5. Riker’s Island Greenhouse

Image via Wikimedia: U.S. Geological Survey

On the East River, between Queens and Bronx, sits the foreboding and unforgiving Rikers Island. Serving as New York City’s main jail complex for over 80 years, Rikers Island hosts an average daily population of 7,600 inmates—some serving short sentences, some awaiting hearing and unable to pay bail, and some waiting out detention while undergoing their trial; yet, this island is also home to an urban farm that we previously covered.

Run by the Horticultural Society of New York since 1996, the GreenHouse Program offers vocational training and horticultural therapy for inmates within their greenhouse facility. Here, inmates are able to spend time raising plants, learning gardening skills, and fulfilling the GreenHouse programs’ goal to create a meaningful connection between people and plants. See the greenhouse here.