Environment
Stories on environmental issues in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Slightly Sooty Salad: Step into acorn time
Learn how to collect and hot-leach white oak acorns, then turn them into a chocolate cake with this fall foraging guide.
Brooklyn Grange scales back rooftop farming as workers push for contract
Brooklyn Grange is scaling back farming at its Sunset Park rooftop as union workers continue a two-year fight for a contract.
Still Here: Pokeweed is for the birds
Pokeweed’s loud fuchsia stems and dark berries feed birds through fall and winter, while reminding people to admire this toxic native from afar.
Birds of Sunset Park: Absolutely Cuckoo
Nick Dawson reflects on the elusive cuckoos of Sunset Park and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo photographed at Bush Terminal Park.
New workforce network links residents to waterfront careers
Sunset Park residents weigh new waterfront job programs as a workforce network prepares to share its six-month needs assessment.c
Currents carry debris — and sometimes tragedy — to Sunset Park shoreline
A woman was recovered from Bay Ridge Channel off Bush Terminal Park as a park regular described the police response and waterfront currents.
Mystery squash patch spreads along Fourth Avenue
Calabaza vines spread across Fourth Avenue medians, leaving Sunset Park neighbors wondering who planted—and harvested—the squash.
Sunset Park Caretakers clean the park, one trash bag at a time
Sunset Park Caretakers volunteers pick up litter, restore plantings and press the city for better trash infrastructure and sanitation in the park.
BATWorks Panel Examines Sunset Park’s Wastewater Challenge
A BATWorks panel examines heavier rain, New York City’s aging sewers and the potential to treat wastewater as a resource.
Bioartists turn marine viruses and food waste into art
A Genspace bioart exhibit turns marine viruses, food waste and biomaterials into artworks in Long Island City.
Green-Wood greenway plan gets $4 million in city funding
Green-Wood received $4 million for design and community engagement on a proposed 1.5-mile greenway along its Sunset Park edge.
Slightly Sooty Salad: Late-summer Sumac-ade
Learn how to identify staghorn sumac and turn its tart red berry clusters into a simple late-summer drink.
UPROSE celebrates 60 years of community power
UPROSE marks its 60th anniversary with a BRIC gala honoring six decades of organizing for climate justice and community power.
Sunset Park teens cultivate skills on a rooftop farm
Sunset Park teens spent six weeks farming at Brooklyn Grange while learning about environmental justice, urban ecology and workers’ rights.
Still Here: Trailing Woolly Beans
At Bush Terminal, native trailing woolly beans climb invasive mugwort, reclaiming space in a layered postindustrial landscape.
Birds of Sunset Park: Do You Have Time Today to Hear About Nighthawks?
Nick Dawson looks for Common Nighthawks over Sunset Park and invites neighbors to join a September bird watch.
Beast of Borikén brings Puerto Rican history and resistance to UPROSE
At UPROSE, Julio Anta discusses Beast of Borikén, Puerto Rican history and resistance with activists and Sunset Park neighbors.
Free food distribution expected to resume at CPC
GrowNYC is replacing Farmstand with Food For Families as CPC prepares to resume free-food distribution in Sunset Park.
Still Here: Weird and Familiar Eastern Gamagrass
A strange native grass appears at Bush Terminal, revealing ties to corn, bison and migratory birds as it becomes unexpectedly familiar.
Slightly Sooty Salad: Leafy Green, Eco-Clean
Gregg Stankewicz experiments with horse chestnut leaves and explores how their saponins can produce a simple plant-based cleanser.
Birds of Sunset Park: Birding gods don’t play requests
Nick Dawson reflects on missed sightings, rare White Ibises and the patience that turns birding into a meditative practice.
Fourth Ave brownfield cleanup continues to raise alarm
A resident describes renewed odors as an expert explains brief exposure and chronic risks at the 4001 4th Ave. cleanup.
