A bright yellow sunflower on a sunny, clear day with a soil-based farm and a big water tower in the background.

Brooklyn Navy Yard: Urban Ecology Tour

Explore agriculture, aquaculture, and green space in the midst a thriving urban industrial park on this guided bicycle tour of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Tour Highlights

  • 2-hour guided bicycle tour with frequent stops to explore sites more closely
  • Visit the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm and learn about green roof systems and urban farming
  • Explore the Naval Cemetery Landscape, a unique urban green space on the Brooklyn Greenway
  • All participants must provide their own bicycles
  • Offered one Sunday per month, May–October, 10:30am
  • Bicycle tour
  • Tour starts at Brooklyn Navy Yard Building 77
  • Private Group Tours available
  • Tours support Brooklyn Navy Yard Exhibits & Programs

Discover the natural world in the midst a thriving urban industrial park on this 2-hour tour of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where we will explore New York City’s waterways, terrestrial ecosystems and urban farms. The highlight of the tour is the stunning 65,000-square-foot Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm, where we will learn how they produce thousands of pounds of vegetables annually and are a national leader in the development of rooftop and urban farming techniques. From the rooftop, we’ll also have amazing views of the Yard, including an extensive green rooftop and one of the largest rooftop solar installations in New York City.

Descending to the bank of the East River, we will visit an oyster restoration project led by students from the New York Harbor School and will discuss the improving health of the city’s waterways, and the challenges that remain. We will also explore planned and unplanned natural landscapes of the Yard, including the landscape architecture surrounding BLDG 92, identifying native and exotic plant species along the way. Finally, we will the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative‘s Naval Cemetery Landscape, a meadow designed to restore the natural habitat, provide a space for environmental education, and commemorate the thousands of sailors, marines, and others once interred at the site. This tour will reveal that the natural world truly is all around us, even in the heart of the city.

Tour Information

Admission

Public Tours

  • General Admission: $25 per person
  • Seniors (65+): $22.50
  • Students and Veterans: $22.50
  • Children (5-12): $12.50
  • Children under 5 are welcome to attend free
  • Advance ticket purchase is required

Private tours are available seven days a week, depending on availability. Pricing for private tours is based on a minimum occupancy of 10 guests, and a gratuity of 8.5% is added to all private tour bookings.

All participants must provide their own bicycles, and we strongly recommend that all participants wear safety helmets during the tour. Visit our FAQ Page for information on bicycle rentals.

Getting a Bicycle

All participants must provide their own bicycle. All participants under the age of 16 are required to wear a bicycle helmet, and all others are strongly encouraged to do so.

If you plan to rent a bicycle for the tour, make sure to set up your rental in advance. We recommend the following bicycle rental shops:

Citi Bike stations are located nearby the Brooklyn Navy Yard. If you plan to use Citi Bike for a Brooklyn Navy Yard Bicycle Tour, please note the following:

  • Check the station map before arriving. There are several Citi Bike stations located nearby the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but we cannot guarantee the availability of bikes or free docking spaces.
  • You will incur additional charges. Citi Bike was designed for short trips, so annual Citi Bike members can use the bikes for up to 45 minutes at a time with no additional charge, while daily or weekly pass holders are limited to 30-minute rides. Additional charges can add up (check the Citi Bike pricing page for more details), and we cannot pause or divert the tour so that can swap out your bike at a station partway through the tour. Because the first hour of our Urban Ecology Tour is on foot, you will only need to use a Citi Bike for one hour, so the fees will likely be less. Participants on all other Bicycle Tours will need a bicycle for the full two hours.
  • If you’re not a Citi Bike member, please arrive early and have you day passes ready before the tour starts. Turnstile Tours staff members will not be available before the tour to help you with the Citi Bike kiosks, so plan on arriving early if you are unfamiliar with the system.
  • Turnstile Tours cannot be held responsible for the availability of Citi Bikes, for open docks to return bicycles, nor for any additional fees that riders incur.
  • We strongly recommend that you wear a safety helmet while on the tour, which Citi Bike does not provide.

