Brooklyn, NY – In a celebration of community-led sustainable initiatives, Aubrey Kellman, Brooklyn Community Manager for National Grid New York, joined Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Adrian Benepe, President of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, to announce the winners of the annual Greenest Block in Brooklyn competition, featuring the “National Grid Leadership in Sustainable Practices Award” which was presented to the Maple Street Community Garden.

National Grid is a major sponsor of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s (BBG) Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest and has sponsored the National Grid Leadership in Sustainable Practices Award since 2013, underscoring the company’s commitment to fostering sustainable and equitable communities.

“National Grid’s involvement in the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest is one of the most rewarding aspects of our enduring partnership with Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s outstanding and impactful community greening programs,” Kellman said.

The National Grid Leadership in Sustainable Practices award honors blocks or community gardens demonstrating exceptional dedication to the perpetuation of ecological practices for neighbors and engaging and educating the surrounding community. Criteria for the award includes public engagement, innovation, energy/resource saving measures, ecological sustainability, and community organization. Practices such as sub-irrigated planters, rainwater capture systems, upcycling materials, companion planting, and community composting are evaluated.

For 2024, the Maple Street Community Garden, located at 237 Maple St. between Rogers  and Nostrand avenues in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood, was recognized as the winner amongst four finalists in the category. Their ingenuity in the use of solar panels to offset power consumption for charging power tools, cooking appliances for Fresh Food Box demonstrations and lights and the implementation of drip-irrigation throughout the garden were key factors in their selection as this years’ winner. Arlene Roberts, program manager for Maple Street’s Fresh Food Box program said “We are exploring various models for sustainability -- sustainability means access to healthy produce, with an emphasis on food insecurity within our communities.” The Maple Street Fresh Food Box Program distributes fresh produce sourced from local farms each week at the garden site.

About National Grid

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future — transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.