Lincoln Place between New York Avenue and Nostrand Avenue in Crown Heights (Photo by Artchan Nadura courtesy of the BBG)
It’s official: Brooklyn’s ‘Greenest Block’ is in Crown Heights
Lincoln Place between New York and Nostrand Avenues has been declared the borough's 'Greenest Block' by the BBG
A certain block in Crown Heights is making all the others green with envy: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has named Lincoln Place, between New York and Nostrand Avenues, as the “Greenest Block” in the borough.
The award for Brooklyn’s “friendliest competition” is determined by how filled the street is with flora and fauna. The neighborhood organization behind this year’s lushest stretch of street beat out more than 100 other blocks in the borough, including in Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg, Park Slope, Fort Hamilton, Canarsie, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, New Lots and Dumbo.
The group — Preserving Lincoln’s Abundant Natural Treasures, or P.L.A.N.T. — spends hours watering and taking care of the plants. Their work has been rewarded in the past, taking home top honors in 2022 and 2019.
“We are incredibly proud of our block (P.L.A.N.T) for winning Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest for the third time,” said P.L.A.N.T. leaders Perri Edwards and Althea Joseph in a statement. “Even if we hadn’t won First Place, we still would’ve won because of the connections we built with our neighbors and the community around us throughout the process.”
BBG, which has held the competition for about three decades, bases their winners on a variety of factors, including “solely by what can be seen from the street” and are given cash prizes and a sign to display. Judges include BBG staffers, New York-based reporters and horticulturists.
If you can’t get to Lincoln Place, there are plenty of other Brooklyn streets that took home prizes. In second place was Eastern Parkway between Bedford and Franklin Avenues and third was Ridge Boulevard between 71st Street and Ovington Avenues. Muse Café in Park Slope won the Greenest Storefront award, with Kos Cafe down the block coming in second.
Other categories included Rookie of the Year, the National Grid Leadership in Sustainable Practices Award, the Media Darling Award, Best Street Tree Beds, Best Community Garden Streetscape and Best Window Box.