Documentary Video in Five Chapters – Urban Agriculture – East New York – Local Farmers

By Urban Omnibus
The Architectural League of New York

Urban Agriculture: East New York is a documentary video in five chapters that explains how East New York’s urban agriculture movement evolved. Each chapter is dedicated to one piece of a complicated process: a portrait of a veteran local farmer in her garden; a trip to the East New York farmer’s market; a look at asset mapping analysis by the Pratt Center; land transfers from HPD to Green Thumb; and the investment in the neighborhood’s youth made by agricultural organizers and experts.

Below are links to the five videos made by Urban Omnibus. Click the arrow in the centre of each image on each page to start the videos.

1. Urban Agriculture: East New York: Local Farmers
In this piece, we meet Johanna Willens, the first farmer to sell her produce at the East New York Farmers’ Market in 1998. Link here.

2. Urban Agriculture: East New York: Farmers Market
In this piece, we explore the East New York farmers’ market. It’s open every Saturday between June 28th and November 15th. This August, the farmer’s market celebrated its tenth anniversary. Link here.

3. Urban Agriculture: East New York: Asset Mapping
In this piece, we hear from Perry Winston, an architect formerly with the Pratt Center, who has worked with the community since the early 1990s. He describes how he brought together a diverse coalition of organizations, including the Cornell Cooperative Extension and the East New York LDC, on a grant from the Yamaha Corporation to map assets and engage the community in visioning sessions to identify development priorities. Link here.

4. Urban Agriculture: East New York: Land Transfers
In this piece, Holly Leicht, Deputy Commissioner of Development at HPD, explains the recent history of the city’s involvement in East New York and how strategic site disposition enabled the homegrown urban agriculture movement to flourish. Link here.

5. Urban Agriculture: East New York: Agricultural Organizing
In this piece, Deborah Greig, Urban Agriculture Coordinator for East New York Farms!, explains the history of the organization in the context of the neighborhood. Link here.