By Blakely Blackford
On a desolate block of Flatbush Avenue in downtown Brooklyn, you’d never guess there’s a farm nearby, much less 60 feet away. 60 feet up, that is – atop the building that Green Spaces, an organization providing workspace for green entrepreneurs, calls home.
Green Spaces’ fifth-floor home is designed to encourage the development of green businesses and progressive ideas. Roberto Rhett, the 20-something director, greeted me at the top of the stairs welcoming me to the gigantic floor-through officespace which is remarkably homelike. Even as the sun was fading, a wall of tall windows filled the front area with natural light. We wove through tables and desks, each with character and file cabinets, as Rhett switched off stray desk lamps. He paused to show me a retro ‘40s seat that transforms into a table with a flip of a hinge.
"The building's owner collects different pieces of furniture," says Rhett. "Well, furniture and people." For $475 a month, an entrepreneur or budding organization can secure 24/7 private desk space, along with a mailing address, a pool of interns, a network of likeminded innovators, and even free coffee from Green Spaces renter Crop to Cup. There's also a public workspace option for $250.
Beyond the conference room, a chef's kitchen with a marble slab island awaits gourmet-minded greenies. Here 12-ounce bags of Early Bird granola are prepared for shipping and the aroma of Ugandan coffee, which is bagged nearby, surely perfumes the jeans of the neighboring Denim Therapy, a company that uses its Green Spaces hub to repair and renew clients' ripped favorites.
Rhett, a former financial consultant with a degree in economics, works with the tenants of Green Spaces to kindle entrepreneurial drive. “We hold monthly workshops to educate and assist our clients with common pitfalls in starting their own business.” From giving advice to providing the elbowroom to tinker, Green Spaces is truly a supportive environment, no matter the size of the operation. Rhett explains that “the open floor plan design allows for socializing, communal problem-solving and brainstorming.” Indeed, almost 30 green or otherwise socially responsible businesses have taken root at Green Spaces. And there’s plenty of room for more, both in Brooklyn and on a larger scale. “We would like to see a national expansion of Green Spaces to create a broad network of entrepreneurs who can leverage each other, their contacts and experience to become more successful.”
While growing the organization, Rhett also grows tomatoes, basil, squash and wildflowers, to name a few current residents of a truly green space, the rooftop farm. Compost barrels stand at the ready to fertilize the soil. Collaborating with Green Spaces-based Alive Structures, Rhett plans to raise chickens as well.
But our discussion turns from birds to bees. "In a beehive, when there is a swarm, the bees have been active and creative enough to support another queen." Green Spaces, a swarm of creative minds, is a hive for progressive initiatives. With enough activity, individual ventures might set out on their own. But here, the collective buzz is hard to ignore.
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About the Author
Blakely Blackford is a writer who focuses on what people create, from high-rise buildings to low-priced menus. She believes that the challenge to go green, when tackled, invigorates any design.
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