Brooklyn Grange’s sliding-scale CSA returns to Sunset Park
Brooklyn Grange’s sliding-scale Harvest Share CSA brings rooftop-grown produce to Sunset Park while neighbors help subsidize affordable shares.
Revived community garden faces an uncertain future
Sunset Park residents revived Finntown Garden, but NYC Parks says the produce plot should become a horticultural pollinator garden.
Polluting waterfront power plants get three-year extension
Grid reliability needs will keep Sunset Park’s aging Gowanus and Narrows peaker plants operating through May 2029.
Hey, DEP!: Sunset Park Needs More Green Infrastructure
A Sunset Park resident calls for more rain gardens, porous pavement and other green infrastructure to reduce flooding and sewer overflows.
Free community sailing brings local residents to the waterfront
Blue Horizon Sailing’s free community events introduce Sunset Park residents to sailing and expand access to the neighborhood’s waterfront.
FABSCRAP promotes recycling in textile industry
Sunset Park nonprofit FABSCRAP keeps textile waste out of landfills through reuse, recycling and the work of thousands of volunteers.
Collage workshop turns castoff materials into art
A Brooklyn Creative Reuse workshop transformed discarded paper and magazines into art while highlighting affordable, sustainable creativity.
Explore nature in the city with artist Jessica Dalrymple
Eco-artist Jessica Dalrymple leads free Mindful Nature Journaling Hikes across New York City, blending art, meditation and urban nature.
Slightly Sooty Salad: Juneberries in July
Juneberries hide in plain sight across Brooklyn. Learn how to identify them, where to find them and why their fleeting fruit is worth seeking.
Still Here: In a world full of mugwort, be a daisy fleabane
Daisy fleabane thrives in Bush Terminal Park, supporting pollinators and other wildlife in areas where invasive mugwort dominates.
PCR brings volunteers together for It’s My Park
Families and volunteers joined Parent-Child Relationship Association and City Parks Foundation for an It’s My Park cleanup in Sunset Park.
Community composting funding hangs in the balance as budget deadline looms
With NYC’s budget deadline approaching, local compost advocates are pushing to preserve $6.25 million in community funding.
Gasoline odors raise concerns near Fourth Ave cleanup site
Residents and educators raise concerns after gasoline odors were reported near a brownfield cleanup site planned for a new charter school.
Birds of Sunset Park: We need to talk about Red-tailed Hawks
Sunset Park birder Nick Dawson explains why the neighborhood’s abundant and photogenic Red-tailed Hawks never lose their appeal.
Green-Wood marks Juneteenth with tour of Black history
A Juneteenth tour at Green-Wood explored the lives of prominent Black New Yorkers and the history of the Freedom Lots.
CB7 criticizes DOT and opposes school at contaminated gas station site
CB7 criticized DOT truck-route changes, backed two street co-namings and opposed a charter school at a contaminated former gas station.
How death education inspires Green-Wood’s newest burial option
Green-Wood Cemetery prepares to add terramation to its green memorialization options as its death education programs encourage conversations about death and dyi
Still Here: Milkweed, food fit for monarchs
Common milkweed feeds monarch caterpillars, shelters insects and keeps returning in Sunset Park, even where mowers and asphalt get in the way.
Slightly Sooty Salad: Pine is a friend of mine
Green pine cones, sugar and patience turn into a sticky syrup for lemonade, drinks and more.
Birds of Sunset Park: The party’s over … let’s go explore!
After spring migration ends, Nick Dawson explores summer birding in New York City’s wilder parks, marshes and beaches.
Birders spot variety of species during first walk co-hosted by local publications
The Sunset Post and Sunset Park Sun co-hosted a birding walk at Bush Terminal Park, drawing new and experienced birders.
CB7 backs Pier 6 signs, discusses shelter and zoning concerns
CB7 discussed Pier 6 signs, Third Avenue safety, Brooklyn Army Terminal parking, a 25th Street shelter and a new rezoning plan.
Sunset Park Cats addresses feline overpopulation
Sunset Park Cats uses trap-neuter-return, fostering and adoptions to address feline overpopulation in neighborhood backyards and streets.
Empire Wind begins assembling massive offshore turbines
A ship carrying Empire Wind turbine blades arrives at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, marking a new phase for offshore wind in Sunset Park.
High winds and model sailboats bring boating basics to Bush Terminal
Families tried model sailboats at Bush Terminal Park as Blue Horizon Sailing works toward a larger waterfront presence.
Spring migration comes alive in Bush Terminal’s woodlands
Nick Dawson’s Wednesday bird walks reveal Bush Terminal Park as a spring stopover for warblers, vireos, sparrows and kingfishers.
Beekeeper cares for 22 hives inside Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood’s beekeeper explains how 22 hives and hundreds of thousands of honey bees support pollination and conservation.
UPROSE celebrates cooperative solar project going online
UPROSE celebrated a community solar project at Brooklyn Army Terminal that will offer local subscribers projected electric bill savings.
Slightly Sooty Salad: Meet a new plate mate
A spring encounter with edible elm samaras opens a new way of seeing neighborhood trees, parks and possibility.
Still Here: No shrinking violet
Wild violets bring color, food and ecological memory to Brooklyn, from pollinators and ants to pavement cracks and playgrounds.
Climate jobs, small businesses and historic districts shape debate over change
Sunset Park’s waterfront debate continues as GRID 2.0, BATWorks, solar power and Industry City shape competing visions for the neighborhood.
Birds of Sunset Park: The rite of spring migration
Spring migration is peak birding season in Brooklyn, when warblers, tanagers and millions of other birds pass through New York City.
After more than a decade, the Green-House welcomes visitors
Green-Wood’s restored 1895 greenhouse opens as a visitor center for exhibits, classes, research and public programs.
Rundown of the CB7 General Board Meeting
A quick rundown of what Community Board 7 discussed on April 15, from the Green-Wood greenway and IBX to St. Rocco’s and street tree care.
Hidden waterways help explain the surge in potholes
A surge in potholes across New York City may be tied not just to weather, but to hidden waterways and the hydrological history beneath Sunset Park.
Native Plants: The matriarch of Sunset Park
A towering American elm known as the Grandmother Tree connects Sunset Park’s present to its buried streams, harbor past and living canopy.
Slightly Sooty Salad: First taste of spring
A late-March walk through Green-Wood Cemetery offers a first taste of spring, from yarrow and wild garlic to a glimpse of an American woodcock.
Shop owners describe rising costs, street pressures and why flowers still matter
Sunset Park florists share spring traditions, flower symbolism, and how rising costs and street pressures shape their work.
Join a union, assemble a wind turbine
At Windscape, union leaders, nonprofits and offshore wind workers introduced Sunset Park residents to training and job opportunities tied to Empire Wind.
Parks officials give updates on recreation center access and playground work
Community Board 7 heard updates on the delayed rec center reopening, playground upgrades, accessibility concerns, and Green-Wood’s new Green-House.
Sunset Park Birds: My Eureka Moment with a Brown Thrasher
A Brown Thrasher sighting in Sunset Park helped one birder realize that even a small neighborhood park can hold unexpected surprises.
Residents voice opposition to proposed NineDot Energy battery facility near homes and schools
A proposed NineDot Energy battery storage site near Brooklyn’s Eighth Avenue Chinatown is drawing opposition from residents worried about safety.
Five-alarm blaze tears through industrial buildings on Sunset Park waterfront
A five-alarm fire tore through industrial buildings on Sunset Park’s waterfront, injuring two firefighters and drawing a massive FDNY response.
The Birds of Sunset Park: The Big Chill
After NYC’s deep freeze, a birder spots Horned Larks at Bush Terminal Park and reflects on how extreme cold and snow reshape bird life.
Native plants: sunflower power
At Bush Terminal Park’s community garden, a sunflower shaded young elderberries, fed pollinators and birds, and still stands in winter as seeds promise summer.
Free screening of Emergent City at CB7 on March 4
Kelly Anderson’s Emergent City follows Sunset Park’s seven-year fight over Industry City’s rezoning. Free screening March 4 at CB7.
Volunteers from around NYC dedicate time to Sunset Park tree care
NYU and Brooklyn Tech volunteers joined Big Reuse to clean, aerate, and mulch 11 street tree beds along 2nd Avenue in Sunset Park.
Sooty Salad Sets Sail
A family trip through Kerala and beyond brings unexpected foraging, from wood sorrel to wild passion fruit, plus close encounters with flying foxes.
Laundromats, deliveries, and shovels: Everyday life continues in the storm
A major snowstorm dropped 8 to 15 inches across NYC as Sunset Park residents shopped, worked, and cleared sidewalks on Jan. 25, 2026.
Hundreds of New Yorkers return to work at SBMT
A judge lifts the Empire Wind stop-work order, restarting construction and jobs tied to SBMT in Sunset Park.
UPROSE and NYCEDC see different way forward
UPROSE and NYCEDC clash over BATWorks vs. Grid 2.0, debating who benefits from climate tech development at Brooklyn Army Terminal.
Defrosting last summer’s tart gifts
At Floyd Bennett Field, autumn olive berries turn a fall forage into a sweet-tart winter treat, from freezer to fruit leather.
Trash piles up at Sunset Park entrance at 44th Street and Sixth Avenue
Neighbors say trash keeps piling up at the 44th Street and Sixth Avenue entrance to Sunset Park, bringing odors and calls for better cleanup.
Still growing here: A pearly plant that grows near oysters
At Bush Terminal’s shoreline, sweet everlasting’s pearly winter blooms and syrupy scent offer a glimpse of Brooklyn before colonization.
Birds of Sunset Park: Swainson’s Hawk, surprise visitor to Sunset Park
A rare Swainson’s Hawk turned up near Industry City, drew birders to Sims, and returned for repeat winter visits.
Rec Center construction leaves void in community
Sunset Park’s rec center has been closed since September 2023. Residents say the long renovation leaves few places to gather, exercise, and swim.
Birds of Sunset Park: “Weird Duck Time” at Bush Terminal
Winter brings “weird duck time” to Bush Terminal Park, where diving ducks and cold-weather surprises reward birders willing to brave the wind.
Slightly Sooty Salad: Tracking elusive persimmon thumbprint
A Greenwood Cemetery persimmon haul becomes puree, persimmon butter, and thumbprint cookies, plus a reflection on wayfinding and song.
Still growing here: For winter, do as the plants do and rest
Winter is for rest, but native plants store energy and set seed. A quick guide to winter sowing natives in milk jugs for spring.
Artists showcase Green-Wood Cemetery’s Monk Parakeets
Artists Shanzhai Lyric wrap a Green-Wood residency on the cemetery’s monk parakeets, exploring imitation, language, and migration.
Snowfall brings thrillseekers and FDNY to park’s south hill
The season’s first real snow sent kids to Sunset Park’s steep sledding hill, as parents watched ramps rise and winter stress melt into play.
She creeps, she climbs, she stuns and she won’t budge
Virginia creeper transforms bare walls into fuchsia boas, feeds winter birds with inedible berries, and digs in so deeply that even gardeners can't move her.
Birds of Sunset Park: Welcome to rarity season
A look at Sunset Park’s rarity season, when vagrant birds appear in unusual places and birders scour the neighborhood for unexpected visitors.
A Slightly Sooty Salad: Foraging is even better with friends
A neighbor shares how a simple moment in Sunset Park led to family foraging adventures and homemade hawthorn jelly.
PlantxChange connects mental health and ecology through gardening in Sunset Park
PlantxChange brings neighbors together in Sunset Park to care for trees and connect mental health with ecology.
White snakeroot: A plant to show us what’s missing and help us mourn what’s gone
A Sunset Park gardener reflects on white snakeroot, the wildflowers that grow from cracks, and the loss of her neighbor Jody.
