For a nice example of an economic slump yielding positive results, check out this ingenious urban farm that has popped up in midtown Manhattan, where the recession halted development of the Alexandria Center, a bioscience complex just east of FDR Drive. When the project stalled, the developer leapt on the opportunity to use the space to grow fresh produce for Riverpark, the Tom Colicchio restaurant that sits on the same site. Situated in the middle of Manhattan, Riverpark Farm is now quite possibly the most urban of urban farms in existence.
“We’re not pioneers in the sense that other people are growing vegetables, too,“ says Sisha Ortúzar, the restaurant’s chef and co-founder of the farm. “What’s special is that this is New York’s most urban farm and the biggest farm tied directly to a restaurant in the middle of the city.”
Pretty awesome. Read more about the project at GOOD.
Photos: Ari Nuzzo