Phoenix Community Garden

Phoenix Community Garden
2037 Fulton Street
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Founded in 2007

Sunny and spacious and located in Brownsville, Brooklyn, the 20,000 square foot Phoenix Community Garden is dedicated to urban agriculture and is capable of producing a bounty: in season, nearly 2,000 pounds of beans, corn, collards, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs and callaloo (a Caribbean favorite) are harvested.

A section of the garden grows food for Neighbors Together, a local organization that serves over 500 people each day at a soup kitchen across the street from the garden. The east part of the garden features a grape arbor and a large gazebo, while a red tin shed, mural, and a 2,000 gallon rainwater harvesting system mark the western half.
 

Garden photos:


Construction photos:


 

Rainwater Harvesting

 

Rainwater is collected from the roof of the adjacent 1,200 square foot 4 story building and stored in 2 - 1000 gallon green polyethylene tanks located on an 14 inch high platform made of 4 X 4s placed on gravel bed adjacent to the building on the eastern end of the garden. The system uses a 12 gallon first flush system to filter the rainwater. Overflow is piped under pathways in the garden.

One of the tanks was installed with the assistance of City Year members, volunteers and community gardeners under the supervision of GrowNYC staff. The second tank was installed by the Green Guerrillas with advice from GrowNYC staff. Based on an average rainfall of 34 inches during the season from March 1 to Oct 31 and .5 gallons of rain collected per square foot of roof area, we estimate having the potential to collect 20,400 gallons for the season from 1,200 sq ft of roof collecting area.

 

This garden is under the jurisdiction of NYC Parks and supported by GreenThumb, the nation's largest urban gardening program. If you are interested in joining, starting, or supporting a community garden, contact NYC Parks GreenThumb

Every year, GrowNYC holds our Annual Spring Plant Sale in order to provide community groups with affordable perennial and annual flowering plants, herbs, ground covers, and vegetables grown by Greenmarket farmers and sold in wholesale quantities.