Did you know that CCNY has a rooftop garden? It is currently located on the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture building on 135th Street, and it was originally created by the CCNY architecture professor Christian Volkmann. He designed a net-zero-energy, container-style roofpod for a contest in Washington, D.C. in 2010–11, then brought it back to New York and added a small platform rooftop garden.

HSMSE students could access the garden prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; now, the goal is to finally return it to student access. On April 30, 2026, the first event aimed towards reopening CCNY’s rooftop garden will take place. During 4th and 5th period in the quad, students will help to build the planters for the garden. But anyone else is welcome to watch and support the project. Since the 2015–16 school year, Ms. Boylan has facilitated HSMSE’s partnership with CCNY through the garden. The Echo interviewed her about the project.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Yuri Cortazar: What did [HSMSE students] do in the garden?

Ms. Boylan: Our students were involved in building the garden and helping to expand it to about 800 square feet. While [CCNY Professor] Volkmann did a lot of the woodworking and the woodshop, we were there to help assemble the actual frame for all the planter modules. Students chose and planted the seeds. They were there to water the plants because we don’t have an irrigation system. Every week, we would have events … We had different tastings that brought in some of the principles of the gastronomy curriculum. For example, we had a salsa-making event; we used some of the vegetables we grew in the garden to make that. We also brought in outside organizations, like the Brotherhood Sister Sol [an education program advocating for Black and Latinx youth, with an environmental program engaged on urban farming]. We’ve even screened movies up there too. 

YC: How passionate were people about the garden?

JB: So passionate that they were staying many hours after school, Saturdays and summer hours to help build the planters, water and maintain the garden.

YC: How did the garden impact HSMSE students?

JB: Other individual [partnerships] between teachers or professors and departments [have] shown that we can have some really fantastic collaborations. [With the rooftop garden] in particular, being around the college kids really brought the best out of our already great high school kids. It was great to put them into teams and prepare things. I feel like some of [CCNY’s] older architecture students [ended] up taking up a big sibling role to some of our kids … Given that our school is specialized as well in architecture and engineering, it is just such an amazing opportunity for hands-on experience … [and] a real-world application for the things we learn in the classrooms. I think having access to the expertise of other professors here at school and seeing students in studies of advanced architecture or engineering [makes] your aspirational goals something more concrete.

YC: What happened to the rooftop garden? Why did it stop?

JB: It was really just another [result] of COVID. Everything was shut down during the time of COVID. [CCNY] did not allow students up there for some time after, and then there were some structural issues with the space as well [that] they had to [repair] … We had written a grant for the borough president’s office, [and won it], so together we had $200,000 to extend this garden and space. That money finally got used to lay out the steel dunnage system—the steel framework— [that] all of the plants sit on top of.

YC: What are the new plans for the garden?

JB: The idea of this event [on April 30] is to generate interest again and get CCNY committed in the participation and the completion of it … This was a really healthy and great partnership between MSE and CCNY, and we want to rebuild that. We would love to have a green club here, for kids to use that as an actual space. It is an amazing gathering place—there is an amphitheater up there … It’s a place to meet and hang out and we can have students working on that garden, [and understand] more [about] farming …The goal would be to have this project, get people to meet the college kids, and show that we can do this again … It would be great to show what great potential this project has. 

YC: How can the rooftop garden impact the [HSMSE and CCNY communities]?

JB: I think there were a few things going on there that created a close-knit community … The architecture school was always [welcoming] us there, and I think we handled that with maturity and respect when we were up there. It proved that we were capable and willing to really take care of the place where we live and we have to be better at that, in a lot of ways. With good student leadership and supervision, we can rebuild [the] trust that perhaps has been lost over the years. Students need to understand that we are occupying somebody else’s space and we need to handle that with maturity and respect. 

The rooftop garden would not be complete without the people of HSMSE and CCNY. Building trust and support for the garden can go a long way. The Echo interviewed some students on their perspectives on the matter.

Sharing a campus with college students is an incredible opportunity. Their experience is something that isn’t as easily accessed in other schools. “I think it would be really good to talk to people who have experience in college. When I was in high school I wished I knew people in college … It would have been helpful to know some people that could have helped with advising,” Vanessa Garzon, a junior at CCNY, said. The transition between high school and college is a big one; having that connection can help prepare students for college, and make the transition a lot easier.

Currently, HSMSE students rarely interact with CCNY students: “I don’t really talk to any CCNY students, and I don’t think anybody really does,” Leo Alexander (’28) said. And most CCNY students aren’t even aware that they share a campus with high schoolers: “When I first got here I had no idea there was a high school. I don’t really know the high school all that much [still],” Vanessa said. Over time, with the closure of the garden space, the social divide has increased. Having a place where student culture can cultivate is vital, and that is something the rooftop garden provided. “I think this garden is nice because it creates this space where we have the ability for people to come and meet together in a really cool spot,” William Bouk (’28) said. 

However, the rooftop garden cannot be a public space if it is not treated properly. In order to be able to use the CCNY facilities, like we currently do, HSMSE students have to be aware of their actions. We have shown an ability to work with CCNY before, and it is something that can be re-established. But we need to show that we are capable of maintaining our relationship. “I hope [CCNY] sees that most of us are good students who take care of the spaces they give us,” Tappan Wearn (’28) said. Every benefit that is accessed through the rooftop garden is only possible through relationships with CCNY. Showing that we are capable of not only maintaining our relationship, but heighting it, we would be able to get the most out of this relationship. “It seems like they have a lot to offer us, which would probably be more accessible with a stronger relationship,” Tappan said.

Public appeal means everything; the rooftop garden aims to improve the HSMSE and CCNY community, but if there is no community to back it up to begin with, it cannot spark. The interviewees expressed an interest in the project. “It sounds lovely,” Leo said. “I’d be down to go up there,” Vanessa said. “It sounds really cool, it sounds great that we get a way to interact with the college more and collaborate on something,” Tappan said. “It definitely will help improve relationships with CCNY students, as we are both working together for a common cause,” Robin Farquhar (’28) said. Readers can join the project by either helping to build the planters on April 30, or by showing support that day. Together we can work towards making our community as good as it can be.