executive letter | FY24
Dear Friends,
As we reflect on the past year at Queens County Farm Museum, I am struck by the resilience, growth, and deep sense of community that defines this historic site. Each season brings new challenges and opportunities, and through it all, we have remained steadfast in our mission to connect people to agriculture, history, and the environment.
This year, we have cultivated more than just crops — we have cultivated relationships, ideas, and a renewed commitment to our role as a vital green space in New York City. Our fields, orchards, and gardens have provided not only fresh, locally grown food but also a place of learning and inspiration for visitors of all ages. Our programming has expanded, engaging schools, families, and lifelong learners in meaningful ways that deepen their connection to the land.
As stewards of this historic site, we continue to honor its 328-year legacy while ensuring it remains a resource for future generations. We have strengthened partnerships, welcomed new supporters, and expanded our reach, all while embracing regenerative practices that will sustain the farm musuem for years to come. From educational initiatives to cultural events, from conservation efforts to community-building programs, our work is driven by a shared vision: to provide a space where history, agriculture, and people come together to celebrate and learn.
None of this would be possible without the support of our dedicated staff, volunteers, board members, funders, elected official and, most importantly, you — our community. Your belief in our mission fuels our ability to grow and evolve. As we look ahead, we are excited to build upon our successes and continue to explore innovative ways to serve and engage.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Whether you visit the farm, participate in our programs, or support us in other ways, you are a crucial part of what makes Queens County Farm Museum thrive.
With gratitude,
david hughes Executive Director Queens County Farm Museum
president’s message
This past year the Board of Directors’ main goal has been to achieve as smooth a transition as possible from one Executive Director to another. We welcome David Hughes into the Museum’s leadership role, who began in May 2024.
With COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror, the City has revived the project to rebuild what we often refer to as the Horse Barn. It has been repurposed from horses to offices and public assembly space. This building burned to the ground in the 1970s and was rebuilt by the Museum utilizing a high school work training program. As with all projects on NYC parkland, once built, no matter by whom, the title transfers to the City. The City decided it wanted to improve the basement foundation and structure of the 2nd floor; The Farm Museum wanted to reconfigure the 2nd floor layout, remove the unneeded skylights, replace the garage doors, and redesign the handicapped ramp, among other improvements. Construction on this project is expected to begin in May 2025.
We are also envisioning work on the Adriance Farmhouse, with a new roof and stabilization of the east foundation wall among the improvements we seek to undertake. In addition, we are continuing to advance progress on constructing a new multi-function building in the parking lot area which will be our first new building structure, as opposed to an adaptive reuse of existing buildings. This is an exciting project that may cost upwards of $50 million dollars. We have raised a large portion of that goal, but are redoubling our efforts to complete the fundraising. We are calling this building an Education Center which will include exhibition space, offices, orientation center, library, café, demonstration kitchens, classrooms, gift shop, toilets, and many other amenities. It will transform how we operate and allow us to be more of an all-weather, year-round destination.
All the work we accomplish is not done in isolation. We acknowledge the generous help from our elected officials who support us with funding. It is also done with the goal of providing a educational and recreational resource for the general public. The public has responded by making us what we believe is the busiest farm museum in the world, and the busiest museum in Queens. We thank our visitors for their support.
We are not far from celebrating the 50th Anniversary of our founding in 1975. Stay tuned for celebratory events to be announced. We hope you will join us in commemorating this milestone.
Regards,
james a. trent Founder and Board President Queens County Farm Museum
Visitor Services
The Queens County Farm Museum (QCFM) had an outstanding year in FY24, building on its longstanding mission of connecting the community with agricultural history, sustainable practices, and hands-on educational experiences. With 495,629 visitors throughout the year, QCFM continues to serve as a cultural hub for families, students, and visitors from across New York City and beyond.
visitor engagement and attendance
In FY24, QCFM experienced a significant increase in membership and visitor participation. Our membership base grew from 240 in January 2024 to 320 members by June 2024, reflecting a strong commitment from local residents and supporters across the boroughs of New York City. Notably, the majority of our members reside in Glen Oaks, with members from every borough engaging with the museum in various ways. This growth is a direct result of our ongoing efforts to enhance visitor services and provide meaningful experiences for all.
To better understand the needs and preferences of our visitors, we sent out a visitor survey to our newsletter recipients. A total of 424 responses were collected via a Google Form, and the feedback provided valuable insights into how we can continue to improve the visitor experience. The top three responses to the question, “What do you most look forward to when you visit QCFM?” were: enjoying the farm grounds, interacting with the farm animals, and attending public events. These responses have guided decision-making and program planning, helping us prioritize what our visitors value in their experience at the farm.
community and volunteer engagement
Throughout the year, 844 volunteers contributed to work across various agricultural initiatives. These volunteers have played a crucial role in maintaining the farm and supporting our mission of accessibility, sustainability, and community engagement.
volunteer highlights
844 volunteers
1,540 hours given
19 corporate volunteer groups
cuny food drive: fighting food insecurity
In FY24, QCFM served the community by continuing to host a food drive in partnership with the Queens College Food Pantry. After the harvest season, we collected non-perishable food items to support food-insecure CUNY students. The food drive ran through December 31st, where visitors were encouraged to drop off items like canned goods, pasta, rice, and shelf-stable foods, as well as personal hygiene items. This initiative reflects the museum’s commitment to contributing to food security in our community.
