I want to offer some information on our early organizing work to help engage existing soil-based as well as other community-driven urban ag growers, activists, and leaders as local elected officials begin to consider the development of urban ag policy in NYC.
How we got here. The initial iteration of the Urban Ag Initiative had excluded our voices for two years, as it was discussed behind closed doors. Many of us - collectively - forced our way to the table and demanded that the initiative be inclusive, not just about community gardens, but all types of agriculture that happens in NYC. Early grassroots efforts such as submitting public testimony to City Council and ongoing engagement with community-based urban ag leaders has opened the eyes of Council Member Espinal and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams to see that community farming must be prioritized in any NYC urban ag policy.
This is why. For-profit urban ag tech companies have moved into the growing and greening landscape of NYC. Neighborhoods throughout the city such as in Brooklyn and the Bronx have already experienced tech companies’ projects being established in the midst of existing community farming and growing. While the breadth of urban ag is evolving in our city, we believe local elected officials should develop policy that is informed by the needs and interests of those grassroots gardeners, activists, market managers, and other vested community-driven leaders that have worked so hard for decades, growing and advocating in our communities.
BBP Adams and CM Espinal have created an event on May 8th (6-8 pm at Brooklyn Borough Hall) to witness the representation of the breadth of NYC urban ag efforts. It is important that our city representatives continue to understand the diverse impact of community-based urban ag and witness the solidarity that exists among our collective work. It is this solidarity we hope to demonstrate at the upcoming listening session and would like to kindly invite you to be a part of the community-based contingency. The format for the evening is 4 people selected from the community-based growing and ag tech sectors (plus Columbia University students who built a report upon CM Espinal's request based on interviews from the urban ag landscape), who will share their talking points related to policy recommendations to them as well as targeted city officials. Please note, the provided format of the event does not include an open period for attendees to speak. We ask that you submit questions/ideas to us so that we can give them to City officials.
Space is limited. To attend, please RSVP by Monday, May 7th by 1pm. This list must be given to the event organizers to ensure access to the building. Those who RSVP will be forwarded any additional information about the event and given updates, as needed. If you are not able to attend, an update on the 5/8 event will be provided.
Our action. We created the initial "Urban Ag" survey and shared it during the past few weeks to help begin the process of collecting feedback from the community on what they think is important in NYC urban agriculture. In order to lift up community feedback at the event, information provided in the "Urban Ag" survey will inform community-based talking points.
There will be no Urban Ag Initiative or policy that happens overnight. It is a process, one that we are fervently working to be driven by community gardeners and our partners. There will be additional opportunities for the community to listen, speak, and share in the coming months such as a community-led Town Halls, garden conversations, and other activities. This is an ongoing attempt to keep the community engaged and aware of the urban agriculture policy conversation in our city.
Aziz Dehkan,
Executive Director
