NEW YORK — For 40 years, the rooftop of the Hargrave House has been closed to tenants, its views of Central Park and the neighborhood's mosaic of buildings unappreciated by the low- to middle-income seniors who live there.
But an infusion of city funding help usher in a new purpose for the roof at West 71st Street and Columbus Avenue: a rooftop farm that recently yielded a bounty of vegetables.
A hydroponic farming system now sits atop Hargrave House's 13th-floor rooftop, and at the height of the summer it produced 700 vegetable plants, said David Gillcrist, executive director of Project Find, the nonprofit that runs the senior residence and farm.
Project Find received $28,500 from the Department for the Aging for the farm's construction this spring, as well as for classes that taught seniors how to tend the vegetables and cook with them, said Gillcrist. The nonprofit paid the other $9,500 needed for the farm out of its own budget.
A group of roughly a dozen devoted seniors in their 60s, 70s and 80s became the farm's caretakers, harvesting the plants throughout the growing season and into the fall.
"There's a great satisfaction in working with your hands," and the seniors "take a lot of pride in it," Gillcrist explained.
Back in June, germinated seeds were placed into plastic trays that staff members assembled with the guidance of Boswyck Farms, which specializes in hydroponic farming.
The rows of 3-foot high trays sitting atop legs made of PVC pipes are connected to an irrigation system that delivers nutrient-rich water so they can flourish without soil.
A natural with the tomato crop, Ruth Ku, 69, said she loved tending to the farm. It was a chance to engage in the issues of the day — caring for the earth, healthy eating — and also get involved in