Java St Garden Collaborative PHASE 1

We are a group of local residents--among us are landscapers, gardeners, architects, community advocates, and project managers--who have come together to form the Java St Garden Collaborative.  We seek to develop the vacant public land at 59 Java Street, vacant now for at least a decade, into an open green space for the community at large to enjoy.   Located just one block from the East River ferry terminal at India Street, we expect visitors from all over, not just from within Greenpoint.

Our mission is to establish and build the following:

1. A living laboratory with such projects as environmental-  or phyto-remediation, design development, a self-contained composting system, just for starters
2. A much-needed open green space with regular hours open to the public
3. Collaboration with local businesses and community organizations in supporting the growth of the area
4. Participation of local volunteers who wish to gain experience in gardening, landscaping, and all projects ongoing within the space

PHASE 1 of our project will involve breaking ground in the spring: firstly building a fence to secure the space and establish our visibility; second, weeding, turning soil, and planting the first phase of our environmental remediation project possibly poplar trees to start; this section will be monitored with soil testing to chart the soil’s improvement over time.  To get started we will need building and gardening supplies; lumber has already been offered to us by builditgreen.org to build fencing and a shed for tools.

The soil content of waterfront Greenpoint is notoriously poor owing to ecological events of the past; in addition, the area is rapidly expanding and changing from industrial wasteland—in some parts—to residential and retail growth, and with that comes a desire for more green space as a quality of life issue.  We seek to serve the community and city at large by becoming not only a space for personal enjoyment but for education on various environmental fronts.