What if Central Park were home to a massive urban farm?
A corner of Central Park was once home to a thriving Black community. Amber Tamm wants to honor the legacy of that neighborhood with a farm to feed New York’s neediest.
By Ruth Reader
Fast Company
Aug 4, 2020
Excerpt:
The city acquired the land through eminent domain, paying owners “just compensation,” (though letters from the time reveal that Seneca Village residents did not always feel the compensation was actually fair). Seneca Village was razed and subsumed into what is now Central Park. Amber Tamm, a farmer for a nearly six-acre New York rooftop farm called Brooklyn Grange, wants to give part of the park back to that history, by taking 14 acres of the 55-acre Great Lawn and turning it into a community farm that would feed under-resourced Manhattanites, many of whom are Black. It would also serve as an educational resource for teaching New Yorkers about urban farming. Tamm wants to call it Seneca Village Farm. “I think calling out Central Park is powerful, because it’s the biggest park in New York City and it has the most flatland,” she says.
Tamm is hoping to reclaim Central Park’s narrative and make it a more inclusive one. Her vision is that one person would farm an acre each and people would apply for one of the 14 spots. Tamm envisions running a training program where she and a small team would teach people how to farm their acre with room for creative innovation. If there is someone interested in herbalism, Tamm says she would find a mentor to teach her how to grow herbs. “But also what does it look like for her to exercise creativity? Does she want to grow in rows? Does she want to grow in circles and spirals? Let her flesh out what her vision is and let her work through what it’s like to revitalize soil while also supporting community through what she yields,” says Tamm. Another example she gives: What would it look like to grow rice in New York City?