Directions

Tours begin and end at the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Building 77, located at 141 Flushing Ave, at the corner of Flushing Ave and Vanderbilt Ave in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn. Click here for Google Maps directions or view our neighborhood map.

SUBWAY: The nearest subway stations are at York St (F)High St-Brooklyn Bridge (A,C), and Clinton-Washington Av (G), and each is about a 15-minute walk from Building 77. These are NOT wheelchair-accessible stations; the nearest is DeKalb Ave (B,Q,R), which is slightly farther than the other stations. View our map for walking directions from each of these stations, and visit mta.info for maps and service alerts.

FERRY: NYC Ferry provides service directly to the Brooklyn Navy Yard on the Astoria Route, with a non-stop connection from Wall St-Pier 11 and East 34th St. When you disembark, follow signs to Building 77. NYC Ferry does not accept MetroCards or OMNY. All ferries are wheelchair accessible. Visit ferry.nyc for schedules and info and download the NYC Ferry app.

BUS: The B57 and B69 travel along Flushing Ave and stop at Building 77. You may also take the B62, which stops on Park Ave, one block south of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. All NYC MTA buses are wheelchair accessible, and all accept OMNY with a contactless bank card or smartphone. If traveling by bus, be sure to allow plenty of extra time for your trip, as weekend schedules can be unreliable (visit mta.info for maps and service alerts). Do not take the B67, as this will take your through the Yard, but you will not be able to get off inside the Yard.

DRIVING & PARKING: The Brooklyn Navy Yard is easily accessible from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278), either via the exits for Tillary St (exit 29B), Flushing Ave (exit 30 eastbound), or Wythe Ave/Kent Ave (exit 31 westbound). On the weekends, it is usually not difficult to find street parking in the immediate vicinity of the Yard. There is also a free public parking lot one block south of the yard on Park Ave, underneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Parking within the gates of the Brooklyn Navy Yard is only available for drivers with an accessible parking sticker – please contact us for directions to the accessible parking.

BICYCLE: There is a bicycle lane along Flushing Ave, and Building 77 offers plenty of racks to park your bike. If you would like to use a Citi Bike, there is a station at Building 77, and stations in close proximity to the York St, High St-Brooklyn Bridge, and Clinton-Washington subway stations.

IMPORTANT TIPS:

  • If using a GPS or mobile app to reach Building 77, enter “141 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn.”  Do not enter “63 Flushing Ave” or “Brooklyn Navy Yard” – this is the address for the entire 300-acre Navy Yard, and it will not bring you to the correct location.
  • The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a secure industrial park. Do not attempt to enter the Yard through any entrances other than Building 77, as you will be turned away.
  • The Brooklyn Navy Yard shuttle runs on weekdays only, and it is not available to the public

Accessibility

We strive to lead the tour over a physically accessible route, but due to construction, weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, we may encounter uneven paths, obstructions, or steep inclines along the tour route. If you do use a wheelchair or have any other accessibility need, please contact us directly and/or include this information when booking, so that we can offer a fully accessible experience.

Please visit our Accessibility Page for the most up-to-date information on all access accommodations.

Private Tours

Please contact us for more details on booking a private tour or visit our Group Tours page. Private tours can be offered seven days a week, subject to availability.

About Brooklyn Navy Yard

From 1801 to 1966, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was a federally-owned naval shipbuilding and repair facility. After it was decommissioned by the US Navy, it was sold to the City of New York, and it has operated as an industrial park ever since. Today, the Yard is owned by the City of New York and operated by the non-profit Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. It is home to more than 450 businesses that employ 11,000+ people in industry, manufacturing, technology, and creative fields. There is no longer any shipbuilding at the Yard, but there is a thriving commercial ship repair operation, and most of the cranes you see towering over the yard are in fact operational and frequently in use.

Visit our Frequently Asked Question page for more information.

Still have any questions?
Please don’t hesitate to reach out.