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Bike to work week is approaching!

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Biking to work every day is highly recommended, but if only for a day or a week out of the year, join thousands of other cyclists who will celebrate Bike Month beginning May 13, with Bike-to-Work Day specifically on May 17. Transportation Alternatives is hoping to encourage lasting ridership by hosting a week long competition for businesses. Participating companies will receive a simple tracking sheet and will be asked to log the daily bike trips of their employees. Taking into account the length of varying work weeks and different sizes of companies, Transportation Alternatives has devised a scoring scheme to determine which company has the highest percentage of bike commuters.

Prizes are being offered if the benefit to yourself and your city isn’t enough already. (Okay, these prizes are really cool). Just for participating, your company will be entered to win the very fitting grand prize: indoor or outdoor bike parking installed at your business by Rack and Go. To the city’s top cycling workplace will receive a season’s supply of hydrating coconut water delivered to their office. The Super Commuter prize for distance commuting is a GPS device designed especially for cyclists. Getting every member of your workplace to bike to work during the challenge wins each participant an upcycled wallet from Holstee.

With Citi Bike stations now popping up all around lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, perhaps there will be blue bikes available for rent for the challenge. Citi Bike has promised a May initiation, and what better time to start then Bike-to-Work Week?

Several companies have sponsored free breakfast and coffee giveaways to cyclists at certain locations the morning of May 17. After work, join the “Bike Home from Work Party” parading to the archway in the DUMBO neighborhood, which is to be lined with pop-up bike shops, food and drink, and a bicycle reflective wear fashion show.

More info on the challenge here.

Photo: Transportation Alternatives


Playing into the future

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laundrymat project silkscreen

“As world-renowned American psychologist Charles Schaefer says, ‘we are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything, than when we are at play.’ The city itself has long been conceptualized as a ‘playground,’ and play is an inescapable part of our current cities, which are a hybrid of physical and electronic spaces. How can play and gaming assist us in reimagining and co-creating urban environments, foster deeper engagement, propel education, and provide solutions to urban problems?” – from IDEAS CITY, a four day explo­ration of the future of cities, held in Lower Man­hat­tan from May 1 – 4, 2013, orga­nized by the New Museum.

What does “Play” have to do with Untapped Capital? According to a diverse and dynamic set of panelists at IDEAS CITY, a whole lot.

Designers, researchers and creators Kemi Ilesanmi, Charles Renfro, Eric Zimmerman, and Constance Steinkuehler, joined by moderator Yancey Strickler, come from pretty distinct backgrounds. Kemi runs the Laundromat Project, which transforms community laundromats into havens of artistic expression led by neighborhood artists; Charles was one of the architects who designed the High Line; Eric is a game designer and professor of game design at NYU; Constance is a games and education researcher at the University of Wisconsin; and Yancey is one of the co-founders of Kickstarter.

They’ve each spent significant amounts of time thinking about play and what it allows us to do.

Through their individual speeches and their complementary visions, they made a hugely compelling case for the importance of play. Eric proposed that we think of play with reference to the free play of a steering wheel. It is the movement of the steering wheel before it affects the rest of the system; what exists because and despite of the systems that are meant to determine its behavior. As we rearrange the boundaries of these systems in productive conflict, we make meaning out of our actions, seeing them through different lenses.

Charles suggested that the city is one such system, and that at its best it encourages the play of exploration and the re-making of meaning. In designing the High Line, his team sought to create a space that “rescripts the city by de-scripting it,” “provoking behaviors without knowing what exactly it provokes.” The space invites a certain set of behaviors, but more than that it invites us to re-visit and re-view our engagement with the space itself and with the city that surrounds it.

Kemi picked up this notion of the role of play in re-envisioning our cities. She spoke of the work they do in the Laundromat Project, which consists largely of transforming underused spaces like community laundromats into playgrounds of artistic expression. In their work, they focus on the importance of low-stake engagement with alternative possibilities. They create spaces within which neighbors can play with what could be. They do this because they believe play unlocks human potential, that most underutilized of resources.

And this is exactly what Constance researches. She focuses on how playing can help young people learn more effectively. In her research, she has shown that learners who read below grade-level in school reading tasks almost always perform at least two grade-levels better than expected when these reading tasks are in the context of a game. For her, this has everything to do with play. Part of how play unlocks potential is through voluntary engagement. No one plays because they have to. We play because we want to, and when we want to do something, we excel at it. This, Constance said, is why play is so important.

If we bring it all together, we can see that play might indeed have something important to say about untapped capital. It is how we unlock some of our human potential and begin to explore the alternative possibilities embedded in our cities. It is how we re-envision where we are and where we could be, both individually and collectively. This vision, in turn, is crucial to the process of co-creating a future that works for everyone.

