Inspired by the transformation of East New York’s vacant lots into cherished local gardens, Saya Woolfalk created "Urban Garden Rail" to reflect the people of the community, who work side by side to cultivate the land and enrich the local community. Many of the unused locations have been reclaimed by the local gardeners, resulting in thousands of pounds of produce that is consumed by the neighborhood residents as well as people who patronize the gardens and the local farmers’ markets.

Fabricated into two layers of painted stainless steel panels, "Urban Garden Rail" is located along the windscreen walls of the elevated stations’ platforms while many of the farms can be seen and are located within steps of the stations. Through the artwork, Woolfalk depicts figures within the gardens while integrating background patterns from various cultures, seeking to capture the beauty, pride, and intergenerational collaborations embedded in these spaces. 

Saya Woolfalk is a New York-based artist who uses science fiction and fantasy to re-imagine the world in multiple dimensions. With the multi-year projects "No Place," "The Empathics," and "ChimaTEK," Woolfalk has created the world of the Empathics, a fictional race of women who are able to alter their genetic make-up and fuse with plants. With each body of work, Woolfalk continues to build the narrative of these women's lives, and questions the utopian possibilities of cultural hybridity. She has exhibited at museums, galleries, and alternative spaces throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States, including solo exhibitions at the Montclair Art Museum, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the Mead Museum of Art, and group shows at the Studio Museum in Harlem.