Lessons from NYC: Days 7, 8 & 9

Journal entries chronicling my reflections & recollections from my class at Barnard College which examines the food system of NYC and the broader region through a sustainable farming, policy-forward lens.

08.01.2026

On the West Side of Manhattan, my class and I took a trip to the Javits Center today to tour their massive, seven-story-high steel rooftop garden. Highly sophisticated and engineered, not only did we get to learn about their commercial infrastructure and enjoy their premium $100 five-course farm-to-table meal, but we also visited the Riley-Levin Children's Garden to get our hands dirty. There, we learned about community-based agriculture while planting oyster mushrooms, carefully preparing the growing medium by soaking hay substrate in a liquid lime bath before meticulously layering it.

"These past few days, exposure to a variety of farms and local agricultural initiatives in the NYC area has shone light on the sheer range of scale and operations agriculture initiatives take form in, largely dependent on their purpose, ownership, targeted "community" meant to serve, and amount of public/private involvement.

First off, I found The Riley-Levin Children's Garden a vibrant hub for community engagement, especially  foundational learning amongst youth and empowering other urban farmers. During our time there, we planted new mushrooms and observed firsthand how the space functions as an educational resource primarily. Because it is publicly owned, its mission focuses on public outreach and youth accessibility rather than maximizing crop yields or implementing strictly circular, self-sustaining ecosystems for profit. The value here is in cultivating awareness rather than a closed-loop efficient system.

Conversely, I found the Levit Center's garden initiative to have a stark contrast in scale, funding and operational intent. Experiencing their restaurant’s five-course meal offered a lot of insight into its highly sophisticated and privately backed commercial system. The entire rooftop and steel garden infrastructure are meticulously engineered to support high-end farm-to-table culinary operations and the operations of the building itself. With the mentioning of the awards and leadership, it is inarguable that there is an element of profitability while being labeled as "environmentally eco friendly" (for better, or for worse). Although their processes aren't as entirely sustainable as the community gardens (they partner with Amazon, etc....), the sheer scale of their practices seem to outweigh that. For them, it's a win-win situation.

At the end of the day, publicly funded gardens excel at social inclusivity and private initiatives show the technological and financial viability of self-sustaining systems. Both models are essential in different aspects to building both a resilient and food-conscious urban landscape."