Image: The Laundromat Project at the IDEAS CITY Festival

Whose park? Our park.

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its-my-park-day-header

There are about 1,700 parks, playgrounds, and recreation facilities across the five boroughs. Do you have a park among these that’s “yours?”

The sunshine is pouring in today, so now is a great time to enjoy the outdoors and plan a way to engage in, feel a part of, and give back to your neighborhood’s grassy spaces. We’ll be keeping you updated on free concerts and events in the parks as the summer comes, too.

Starting this coming weekend, Partnerships for Parks is collaborating with hundreds of neighborhood groups to organize and celebrate “It’s My Park Day” across the five boroughs.
Check this listing to find the date that you can join neighbors in cleanup and celebration.

For pre-celebration of It’s My Park Day, we hope you get to take your lunch outside this Monday afternoon. If you make it as far as your local park, we salute you.

More outdoor summer movies!

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As a followup to our recently published guide to Brooklyn’s best outdoor summer film screenings, here are the best of the other boroughs, plus a few more we missed in Brooklyn:

Check out this awesome map that Curbed made to spatially plan your cinematic fun.

Manhattan:

1. Bryant Park: HBO Summer Film Fest: Manhattan: E 42nd St, New York, NY, 10018

Movies start at 5 pm, and the festival kicks off with Tootsie on Monday, June 17. This venue tends to get crowded, so get there early to stake out a spot.

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2. Hudson River Park: Riverflicks: Manhattan: 205 12th Ave, New York, NY, 10001

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This event is billed “for grownups” and they don’t disappoint. Featuring many of last year’s blockbusters, such as Silver Linings Playbook (which kicks the series off on July 10), Looper, and Argo. Movies start at dusk (8:30ish) and there’s free popcorn.

3. Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum: Manhattan: Pier 86, New York, NY, 10036

*Oct 02 - 00:05*

Enjoy a movie on the landing deck of the Intrepid, but come early–space is limited. Doors open at 7:30 and there is no admittance after 8:30. Screenings include Jaws, Star Trek, and the original Karate Kid.

4. Roosevelt Island Southpoint Park: Manhattan: Roosevelt Island, New York, NY, 10044

Take the tram on over (or the F) to check out the progress on Cornell’s new campus and to see a movie—date night alert! Screenings include The Hunger Games, The Breakfast Club, and Pitch Perfect.

5. Riverside Park Pier 1 Movies Under the Stars: Manhattan: W 70th St, New York, NY

This year’s theme is “Song and Dance” and will feature films like Fiddler on the Roof and Little Shop of Horrors, starting at 8:30 every Wednesday night.

The Bronx:

1. Bronx Terminal Market: Bronx: 810 Exterior St, Bronx, NY, 10451

Cross watching The Goonies on the roof of a parking garage in the Bronx off your bucket list! Starting at 7:30 there will be pre-film festivities with community groups and the movies will start at 8:30. All of the films are family friendly.

Queens:

1. Socrates Sculpture Park: Outdoor Cinema 2013: Queens: 3205 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, 11106

FilmCrowd3_lowres-detail-main

The film list hasn’t been released yet, but there will be local restaurants, and performances by musicians and dancers before each screening. The event will be held every Wednesday from July 3 - August 21.

 

More Brooklyn:

1. Habana Outpost: 757 Fulton St, Brooklyn NY, 11217

Enjoy classic films with a margarita on the side every Sunday at 8pm. Best of all, screenings run until October 27, so you can pretend it’s summer all fall long.

2. Prospect Park Bandshell: Prospect Park West and 9th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215

On July 13, at 7:30 pm, catch Dracula with a live score by the Philip Glass Ensemble and Kishi Bashi… for free! Later in the summer you can see Beasts of the Southern Wild with a live score by Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin, and The Wordless Music Orchestra/ Slavic Soul Party… also free!

3. Lavender Lake: 363 Carroll St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Every Tuesday and Wednesday catch a show at Lavender Lake, one of Gowanus’ hottest bars—recently named Best Canalside Patio by New York Magazine. Movies TBA.

4. Flicks on the Beach (Coney Island): 1001 Boardwalk West, Brooklyn, NY 11224

Every Monday in July and August you can make the trip down to Coney Island and see a great mix of films on a giant 40-foot inflatable screen! This summer’s selections include Little Fugitive, The Hunger Games, and Fame.

All Over:

1. Films on the Green: Manhattan/ Brooklyn

French films will be shown at parks throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan, starting off with Mississippi Mermaid.

For a day by day breakdown of summer movies check out The Skint’s guide here.

