marlboro uncorked
Marlboro Houses in Gravesend, Brooklyn was built over a filled section of Coney Island Creek; during storms water still follows the low-lying corridors of the historic marsh, leaving green spaces flooded and unusable by residents.
So we asked: how can we restore this landscape and help it function more like that marsh again?
Across the site’s more than 7,200 square feet, resilient native plantings, small rain gardens, and pollinator plantings join a fast-establishing seed mix of Canada wildrye, buckwheat, partridge pea, black-eyed Susan, plains coreopsis, and alsike clover. Together they extend habitat, strengthen living soils, and let the landscape work with water instead of against it.
Winding through it all, a soft, permeable Corkeen path made from roughly 450,000 recycled corks, many collected from NYC restaurants, links custom playable artworks by The Urban Conga, inviting residents of all ages to climb, gather, play, rest, and more.
PHOTOS COURTESY JAKE SALYERS & TAMEEK WILLIAMS