Urbanites are on a mission to have local, organically grown food, which in turn has led us to a growing interest in Urban Farming and the greening of our rooftops. With this, a growing interest in beekeeping and organically grown honey. In a hard-fought battle to legalize urban hives, the Board of Health voted to lift the ban in 2010, and today we have beehives in backyards and rooftops, some in amazing and surprising locations. For National Honey Bee Day on August 15th (also listed as August 22nd), we thought we’re bringing you 10 of our favorite hives and festivals in NYC.

1. Green-Wood Cemetery

Photo by Amy Grumbling, courtesy Green-Wood Cemetery

As of past April 2015, Green–Wood Cemetery has sold their honey, called The Sweet Hereafter, in the gift shop to help preserve the Green-Wood historic fund. For 2019, the cemetery is expanding the beehives and launching programs for “casual bee and honey fans, as well as serious workshops and classes to get aspiring beekeepers ready to tend their own beehives.”