Mysterious Tomato Plant Grows On East River Pillar

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A single tomato plant that mysteriously appeared on a pillar in the middle of the East River has become Brooklyn's newest celebrity.

The plant — growing on a pillar between Pier 1 and Pier 2 near the Brooklyn Bridge — got its own write-up in the New York Times on Thursday after a kayaker noticed it earlier this week.

“I saw the yellow blossoms and paddled over to it,” Matthew Frey told the Times. “I’m used to seeing things grow here, but nothing as special as that. Things like that just make me happy.””

Frey, who is a board member at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boat House, snapped a picture of the plant with his iPhone.

(Matthew Frey)

Since then, the plant has been featured by The New York Post, People and has even gotten the attention of Heinz Ketchup brand, which told Patch it is sending over staff members to "protect the tomato."

"We can’t make any promises about the tomato’s future, but we will soon have boots on the ground to survey the scene and alert us of any precarious activity," a Heinz representative said. "We are taking this seriously.

Nobody has quite been able to pin down how the lonely tomato got onto one of the pillars, which often are only home to tufts of weeds.

Two plant scientists told the Times that the tomato is domesticated breed. Others theorized that bird droppings with the tomato seeds might have led to the new plant, which the scientists agreed was the most plausible reasoning.

To read the Times' full story on the tomato plant click here.