The Green-Wood Welcome Center
The Green-Wood Cemetery in South Brooklyn has existed since 1838—but for decades the potential of the 478 acre site as a greenspace and cultural asset has been largely overlooked. As part of a wider initiative to chart the next chapter for Green-Wood, Grain encouraged the organization to center its efforts on the residents of immediately neighboring Sunset Park—one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the city.
Through an inclusive, multicultural six-month engagement program, we focused on raising awareness of Green-Wood as an accessible amenity, understanding community barriers to engaging with the site, and building a community-led vision for a new welcome center. Grain connected with over a thousand local Sunset Park stakeholders including residents, community-based and civic organizations, and elected officials.
The results of this process were two-fold:
- A set of design and programming recommendations for Green‑Wood’s longer term presence; and
- Immediately actionable and memorable placemaking events drawing thousands of attendees.
