The results are in, and Crown Heights has won the crown — again.
Lincoln Place between New York and Nostrand avenues is officially the “greenest block” in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the borough president’s office announced on Tuesday. The block and its residents have now won the competition several times since 2019, including a “socially distant” version during the pandemic.
Giant green elephant ears, bright pink and green caladiums, and luscious ferns are among the block’s flora. A gardening committee called Preserving Lincoln’s Abundant Natural Treasures, or PLANT, helps maintain the greenery and mentors groups about horticulture and tree care.
Next-door neighbors Althea Joseph and Perri Edwards cofounded the group in 2019 and said they spend hours working daily to keep the plants healthy and green. Gardening is a way to connect with their neighbors and honor their mothers, who were also gardeners, they said.
“There’s so many [plants] you have to water almost every day, you have to water for hours,” said Edwards. “We start out here sometimes at five and we finish about two in the afternoon.”
Residents joined elected officials and staff from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the announcement on Tuesday morning. More than 100 blocks across the borough entered the contest, which has been held for almost 30 years as a means of promoting greener streets and community bonds.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said leafy blocks like the one on Lincoln Place bring more benefits to communities than just beauty; they also support human health.
“In areas like this, the heat index is significantly lower than areas like, let’s say Brownsville,” Reynoso said. “When you come to a neighborhood like this and you see the work that’s being done not only to make the block green and be good to the environment but we’re being good to each other, we’re building an environment [where] if you have those health complications, they’re less triggered or less problematic.”
The winners were chosen by an expert panel including staff from the botanic garden as well as local horticulturalists and reporters. The victorious blocks receive cash prizes and certificates that can be displayed on their blocks.
“The pride we have is really from seeing a lot of people come on the block and the interest they have in what we do,” Joseph said. “Perri and I, we feel like bartenders or psychologists, and the block feels like a museum. There’s always chitter-chatter outside, there’s always groups of people wanting to know what we do and how it’s done.”
The cofounders’ front yards are among the most impressive on the block. Edwards’ is overflowing with greenery, much of it sprouting out of upcycled objects like a clawfoot tub or an antique stove.
Eastern Parkway between Bedford and Franklin avenues, which is also in Crown Heights, came in second place in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens contest, while Ridge Boulevard between 71st Street and Ovington Avenue in Bay Ridge came in third.
Other honorees included Park Slope’s Muse Cafe, which won “greenest storefront,” and Bed-Stuy’s Green Acres Community Garden, which won “best community garden streetscape.”
Among this year’s new award categories were “rookie of the year,” which went to Agate Court in Bed-Stuy and honored new entrants, and “media darling,” which went to Eastern Parkway between Bedford and Franklin avenues and was selected by judges from the press.
Jackie Bolling, who had never gardened before deciding to enter her block for the contest, led the push to make Agate Court, a dead-end block off Atlantic Avenue, greener.
“We were so excited, because we put in a lot of work of course,” Bolling said. “I have one of the best tree beds now on the block because once I get excited about something it’s all over with.”
Special weight was given to plants that support native insect pollinators, in honor of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s 2024 theme, “Natural Attractions,” according to the contest’s organizers. The contest is open to all residential and commercial blocks and community gardens in Brooklyn.