BrightFarm Systems welcomes Borough President Stringer’s call for rooftop farms in New York City

Feb. 19, 2010 - PRLog -- BrightFarm Systems  welcomes the publication yesterday of  “FoodNYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System” , the Manhattan Borough President’s second report on the future of New York City’s food system.

Among the first recommendations within the report, Stringer calls for “the development of rooftop agricultural greenhouses” across New York City. The Borough President’s report suggests the amendment of zoning barriers such as the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) restrictions on greenhouses, that have so far limited the development of the rooftop farming industry in New York City.

FAR restrictions control the ratio of floor area to lot size  - or in effect, the height a building can be built to. Under current rules, agricultural greenhouses are classified with office and residential space and count towards the FAR limit for a building. As a result building owners wishing to develop local, sustainable urban farms on their roofs have been forced to cancel their plans.  

BrightFarm Systems has argued that this classification is counterproductive, from an urban livability perspective. Dr. Ted Caplow, designer of the Science Barge and a Senior Partner at BrightFarm Systems, said today:  

"The Borough President’s report brings New York City closer to a true 21st century food policy. New Yorkers want better quality produce, grown closer to home, with lower environmental impacts. The city is full of innovators and entrepreneurs who want to make sustainable rooftop agriculture a significant source of local jobs and revenue, but they must wrestle with zoning and building codes that did not anticipate this kind of farming. The Borough President's suggestion that the city create a simple mechanism for consideration of worthy projects is very timely."

BrightFarm Systems is a specialist greenhouse design consultancy focused exclusively on the design of hydroponic rooftop greenhouses and Building Integrated Agriculture. Beginning in 2006 with the internationally renowned Science Barge, the world’s first carbon neutral farm, BrightFarm Systems and parent organization New York Sun Works have been at the forefront of system design for sustainable urban farms.

More information about BrightFarm Systems and their projects can be found on the web at www.brightfarmsystems.com.

NOTES TO EDITOR:

   Building Integrated Agriculture (BIA) is an approach to vegetable production based on the principle of locating high performance, lightweight hydroponic greenhouses on building roofs, and using renewable, local sources of energy and water.

   Approximately 14,000 acres of unshaded rooftop space in the five boroughs of New York City. Based on modest commercial hydroponic yields, and the per capita fresh vegetable consumption in the US this unused rooftop space is capable of meeting the needs of over 30 million people.

   Hydroponic greenhouses yield up to 20 times as much produce per unit area of land compared with conventional field agriculture. They are lightweight, and will attach to most NYC roofs.

   A hydroponic greenhouse yields between 10 and 20 lbs of vegetables per square foot per year in temperate climates .

   The environmental benefits of hydroponics are significant: each hectare of rooftop vegetable farm would free up approximately 25 acres of rural land, save approximately 75,000 tons of fresh water per year, and mitigate an average of 250 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from produce production and transportation.

   BrightFarm Systems has performed ecological analysis, designed, and developed Building Integrated Agriculture systems for clients such as Whole Foods Market, Arup, New York City public schools, Gotham Greens, Top Sprouts, Sky Vegetables, and Blue Sea Developments. Recently featured by National Geographic, Science, ABC World News, Supermarket News, Treehugger, and Dan Rather Reports, the firm continues to play a significant role in the modern urban agriculture movement.

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BrightFarm Systems is a specialist greenhouse design consultancy focused exclusively on the design of hydroponic rooftop greenhouses and Building Integrated Agriculture. Beginning in 2006 with the internationally renowned Science Barge, the world’s first carbon neutral farm, BrightFarm Systems and parent organization New York Sun Works have been at the forefront of system design for sustainable urban farms.