Green Meadows Farm Brooklyn — Attraction in New York

We went to the farm on a Saturday, the day before Mother's Day and they were closed due to the rain. It was only slightly drizzling in between bright bouts of sun. What was frustrating is that from the parking lot to the entrance of the farm is a very long walk. We only found out the farm was closed after trekking all the way from the parking lot. So we went again the next day, which was Mother's Day. It was sunny for the most part of the morning but started becoming cloudy, cold around 2, so we were worried the farm was closed again. We called their number before driving to the farm and they told us they might close early due to the rain. We walked all the way to the entrance again and saw a big sign that says "Closed", yet we saw there were still people inside. We were turning around to leave until we saw the family that was ahead of us was being admitted. So we turned around back to the entrance and was admitted after showing our tickets. We were given tickets for the children to do the candy hunt at the entrance, but no idea where to go as the were no signs. My children wanted to try "milking the cow", but it was a fake core and there were no signs indicating what to do. Next to the "cow" we realized there were baby lambs running around outside of their enclosure and children were petting them and picking them up. We're weren't sure if the animals were supposed to be running around outside but the worker picking up garbage nearby didn't react when they saw the children play with the animals. We walked to the back of the farm and heard a staff atthe hay ride yell to some other parents to hurry over to the left if they still want to do the candy hunt as it would be ending soon. Standing in line, we got up to the gate and were told to wait for the next round. There were people waiting on line behind us as well, but some late comers decided to bring their children forward, while cursing they unlatched the gate and usher the children inside to run and pick up candy. My concern was that they did not have a staff at the gate, and the staff did not say anything after he saw the unlatched gate and the group standing inside questioning what they had to do. On a good note, each child had their own lane to do the candy hunt. So it was great for social distancing and don't have to worry about older kids running over the younger kids. After the candy hunt was over, we walked back towards the area for the hay ride and they were already closed. We had to walk around to find where they sold the lettuce and had the grabbers to feed the animals. At the horse pen, a father was waving the grabber to tease the house into thinking he had food, and almost hitting the house in the process. There was no worker at the enclosure. We fed the horses and alpacas, leaving shortly afterwards. We spent less than an hour at the farm and we're a bit disappointed. Overall, the farm seemed understaffed, and not enough clear signs to indicate the different areas of the farm, no directions, and was afraid the animals were being mistreated by the public from lack of...

On Saturday, 10/23/21, I paid the $12 entrance fee and had a wonderful time! There are signs on the animal pens stating that touching the animals is not permitted due to Covid-19. One sign near the admissions area indicates that masks must be worn at all times. Each pen has an outer fence to prevent visitors from getting too close to the animals. Nice variety: several alpacas, four big calves, several miniature pot bellied pigs, three ponies (one with a braid!), several sheep and goats (a couple of baby goats were loose and coming to visitors for lettuce), and some fancy breeds of chickens (chickens love lettuce, too)! I loved hearing the roosters crow! There is a small "barn"--with entrance/exit ramp for visitors to easily move through--which has young guinea pigs, chicks, dwarf rabbits and a couple of bigger rabbits, and an employee inside to answer questions. Hand sanitizer dispensers are in many places. There are picnic tables on the grounds. The pumpkin patch is spacious with pumpkins attractively laid out, and large crates here and there containing both orange and white pumpkins to choose to take home. When exiting the pumpkin patch, your admission ticket is requested. The candy "hunt" is a fenced area where children line up at marked columns. Parents wait at the column end where plastic eggs are on the grass. The employee with the megaphone explains what everyone is going to do. Pop music is playing and patient children and their parents dance in place (that includes me, watching from the pumpkin area) as they wait for the "hunt" to start. A friendly employee enlightened me as to what the upcoming "Pumpkin Smash" event is: visitors climb up onto something and throw their pumpkins down. There is a snack booth with a limited variety of drinks and snacks, but no "real" food. (FYI: nearby Aviator is open, but the food court is still closed due to Covid. Floyd Bennett Field does not have any other food concession stands.) Portable outhouses are lined up near the hay ride area. Most important, a "handwashing station" is located near the smaller chicken pen, which has running water, soap and paper towels. I learned that Green Meadows Farm no longer has its Queens location. I LOVED being able to see farm animals in Brooklyn, and it was such fun seeing the parents and kids having a good time. In addition to the kids, there were some adults in Halloween costumes. The animals appear to be healthy. I was glad that lettuce, rather than pellets, is sold, since so many visitors feed the animals throughout the day. I saw an employee enter the alpaca pen to sweep up droppings. The alpacas looked very sharp with their shorn trunks, woolly oval "pin-cushion" tails, and their woolly pantaloons. I overheard a boy exclaim, "I love your eyes" as he fed one alpaca with the provided tongs, Thank you,...

Here's my explanation for my one-star review for this place: My children missed out on two Easter Egg Hunts this year so I decided to make it to them. Long story short, I found an advertisement for a Mother's Day Event at Green Meadows Farm on Groupon $18 for the admission of two people. Printed out the voucher and prepared to go. Since I work Sunday nights, I decided to take my two boys, Daryl (8) and Daniel (7 & Autistic) to have a different experience than sitting at home with their tablets all day long due to COVID-19 social distancing. So I saw there was going to be rain off and on that day but decided to go anyway. I'm from Connecticut and the weather was somewhat the same. I figured it would just be cloudy with splotches of rain here and there. I've never been to this farm so I assumed there would be activities held inside a barn or somewhere seeing how large the farm was based upon the pictures posted online. I live about 1 hour and 35 minutes away so it wasn't so bad of a drive. I've driven down that way to LaGuardia Airport so I was familiar with the route. So we left about 10:20 a.m. after running a few errands after leaving the house and rain came on and off. Got to New York an hour later. When we reached the farm at 12:53 p.m., I saw that the gate to enter the farm was closed. It was drizzling so I decided to call the farm. When I called the farm, there was a message stating that the farm was closed due to inclement weather! Oh boy, I thought to myself. I should have called the farm before I left but I didn't think no one would answer since it was around 9:30 a.m. when I actually left the house. I sat and watched as children were being picked up and dropped off at a field nearby. I sat and saw the large field with the playground with other kid's activities. By then, the rain started coming down a little bit faster. I packed sandwiches, chips, fruit snacks, and juice boxes for the kids. So we sat and ate in my van. I wanted to go to a restroom and was lucky to find the King's Plaza Mall not too far from the farm so we all could relieve ourselves. So, instead of having the kids take a break from their tablets, the wound up spending 4 hours and 30 minutes in the van on their tablets during travel time (It actually took us 3 hours to get home due to heavy traffic on the Hutchinson Parkway). We were all disappointed but hopefully, we can come back next year maybe for the Easter Egg Hunt. I just wonder if or would I be able to get a refund or would I have to go through Groupon since the voucher was purchased through their website. Sorry for the one-star review, I'm pretty sure it's a nice place to visit; but unfortunately, we, along with many others I assume, didn't get to...