Look out, Vanderveer Place, Sterling Place has already started sprucing up for the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest.
Yes, applications aren’t even due until June 1, but the borough’s annual gardening competition — and (Vulcan-colored) blood sport — is on.
In the latest example of how the annual Botanic Garden competition is getting as serious as the NBA playoffs, a throng of devoted neighbors braved the pouring rain on Saturday to install a six-foot planter made of scrap metal — and fill it with pansies, kana flowers and a sign that reads, “Keep it clean; don’t be mean.”
The green-thumbed residents of the block between Seventh and Flatbush avenues have already earned an “honorable mention” award for the “greenest” residential block — but are now gearing up to outdo last year’s champ, Vanderveer Place between Flatbush Avenue and East 23rd Street in Flatbush.
“We have big aspirations,” said Stephen Gilroy, the block association president. “It’s a growing movement, like a rolling snowball, it’s getting bigger and bigger.”
To enter the contest, visit www.bbg.org/greenbridge/greenestblock and fill out the application by June 1. Winners will be announced in August and first place receives $300 — and the admiration of an entire borough.