Produce in action

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Union Square Greenmarket in June. (Photo: mmwm via Flickr)

Union Square Greenmarket in June. (Photo: mmwm via Flickr)

As summer comes into bloom in 2013, New York’s system of farmer’s markets are a vital part of the city’s food economy and lifestyle.

Greenmarket was started in 1976 through GrowNYC as a way to promote local farms and to provide New Yorkers with fresh produce from their region. Over the years, Greenmarket has grown to 54 different markets and has provided a place for 230 farmers and fisherman to sell their goods. Any unsold product gets donated to City Harvest and other soup kitchens and food pantries throughout the city.

Greenmarket says of its longterm relationship with the city and farmers, as well as school children, chefs, and many other New Yorkers:

This unique relationship between farmers and city residents has not only changed the face of regional agriculture; it has revitalized rural communities and urban spaces, improved consumer health, provided fresh and nutritious food to those most in need through our EBT/Food Stamp and Youthmarket programs, supported immigrant farmers, encouraged crop diversity, educated school children and city residents about the importance of regional agriculture, provided a wholesale opportunity for medium sized farms, inspired new culinary trends, and influenced chefs and eaters in one of the culinary capitals in the world.

Greenmarket locations are open throughout the week. Check the schedule below or see their website.

Once you go to the markets be sure to check out some healthy and sustainable summer recipes!

  • At-Market Initiatives
  • Accepts EBT/Food Stamps
  • Textiles Recycling
  • Food Scrap Compost Drop-off
  • Rechargeable Battery & Mobile Phone Recycling
  • Youthmarket Farm Stands

West 97th Street Friday 
East 82nd Street Saturday 
West 79th Street Sunday 
West 57th Street Saturday , Wednesday 
Abingdon Square Saturday 
Bowling Green Tues & Thur
City Hall Tue & Fri
Columbia Thur , Sun
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Wednesday 
Downtown PATH (formerly at Zuccotti Park) Tuesday
Fort Washington Tuesday 
Inwood Saturday
Port Authority Bus Terminal Thursday
Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal Tuesday & Friday 
Saint Mark’s Church Tuesday 
Stuyvesant Town Sunday
Tompkins Square Park Sunday 
Tribeca Wednesday , Saturday 
Tucker Square Thur , Sat
Union Square Mon & Sat, Wed. & Fr
West 175th Street Thursday opening 6/27!
East 92nd Street  Sunday opening 6/23!
Mount Sinai Wednesday opening 6/26!

Now Open in Brooklyn:
Bartel-Pritchard Sq Wednesday
Bay Ridge Saturday 
Brooklyn Borough Hall Tue & Thur, Sat
Carroll Gardens Sunday
Cortelyou Rd Sunday
Fort Greene Park Saturday
Grand Army Plaza Saturday
Greenpoint McCarren Park Saturday
Sunset Park Saturday opening 6/29!
Windsor Terrace – PS154 Sunday 

Now Open in Queens:
Forest Hills Sunday 
Jackson Heights Sunday 
Elmhurst Tuesday 
Socrates Sculpture Park Saturday 
Sunnyside Saturday 

Now Open in Staten Island:
Saint George Saturday  
Staten Island Mall Saturday opening 6/15!

Now Open in Bronx:
Bronx Borough Hall Tuesday 
Parkchester Friday opening 6/14!
Lincoln Hospital Tuesday & Friday opening 6/28!
New York Botanical Garden Wednesday opening 6/19!

Opening in July

Manhattan: 
West 42nd Street Wednesday opening 7/10!
Rockefeller Center Wednesday, Thursday & Friday opening 7/24!
Lower East Side Youthmarket Thursday 

Bronx:
Poe Park Tuesday opening 7/2!
Wholesale Greenmarket Monday-Saturday, 2–8 AM
Learn It, Grow It, Eat It Youthmarket Wednesday 
Roberto Clemente Plaza Youthmarket Wednesday 
Marble Hill Youthmarket Thursday 
Riverdale Youthmarket Thursday

Brooklyn:
Bensonhurst Sunday  opening 7/7!
Boro Park Thursday opening 7/11!
Williamsburg Thursday opening 7/11!
Brownsville Rockaway Youthmarket Friday  
Brownsville Pitkin Youthmarket Saturday 
Cypress Hills Youthmarket Friday 
Kensington Youthmarket Saturday

Queens:
Astoria Wednesday opening 7/10!
Corona Friday  opening 7/5!
Ridgewood Youthmarket Saturday 

 

Source: Greenmarkets 

Urban foraging: a lost art?

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Urban foraging may conjure images of wading through poison ivy in Prospect Park and picking out leafy greens and berries infused with city fumes. But, with apps like Wild Edibles with Wildman Steve Brill, a condensed guide for iPhone users on how and where to find the city’s 150 tastiest edibles, it now may be easier to navigate pesky bugs and unidentifiable plants.

