Rain Garden Action In Neighborhoods
Bronx River Alliance | Gowanus Canal Conservancy | Green City Force | Guardians of Flushing Bay | The HOPE Program | Newtown Creek Alliance
Definitions of Key Terms
NYC’s 2010 Green Infrastructure Plan
The Plan that kicked it all off! Published by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, this plan established NYC’s vision, goals, and milestones for developing green infrastructure.
NYC Independent Budget Office Report “Rain Drops Keep Falling on NY: Potential Implications of a Stormwater Fee in NYC,” Dec. 2023
IBO examined the potential implications of stormwater fees if applied to New York City. The report finds that “revenue potential greatly varies depending on how the stormwater fee is set. IBO’s revenue estimates range from $266 million to $892 million per year, derived by applying the peer city stormwater rates to properties in New York City.
Combined sewer overflows
NYC Department of Environmental Protection
Key Resources for NYC Green Infrastructure
NYC’s Green Infrastructure Maintenance Manual
Published by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection in 2019, this manual lays out NYC’s approach to maintenance, including how volunteers can get involved.
Building an Equitably Green NYC
Riverkeeper, 2022
Urban heat island effect
NYC Department of Environmental Protection
NYC Interactive Map of Green Infrastructure Projects
A very information-rich map of all of the green infrastructure features built by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection since 2010.
Resources for Native Plants
Gowanus Canal Conservancy’s Plant List of the 6th St Green Corridor
Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s List of Native Plants for NYC Rain Gardens
You can buy native plants through our partners!
Gowanus Canal Conservancy’s Lowland Nursery
Newtown Creek Alliance’s Native Nursery
Green infrastructure
US Department of Environmental Protection
Rain garden
NYC Department of Environmental Protection
NYC’s 2022 Annual Report on Green Infrastructure
NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s most recent progress report on green infrastructure implementation.
Audit Report on the Department of Environmental Protection’s Maintenance of Rain Gardens
Published by NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, December 2019.
Key Partner Reports
Toward a Rainproof NYC
By Rebuild by Design and One Architecture, July 2022.
Just Transition
United Nations Development Programme, November 2022
Your Rain Garden Stewards’ Picks: Favorite Native Plants
Lovingly stewarded by Gus in the Newtown Creek watershed.
Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
Pycnanthemum muticum forms dense stands of silvery-green leaves that give way to button-like blooms, each crowned with a delicate ring of pale pink flowers. When crushed, the leaves have a wonderful minty aroma—a welcome interlude from other smells I've encountered in city gardening!
This soft-stemmed perennial is also a pollinator favorite, with continuous bee activity long throughout the growing season.