Public Events
Queens County Farm Museum’s signature events continue to draw thousands of visitors to the site to engage with history and culture.
thunderbird american indian powwow
For the past 44 years, Queens County Farm Museum has celebrated American Indian Culture through music, dance, Native American crafts and food with our incredible partners, the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers. This spectacular 3-day powwow features intertribal Native American dance competitions by over forty Indian Nations. The program also features an expansive market of authentic Native American art, crafts, jewelry and food.
In FY24, our community celebrated connecting the public to Native American traditions and cultures, and to one another. For the 44th year of this tradition at QCFM, we welcomed 4,285 visitors from all parts of New York City and beyond.
amazing maize maze
This year’s Amazing Maize Maze was landscaped in the shape of a 1954 Ford tractor donated to the farm by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, celebrating the rich agricultural history of the site as well as the recent celebration of the landmark 40th Annual Queens County Fair. In FY24, over 8,800 visitors of all ages navigated through the Maze to get to Victory Bridge, which generated over $130,000 in revenue to support the organization.
blooms at queens farm
FY24 marked the inaugural year for our new pick-you-own tulip program called Blooms at Queens Farm. We welcomed 2,347 guests to our 3-acre tulip field.
The Year in Agriculture
At Queens County Farm Museum, agriculture is more than our roots — it’s our mission in action. We steward the land through regenerative farming practices that connect past to present and inspire future generations.
the annex
FY24 marked the first year the farm’s recently annexed 1.6 acre parcel of land was put into full production. We yielded over 9,850 pounds of produce from this field alone including potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions and winter squash. These crops were available for sale at the farm’s onsite and offsite farmstands.
200+ crop varieties grown
36,842 pounds of produce grown
710 pounds of honey extracted from our hives
2,685 dozen eggs sold
20 heritage breeds of livestock raised on the farm
vegetable and herb plants grown at qcfm
We grew and sold over 700 plants to community members including tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, greens, and assorted herbs, generating $3,400 in revenue. We plan to greatly expand this effort in FY25.
EDIBLE TEACHING GARDEN
CHILDREN’S GARDEN COLONIAL HERB GARDEN FARM TEACHING GARDENS
Education
Education at Queens County Farm Museum brings history, agriculture, and sustainability to life. We engage learners of all ages in meaningful, hands-on experiences that foster connection to the land — and to one another!
teaching garden development
In April of FY24, we restored four of the Education Department’s teaching gardens that were neglected due to the pandemic, and then created a 5th teaching garden. Our Walter Kaner Children’s Garden, Honeybee Garden, Butterfly Garden, and Colonial Herb Garden were revived with new rock borders, gravel pathways, colorful perennials, a new well, bridge, and archways. We created a new Edible Teaching Garden that contains 36 raised beds where we planted and harvested over 80 different types of herbs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables. In conjunction with the introduction of this new garden, we developed our popular Grow and Gather family gardening program, inviting local families and school children to participate in hands-on seeding, planting, weeding, harvesting, and sampling. We hosted over 3,000 people in this garden from April through June.
public education programs
We served 1,000+ people in our Public Education Programs in FY24. We offered free programming to families, highlighting our American Chestnut trees in partnership with SUNY ESF; workshops that focused on growing your own vegetables in an urban setting; raising your own backyard hens; garden insects and how they help your gardens; botanical and horticultural-focused programming such as wreath making and terrarium building; culinary offerings such as honey harvesting, wild edible foraging, colonial style butter and cheesemaking; plus artistic and wellness programs such as weekly yoga and watercolor classes. These programs generated $28,516 in revenue.
school trips
adriance farmhouse tours
In March 2024, we reinstated our popular historic Adriance Farmhouse weekend tours, free to the public. We welcomed back over 1,000 visitors from March through June.
In FY24, we welcomed 30,845 students, teachers, and parent chaperones to our grounds during daily school field trips. Our School Field Trips were revised and updated to offer more levels of programming for a wider age range (pre-K through 12th grade), aligning with NYS Standards of Learning.
cultural after school adventures
With generous support from NYC Council Members Ariola, Brooks-Powers, Caban, Lee, and Moya, we were able to further develop our Future Foodies program, working with 8 schools and 240 students plus transferable knowledge to the families of those 240 students. We delivered 10 weeks of after-school programming to each school on topics such as sustainable agriculture, indoor and outdoor gardening, self-sustaining ecosystems, the rainforest, waterways, wildlife, nutrition and healthy eating choices, colonial history, and pollination. Our teaching artists brought supply packets and snacks each week to the eight designated schools, and each week the students completed at least two activities that aligned with the week’s theme.
supporting seniors in the community
We welcomed over 100 seniors to the Queens Farm for a full morning of activities including a tour of the farm visiting the animals, hands-on herb garden planting, hayrides, lunch, and all left with a full goody bag of fresh produce from our farm. Special thanks to NYC Council Member Holden for his generous support of this enriching program.
