Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
New Yorkers With Dead Grass Pay To Paint Lawn Green
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 16, 2012
Modified Jul 16, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Courtesy Staten Island Advance
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 16, 2012
Modified Jul 16, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Has the dry summer heat turned your precious lawn into a dead brown eyesore? Wait, you have a precious lawn?! Well, la dee da! it must be such a burden keeping it pretty for all us lawn-less slobs to admire. But if you're tired of paying landscapers (or nagging your deadbeat son) to mow the lawn and water the grass, there is an elegant solution. A Staten Island-based company will come and paint it green for you!
Entrepreneur Joe Perazzo, whose day job is teaching physical education at Brooklyn's High School of Sports Management, tells the Staten Island Advance that he noticed a few years ago that his school's football field was being painted to cover up the brown spots. Perazzo saw dollar signs in the green, and found a company in Arizona named Speclawn that makes permanent non-toxic, biodegradable and odorless paint. His company, Grass is Greener, turns dreary brown grass into a painted masterpiece in just a few hours.
The beauty of this is, if the grass is dead, the paint is permanent, and you never have to water or mow it again! And even if the grass is alive, you can still pay Perazzo to paint it a vibrant green, which lasts approximately three months. His treatment costs just $125 for 2,000 square feet, and for an extra $25, Perazzo will also mow the grass before he pimps your lawn. Trees and shrubs can also be painted green, according to the Grass Is Greener website.
It's a smart business model, considering how desperate some people are for a fastidiously-maintained lawn that makes the neighbors' feel envious and inadequate. Can lawn vajazzling be far behind?
Tagged
america
grass
grass is greener
lawns
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Early Addition: There's a new hot duck, this time in Queens
Because a mandarin duck has been frolicking in Flushing, here are your early links: RHONY star racked up a lot of parking tickets, 57 best Italian restaurants in New Jersey, Judi Dench said the "Cats" movie was bad and more.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 9:40 a.m. ET
NYPD hate crime unit investigates smashed windows, ‘Pal Action’ graffiti at UES Capital One
The bank previously faced protests over a $90 million loan to an Israeli drone company.
By
Ryan Kost
News
NYPD hate crime unit investigates smashed windows, ‘Pal Action’ graffiti at UES Capital One
The bank previously faced protests over a $90 million loan to an Israeli drone company.
By
Ryan Kost
A reliably Republican part of NJ, until ICE came to town
By
Mike Hayes
NYC school integration debate exposes tensions between Black parents and Mamdani
By
Elizabeth Kim
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
By
Giulia Heyward
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .