Gotham Greens

History

Gotham Greens was founded by Viraj Puri and Eric Haley in 2008, aiming to bring fresh, local and pesticide-free vegetables, grown using ecologically sustainable methods, to urban areas. Puri has a sustainable development and environmental engineering background, and Haley has a banking and finance background and focuses on the business side of the venture. The company is headed by Puri, Haley and Jennifer Nelkin-Frymark, who joined in 2009 to lead greenhouse operations.

After three years of planning, in May 2011 Gotham Greens opened its first location, a 15,000 square-foot greenhouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The company opened its second location in 2013, a 20,000 square-foot greenhouse, atop a Whole Foods Market in Gowanus, Brooklyn; its third in 2015, a 75,000 square foot greenhouse in Chicago, Illinois, the largest rooftop greenhouse in the world; and its fourth location, a 60,000 square-foot greenhouse in Queens, New York, in late 2015. Its produce is packaged and sold in local stores under the Gotham Greens brand name, and also sold to local restaurants.

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY

The 15,000 square-foot rooftop facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, opened in 2011, becoming the first commercial urban hydroponic farm in the United States. It was built on the roof of a former bowling alley. The company harvested its first vegetables in May 2011, which it began selling the following month. Within a year, it was on track to deliver 100 tons of produce, expanding in its second year from salad greens and basil to include tomatoes.

Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY

In 2013, Gotham Greens teamed up with the grocery chain Whole Foods Market to build a 20,000 square-foot greenhouse on the roof of the new Whole Foods location in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Opened on December 18, 2013, it is the first and only supermarket in the world with a commercial rooftop farm integrated into it. The hydroponic farm, owned and operated by Gotham Greens, produces leafy greens, tomatoes and herbs, sold in the Whole Foods downstairs, delivered by elevator within hours of being picked. The produce is also distributed to other New York City Whole Foods locations, in addition to other stores and restaurants. The half-acre space produces 10 acres worth of food, or 200 tons of produce per year.

Chicago, IL

On October 7, 2014, Gotham Greens announced plans to expand to Chicago, Illinois, with a 75,000 square-foot hydroponic rooftop greenhouse, to be opened in the city's Pullman neighborhood, on the roof of personal care products company Method's building. The greenhouse opening was announced on November 19, 2015. Powered by 100% renewable energy, it produces an estimated 10 million heads of leafy greens, herbs and other vegetables per year, to be sold to local restaurants, stores and farmers' markets in Chicago. It is the world's largest rooftop farm and one of the largest commercial-scale urban farms in the world. The two-acre greenhouse produces the same crop yield as a 50-acre farm.

Hollis, Queens, NY

In 2009, Gotham Greens announced plans to start building a 12,000 square-foot hydroponic rooftop farm in Queens. The company started construction in 2014 on a 60,000 square-foot rooftop greenhouse, occupying a facility that once housed the Ideal Toy Company factory. It was opened in Hollis, Queens, in late 2015, and formally announced by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2016. The project will grow over 5 million heads of leafy greens annually.

Farming process

Gotham Greens produce is grown in greenhouse facilities using hydroponic techniques, renewable energy, and water conservation techniques. The greenhouse facilities use automated climate control systems run from computer rooms adjacent to the greenhouse, which maintains an ideal climate for the greenhouse through the use of sun shades, vents, lights, heaters and fans. The enclosed greenhouse protects against inclement weather, allowing the company to grow food year-round, and helps control pest infestation. The company uses organic, non-GMO seeds and beneficial insects, such as ladybugs or bumblebees, so that when a crop-eating bug is found, its natural enemy is unleashed.

Gotham Greens states that its water-efficient hydroponic farming process uses 10 times less water and 20 times less land than traditional soil-based agriculture, and offers higher and more consistent crop yields. Without soil, there is no fertilizer or pesticide runoff, helping to leave a minimal environmental impact. Some have said hydroponic farming costs more than conventional farming.

Products

The company's first harvest was in June 2011, resulting in five types of packaged salad greens and herbs, with butterhead lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce and basil. Later harvests included tomatoes, baby kale, arugula, bok choy and Swiss chard. The produce is pesticide-free but is not certified organic. The company focuses on growing highly perishable crops that are typically shipped from the farthest distances to urban areas.

Honors and awards

Gotham Greens won the grand prize in New York's 2009 Green Business Competition. Business Insider named the company one of the 50 Coolest New Business in America in 2014. That year, Gotham Greens received a "Best" rating from Whole Foods Market's Responsibly Grown Rating System, which takes into accounts a variety of farming practices. In April 2014, Maria Vargas, senior program advisor of the US Department of Energy, praised the company's environmentally conscious energy-saving strategies.