A Slightly Sooty Salad:Toasted Acorn Stardust Crust
A home cook turns inspiration from Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower into a cozy fall experiment: acorn milk and an acorn crust galette.
Birds of Sunset Park: November is “Timberdoodle” Time
A birder recounts his encounters with the elusive and endearing American Woodcock in Sunset Park, a bird as strange as it is charming.
Not Prim and Not a Rose — It’s the Evening Primrose
Evening primrose thrives in poor soil and sidewalk cracks, feeding birds, pollinators, and people with roots, leaves, and seeds.
The power of the mighty oak acorn
A guide to foraging and processing acorns for flour — plus a reflection on scavenging everyday energy from the overlooked debris of city life.
Taina Asili brings Fever Pitch to UPROSE in celebration of Climate Justice Week
Singer and activist Taina Asili closed her 155-mile Fever Pitch Pilgrimage with a powerful performance at UPROSE, celebrating intergenerational climate justice.
Birds of Sunset Park: October is for Lincoln’s Sparrows
October is sparrow season in Sunset Park — learn how to spot a Lincoln’s Sparrow, tell it apart from a Song Sparrow, and join local birders this fall.
Blue Horizon sets course to bring sailing to Sunset Park
Blue Horizon’s first sailing day drew 62 people to Gowanus Bay. Next year, Sunset Park kids could join after-school and summer sailing programs.
The future of SBMT unveiled at learning center launch in Sunset Park
WindScape Brooklyn opens in Industry City, linking Sunset Park students to offshore wind jobs, hands-on exhibits, and Empire Wind’s construction.
Stay dry, Sunset Park! NYC DEP hosts flood preparedness workshop
DEP hosted a flood preparedness town hall in Sunset Park, distributing kits, highlighting flood risks, and focusing on vulnerable, low-lying households.
Cemetery offers tart reward for foragers who know what to look for
A Sunset Park family turns foraged chokeberries into lemonade and syrup, finding tart, antioxidant-rich rewards in an overlooked city fruit.
Native plant fights invasive mugwort to reclaim Bush Terminal Park
Hemp dogbane scents summer and thrives in empty lots, too toxic for monarchs yet vital to a few specialists, and long used by Native Americans for fiber.
Sunset Park Solar generates climate justice
UPROSE and partners launch community solar at Brooklyn Army Terminal, giving Sunset Park subscribers bill credits, 15% savings, and a community fund.
Black-throated Green Warbler marks September migration in Sunset Park
Sunset Park birder Nick Dawson introduces his column with the Black-throated Green Warbler, a September highlight of fall migration.
Developers break ground on Pier 6 to expand green space at Bush Terminal
NYCEDC breaks ground on Pier 6 to add five acres of public space at Bush Terminal Park, with places to walk, rest, gather, and learn.
Paddlers take to Bush Terminal Park as plans for community boathouse move forward
Over 130 people kayaked at Bush Terminal Park. Volunteers hope to make access permanent with a proposed boathouse for year-round programming.
Our Native Flora: You Don’t Know Jack
Jack-in-the-pulpit is a native flower thriving in Sunset Park tree pits, recalling the hidden creeks and forests of pre-colonial Brooklyn.
As Temperatures Rise, Sunset Park Fountains Go Dry
Most Sunset Park fountains were shut down due to construction, surprising workers and residents during the first hot days of June.
Local moviemaker finds her wings
Filmmaker Heather von Rohr on motherhood, birdwatching, neurodiversity, and her return to directing with a new feature set in NYC's green spaces.
Despite challenges native plants persist
Native plants like the swamp rose mallow persist in unexpected places in Sunset Park, revealing glimpses of the area’s pre-colonial ecosystems.
Sunset Park offers free food for the picking
Discover the joy of urban foraging in Sunset Park, exploring wild edible plants, connecting with nature, and sharing memorable experiences with family.