens in their neighborhood, they want to associate it with where they live. What your organization does not seem to understand is that this matters here, maybe not where you come from, but it does here and always will. We also need boundaries to appropriate funds in an adequate manner, please educate yourselves to the area that you operate in and why we have boundaries and districts, or just simply talk about the farm. I can tell you that the impression you are leaving at the moment, is that of an elitist organization. That is obviously not your goal, but be careful how you represent yourself in these sites. There is nothing wrong with feeling proud of where you live, that is what breeds community pride and helps people identify with something.
BKGardener August 18th, 2011 at 7:21 am
Pat,
We want to there to be Free Farms all over the city, country and world and it’s great that we now have a Free farm in Bed-Stuy. We can’t control where the prime vacant lots are located… We had been working at our Broadway location for a long time and decided to start cleaning out and building a farm at the Stockton on earth day 2011.
The Stockton lot which is literally 1/2 a block away from the Broadway location was full of about 30 years of trash – moldy couches, used heroin needs, buried mattresses, car parts, lots of plastic, etc. Since the first day of cleaning, we have had volunteers, mostly kids, from the building next to the lot come out to support us, they are so proud of what they have accomplished. I haven’t asked them if they are proud to be from Bed-Stuy, but I know that they are proud of the work that has been done next to where they live.
Having a sense of pride in one’s neighborhood is great and I can totally understand it, people in Bushwick, Bed-Stuy and all other neighborhoods should have free community farms and be proud of what they have created and that is why we are building them. We are just more focused on growing free food than neighborhood politics…
About being elitist, I’m not sure I understand the logic… I have invited everyone posting on this article to come out to the farm and I encourage you to start your own farms in vacant lots in your neighborhoods and give the food out for free to the community. The point is to have free farms in many more locations and if more people are doing it, the more free food we can grow and give away. It’s not about the organization that we have created, it’s about giving back to the community… So Pat, I wish you luck and peace upon you and your neighborhood.
Masha Radzinsky - Bushwick cIty Farms August 18th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Hey, Im Masha, I Founded Bushwick City Farms and thought I would pitch in to this conversation – mabye straighten out some of the misunderstandings I see occuring. So, yes – the new Stockton St Farm is in fact in Bedstuy (we named ourselves BCF when we built our first farm on Broadway, since then we have expanded our operations to include several other farms and various out-reach programs) Because of our expanded reach we have already changed our name officially to City Free Farms, but we have not yet started using the new name, since we have gotten alot of press for BCF lately and didnt want to confuse anyone. I hope this explains the confusion regarding our name.
Now for Jeremy’s comment, which I believe is a valid comment and a valid concern. First, I would like to apologize for some of our volunteers, which I see have taken the issue quite personally and jumped on the defensive (though, of course I understand our volunteers are very emotionally involved, and Im sure they meant no disrespect) So to address your concerns, BCF does operate by entering vacant neglected lots and turning them into urban farms that are open for all to enjoy and produce free organic food for our community. Once we enter and clear the lots, we always seek to get verbal or written permission, naturally its always a risk, but so far we have always managed to reach an agreement. We entered the Stockton St lot without permission and started the process of building the farm. As of a couple of weeks ago, we have been in contact with the owners and have received verbal permission to continue. We submitted a written proposal for land use to the owners last week and are currently waiting to sign a written contract with the owners that will specify the time of land use. Usually we ask for a minimum of 5 years of use and then renegotiable after the time is up, if possible. Of course, we always hope that we will have the land forever, but believe that the reality is that if we have it for ten years, and it is functional, used and loved by the community for that time, then it is worth all the resources involved. We strive to dumpster recycled materials for all farm construction, and only raise money for top-soil and tools, nails, ect. All work is done by volunteers; so our expenses are minimal.
I hope that this clears up any questions and that no one is offended. Im glad you all read the article and are interested in our new farm, we always welcome new visitors, so please drop by. Please feel free to bring up any other questions or concerns you might have. Thanks – Masha
People Power August 18th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
very interesting debate going on here. i think it’s very important to discuss the merits of waiting for official sanction vs. just going ahead and doing something worthwhile for the community, consequences be damned. i can’t help but see this all in a larger picture. there is shocking income inequality in new york city. the environment in which we live is polluted beyond belief. when economic times were good, there were resources at hand with which to address these issues. very little has changed, in fact, things have gotten worse and now there is no resources. if you are suffering from these factors, well that’s just too bad.
our answer to the bureaucrats is, “Sorry. We’ve been waiting on you and we won’t wait any longer. We’ll do it ourselves.” Bravo to (Bushwick) City Farms!
pat August 20th, 2011 at 7:16 am
“I think that borders are way over-rated… Both neighborhoods were named by some Dutch guy named Peter Stuyvesant in the 1600′s so who really cares. We are all neighbors, right?”
Urban gardeners at its best. Here is a little bit of information that might help those who might want to know who this so called Dutch guy is. My source is wikipedia, so please review at your discretion.
Stuyvesant was a great believer in education. In 1660 he was quoted as saying that “Nothing is of greater importance than the early instruction of youth.” In 1661, New Amsterdam had one grammar school, two free elementary schools, and had licensed 28 masters of school. To honor Stuyvesant’s dedication to education and New Amsterdam’s legal-cultural tradition of toleration under Stuyvesant, Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan was named after him.
Yeah who cares right BKGARDENER, this dude deserves no respect, after all he is just some guy from the 1600′s. Good luck in the farm, just make sure to conduct a soil test to make sure there are dangerous hazards that might make people sick. Best of luck and thank you for the work you do.
Reilly August 21st, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Why on earth are all you people condemning a community garden over this? Get over it – either way, whatever it is called, it’s doing something good for WHATEVER neighborhood it’s in, or next to, besides. Grow up and enjoy it, shit.
BKGardener August 22nd, 2011 at 6:57 am
Peter Suyvesant was also the director of the Dutch West India Company that regulated the African slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America…. but that’s not the point…
and yes. I understand that he made some free schools for Dutch colonists and their families, while working as was a slave trader and no, I don’t have much respect for him, but that’s also not the point…
As for the potential dangerous hazards… The whole point of the article is to promote the farms and our fundraiser so can buy fresh soil to put in the raised beds that we construct from recycled materials so that we can grow fresh organic food and give it to local residents for free while also creating a community space for people to enjoy with their families.
If you still don’t get it. I don’t think you will. For anyone else who is interested in this project, please come out to the farm and/or check out our kickstarter video.
Thanks!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1946953896/urban-free-farm-producing-free-food-in-brooklyn
J.J. August 24th, 2011 at 9:19 am
It’s ridiculous to see how easily the focus is lost in these comment sections, everyone wants to “outsmart” everybody else on bullsh*t that’s unimportant compared to the bigger picture.
That’s why these guys are building a community garden and everybody else is talking sh*t and not doing a damn thing except suggesting things they themselves aren’t willing to help out on or considering the possibility of maybe donating a little money, because nothing says volunteering like dropping a $20 and not doing any real work.
It’s easy to observe this same lack of focus and pompous attitude on the national level, no wonder we are a country in decline.
Keep up the good work Bushwick/Bedstuy farmers, you’re doing a very admirable thing, if only more of these “smart” and very opinionated people would follow your lead brooklyn would be something else, keep doing what you’re doing. :)