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Brooklyn Grange Faces Queens Permit Problems
By
Jaya Saxena
Published May 17, 2010
Modified May 17, 2010
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By
Jaya Saxena
Published May 17, 2010
Modified May 17, 2010
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The for-profit rooftop farm Brooklyn Grange—which began installation on the Standard Motor Products building in Long Island City last week—was issued a stop-work order on Friday for not securing permits for the project. The New York City Department of Buildings said the group never showed engineering plans proving the 40,000 square feet of rooftop was sturdy enough to hold nearly a million pounds of dirt and vegetables. Farmer Ben Flanner told the Times, "Our enthusiasm to get plants in for the season outpaced our paperwork, and we are doing everything we can with our architect and engineer to work this out."
Volunteers had already covered nearly half of the roof by the time they were forced to stop. The building at 37-18 Northern Boulevard also had a stop-worker order for interior work, and engineers are expected to visit today to determine which permits would be required. We've contacted the folks at Brooklyn Grange to see if the order will affect their production schedule, but maybe this is just what happens when you have to "settle" for Queens.
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brooklyn grange
long island city
permits
queens
rooftop farm
stop work order
Jaya Saxena
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