Soil and Topsoil for Community and School Gardens

Office of Environmental Remediation


Topsoil For Community & School Gardens

Clean Soil Bank
Forbell Street Stockpile
Topsoil For Community & School Gardens
Green Property Certification
Environmental Tax Lien Properties

Clean Soil Bank

Forbell Street Stockpile

Topsoil For Community & School Gardens

Green Property Certification

Environmental Tax Lien Properties


OER offers free delivery of clean soil and topsoil to community and school gardens in Brooklyn and Queens.

Gardens can receive up to 6 cubic yards of soil or topsoil, which is stored at the City’s clean soil stockpile in East New York.

A garden can use clean soil to fill in depressions to create a level growing surface. Clean soil can also serve as a cover or cap over existing contaminated soil at a garden and thus eliminate any exposures to degraded soil.

A garden can use topsoil, made from clean soil and compost at the City stockpile, to fill raised beds and grow vegetables, flowers and other ornamental plants. The topsoil can also be used to establish lawn and for other turf applications.

OER will make soil deliveries to gardens this season through November 2024.

Submit an online form to request a soil or topsoil delivery for a community or school garden.

If your garden has received Clean Soil Bank material, please complete a brief survey to share your feedback!

Watch an OER delivery of topsoil to Newkirk Community Garden in Brooklyn:

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Topsoil delivered to Westbrook Memorial Garden, a Brooklyn Queens Land Trust garden in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Topsoil delivered to P.S. 135 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Topsoil delivered to the NYC Office of Emergency Management’s headquarters, where topsoil will fill two planters that will be planted with flowers.