KELLY STREET "DOUBLE GREEN" VIDEO LAUNCH

3 MINUTE VIDEO DEMONSTRATES IMPACT OF A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP ON ONE BLOCK IN THE SOUTH BRONX

The 900 block of Kelly Street has undergone a transformation over the last three years. What had been a derelict and distressed location has been reborn with the renovation of five apartment buildings and a large garden behind four of them. With renovation started in January of 2011, the 5 Kelly Street buildings which used to be on the NYC Departments of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) list of the most distressed residential buildings in the City, are now complete and fully occupied and the garden is wrapping up its first season of operation.

The garden is result of the redevelopment team, (Workforce Housing Group (WHG), Banana Kelly CIA, Monadnock Construction and OCV Architects) working with Grow NYC to design a plan for a resident garden while absorbing and redirecting significant amounts of storm water.

The group applied for, and was awarded, a grant from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to implement the plan. Simultaneously, TD Bank awarded Banana Kelly a grant to supplement the DEP funds. The team selected Scott Landscaping to build the garden.

The residents of Kelly Street now enjoy a beautiful and productive garden. The project is "Double Green". Not only should the garden produce $43,000 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables for the benefit the families living on Kelly Street, the storm water control system is projected to divert 250,000 gallons of storm water annually from the City’s waterways.

Residents believe that the garden has helped promote the notion of community as well as provide a selection of healthy and fresh produce. The garden is one of the single most effective ways to build and grow community. This video provides a firsthand testimonial as to the benefits of the garden as well as set the standard a bit higher for what is possible in public private partnerships.