A Guide to the Greenest Blocks in Brooklyn
Summer in the city usually smells like hot garbage. But there are a few blocks in Brooklyn that manage to smell of fresh flowers despite the sticky heat. Yesterday, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s yearly Greenest Block awards ceremony celebrated these oases of greenery–this year, the best ones are in Bed-Stuy, Flatbush, Park Slope, and Fort Greene.
“The purpose of the Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest is to promote streetscape gardening, tree stewardship, and community development in the borough of Brooklyn through block and merchant associations and other community groups,” the BBG writes on their website. Winners get $300 cash prizes as well as bags full of gardening swag. And the winners are…
Brooklyn’s Greenest Residential Blocks
1st Place: Bainbridge Street between Malcolm X Boulevard and Stuyvesant Avenue in Bed-Stuy
2nd Place: East 25th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D in Flatbush
3rd Place: East 49th Street between Lenox Road and Linden Boulevard in East Flatbush
Brooklyn’s Greenest Storefronts
1st Place: Rose Water Restaurant, 787 Union Street in Park Slope
2nd Place: Thistle Hill Tavern, 441 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope
Greenest Commercial Block in Brooklyn
1st Place: Fulton Street between South Portland Avenue and South Oxford Street in Fort Greene
2nd Place: Atlantic Avenue between Bond and Nevins Streets in Boerum Hill
3rd Place: Cortelyou Road between Argyle and Westminster Roads in Ditmas Park
Best Street Tree Beds
1st Place: East 49th Street between Lenox Road and Linden Boulevard in East Flatbush
2nd Place Tie: Decatur Street between Lewis and Stuyvesant Avenues, and East 32nd Street between Tilden and Snyder Avenues
Special Commendation
Union Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, for “Doggie Spots”–an extraordinary innovation in street tree care, Park Slope
Best Community Garden Streetscapes
1st Place: Bridge Plaza Community Garden, Concord Street between Bridge and Duffield Streets in Bridge Plaza
2nd Place: Red Shed Community Garden, Kingsland Avenue between Skillman Street and Maspeth Avenue in Williamsburg
Union Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, for “Doggie Spots”–an extraordinary innovation in street tree care
Go here to see the more green highlights of the borough.
[via Gothamist]