New York Restoration Project (NYRP) Founder Bette Midler has yet another big dream for New York City. Like her sweeping vision that resulted in NYRP’s partnership in the 10-year MillionTreesNYC initiative, Bette is busy cultivating her latest plans to expose New Yorkers to the benefits of urban farming – another cutting-edge green trend where NYRP is leading the way to increased sustainability for the city.

NYRP is preparing to develop an urban farm at our Bathgate Garden – at 16,000 square feet, one of our largest community gardens – located in the Bronx. This site on Bathgate Avenue has been vacant for over 20 years, serving only as a parking and temporary storage area for neighboring industries. NYRP will transform this under-utilized space into the most innovative working urban farm in New York City – capitalizing on various health and community benefits provided by current urban farming techniques.

Serving as a centerpiece for NYRP educational outreach, the Bronx Urban Farm will host workshops on subjects including organic farming, cooking demonstrations, healthy eating seminars and other activities designed to engage local residents and community youth. The Bronx Urban Farm and planned, multi-season greenhouse will yield fruits and vegetables, year round, which will be sold to community residents and used in local restaurants, including NYRP’s New Leaf Restaurant and Bar – where Executive Chef Scott Campbell emphasizes organic, locally grown ingredients in his innovative American cuisine. The farm will also yield plants that NYRP needs to restore and maintain its 55 community gardens throughout the city’s five boroughs.

The existing garden will undergo a complete renovation to expand planting capacity and enhance production, featuring highly manicured, raised planting and vertical growing beds – a modern interpretation of European kitchen gardens – that that will provide an array of produce for local dinner and restaurant tables. Other major capital improvements include the farm’s greenhouse, which will extend the growing season into the winter months; installation of solar panels to create natural and sustainable energy; a rainwater harvesting system to utilize rainwater runoff; and irrigation and composting capabilities. The farm’s multi-purpose, green-roofed building will contain a state-of-the-art test kitchen, garden tool storage and an office.