35K school children served
$
302K school field trip revenue
2.5K self-guided tour participants
200 virtual tour participants
154 insider tour participants
farm summer camp
In partnership with Commonpoint Queens, the Farm Museum welcomed 679 campers over an 8 week period in FY24. We delivered over 480 hours of hands-on programming that focused on caring for the environment, compost education, planting and weeding in our crop fields, examining garden insects, scavenger hunts, vegetable painting, three sisters salad, basil pesto, the earth and sky, owl pellet dissection, wool spinning, and making art out of recycled materials.
john bowne high school visits
In FY24, the Farm Museum welcomed approximately 100 students from John Bowne High School’s Agriculture program for guided tours of the farm with special attention to the apiary, planting fields, and gardens. Students enjoyed hayrides, lunch, and engaged with the farm’s Livestock Manager and Beekeeper, with the opportunity to ask questions that pertained to careers in Agriculture and associated fields. Special thanks to Council Member Gennaro for his generous support of this program.
$ 3.79 M operating budget
500 K visitors
328 years of farming ~ 90 % council member districts served
34,000 EGGS SOLD
100 s cultural events
47 acres
88 employees ft/pt
18.8 % nutrition assistance farmstand sales of:
1,490
LB PRODUCE DONATED TO LOCAL FOOD PANTRIES
40,000 pounds of produce harvested for market
Statement of Activities | FY24
board of directors
James A. Trent, President
Paul DiBenedetto, Vice President
Dev Viswanath, Treasurer
Christina M. Wilkinson, Secretary
John P. Albert
Robert J. Bishop, Esq.
Doris Bodine
Grace Bonilla
Nyisha Howell
Helene Kornstein
Stuart Nachmias
Hersh Parekh
Dr. Neal Vichinsky
Melissa Young
Meredith Horsford*, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation Delegate to the Commissioner
Phil Ballman*, Queens Borough
President Donovan Richard’s Office
*Ex-Officio
staff
David Hughes, Executive Director
Laila Lamniji, Director of Finance/HR
Emily Gross, Director of Visitor Services
Laura Graney, Director of Education
Hayden Cubas, Director of Marketing
Courtney Sartini, Director of Agriculture
Ed Vilar, Director of Operations
Jack Ciardullo, Livestock Manager
Ethan Partyka, Seasonal Farmer
Phoebe Greenberg, Seasonal Farmer
Ashley Aloe, Seasonal Farmer
Sara D’Aurio, Seasonal Farmer
Elaina Harper, Seasonal Farmer
Grace Powell, Seasonal Farmer
Joyce Pasteliner, Farm-to-Table Coordinator
Maressa Mingo, Seasonal Farmstand
Stephanie Hammond, Seasonal Farmstand
Elizabeth Frickey, Seasonal Farmstand
Stephen Phillips, Seasonal Farmers’ Market
Ari Westrich, Seasonal Farmers’ Market
Ariana Marquez, Farm Store
Sarah Joseph, Farm Store
Eric Duarte, Operations Team Member
Jhon Otero, Operations Team Member
Ronnie Eros, Operations Team Member
Juliza Melendez, Operations Team Member
Mark Duras, Operations Team Member
Danny Martinez, Operations Team Member
Chris Lord Barry, Adriance House Curator
Carmel Gray, Senior Educator
Marty Jackel, Senior Educator
Frank Barry, Senior Educator
Renée Tone, Senior Educator
Savietri Singh, Senior Educator
Natsuko Isono, Senior Educator
Diane Squilleri, Senior Educator
Leslie Colon-Nori, Senior Educator
Marcella Caetta Cigdem, Educator
Queens County Farm Museum is grateful to its generous supporters for planting the seeds to success
The Board of Directors
Commonpoint Queens
Con Edison
Dr. Neal Vichinsky
Euler-Revaz Family Foundation
Historic House Trust of New York City
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
Joan N. & Norman Bluestone Foundation
Lower East Side Ecology Center
Minuteman Press of Bellerose
Northwell Health Community Partnership
One Point of Light Foundation
Whole Cities Foundation
Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams
NYC Council Speaker Adrienne E. Adams
NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards
NYC Council Queens Delegation
NY State Senator John Liu
NY Assemblymember David Weprin
NYC Council Member Brooks-Powers
NYC Council Member James Gennaro
NYC Council Member Robert Holden
NYC Council Member Linda Lee
Diane Alaggia
Daniel Bianco
Carol Cannova
Michele Castelli
Aline Euler
Henry Euler
Frank Ferraro
Alan Ginsberg
Sandra Karczewski
Anthony Lisotta
Jessica Murphy
Phillip Roncoroni
Samuel Shapiro
Richard Spivack
Stephanie Wentz
Andrea Wong
And all of our individual donors, members and volunteers