“Wildman” Steve Brill has long been considered the leading expert on foraging in New York City parks. For over thirty years, Brill has led foraging and ecology expeditions throughout the Northeast. The self-described “go-to guy” on foraging has written three books on wild eating, including The Wild Vegan Cookbook, and has advised some of the city’s top chefs and the New York City Parks Department.

Though Brill is allowed to lead a limited number of foraging tours in the city’s parks, he has come under attack in recent years by conservationists and the Parks Department. Foraging in New York City parks is no new practice, but undoubtedly has attracted a stronger following in recent years as the push to eat locally has gained a wider following. In July 2011, the New York Times printed an article relating the ongoing tension between eager foragers and New York City park officials. On one end was a growing cohort of urban foragers that, perhaps motivated by a less than booming economy, took to the parks for food. On the other end was the increasingly disgruntled Parks Department that worried about imbalance in the park’s ecosystem. Maria Hernandez, director of horticulture for the Central Park Conservancy, lamented: “If people decide that they want to make their salads out of our plants, then we’re not going to have any chipmunks.”

Urban conservation biologist and executive director of NYC Wildflower Week Mariellé Anzelone states that incorporating imported edibles into the city’s limited green space presents a special problem for bees. In a recent article in the New York Times, Anzelone argued that a “farm-filled landscape would undermine [bee’s] critical ecological process.” Because wildflowers and native plants provide a more fixed supply of pollen and nectar than imported fruit trees, Anzelone argues that a human-feeding landscape with imported plants remains insensitive to wild bees’ job in the process.

Anzelone is a protector of true native habitats, a surprising amount of which continue to exist intact in the five boroughs alongside all the impacts from eight million people and their surrounding ecological interests of dogs, urban gardens, Starbucks, apartment buildings and highways.

With organizations such as FruiTrees New York pushing to plant urban orchards across the Five Boroughs, Anzelone’s perspective might seem to overlook the positive change that planting urban orchards could bring the city, both in terms of food justice and access to local food. Some argue that wild plants may in fact yield a higher nutritional content. How should policy be set? Maybe an expert panel, including long time advocates like Mariellé Anzelone and Steve Brill, as well as the Parks Department, and perhaps a historically minded ecologist like Eric Sanderson, could help the city map a way for true nature and human landscapes to flourish side-by-side. New York City has one of the ten best urban forests, a tremendous benefit to all kinds of life in the city.

Even since park officials have begun to clamp down on foraging by issuing summons to those who violate the official no-foraging policy in the city’s parks, in no way does there seem to be a hard-line policy towards foraging. Urban foragers largely remain unnoticed in the parks and “Wildman” Steve Brill can still lead private tours. He even reports that some park officials wave at him as he passes in the park. Maybe the berry-seeker should take that as a green light, then, to head out with a bucket–and maybe even an iPhone–to uncover the city’s tastiest, and edible, treats.

Photo credit: sidetour.com

Where did that banana in your smoothie come from?

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Curious about the wholesale price of those bananas that you picked up at your neighborhood bodega? Now, with data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market, a clear and effective interactive food map is available for users. You can enter the name of any fruit or veggie, find out the wholesale price, and locate the country of origin on the globe. The information shifts by season, as our food sources move based on harvests. The map provides a comprehensive glimpse into New York City’s food supply and distribution base.

The map shows that a large proportion of produce entering Hunts Point, on its way to a green grocer or bodega near you, is not exactly locally sourced. Enter iceberg lettuce into the map’s search bar, and see that it is sourced from California and New Mexico, for $0.26/lb. Bananas are sourced from Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Guatemala for anywhere between $0.36/lb to $0.53/lb, and kiwis come from Chile.

As the world’s largest food distribution center, the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market operates on 690 acres in the South Bronx, a mismatch of open air tents, industrial buildings and refrigerated truck trailers. The market now processes 22% of the region’s wholesale produce sales, or 60% of fruit and vegetable sales in New York City. While this may seem like an impressive statistic, in 1989 Hunts Point captured over 75% of the wholesale produce sales in the region. The reason for the drop in sales since then? Chain stores. Large scale retailers such as Whole Foods, with their own distribution systems, have increasingly located their distribution centers outside of New York City, where rent is lower and space is more available. Hunts Point Market now draws its primary consumer base from small businesses and bodegas that are dependent on the market’s cheap produce.

Does it matter that so much of our healthy food is crossing such huge distances to reach us? That depends on the crop and the method of shipping. Bananas, for example, are a relatively efficient food. Kiwis from New Zealand could have smaller footprints if kites can help propel the cargo ships that carry them — and growers are beginning to consider the question.

Local agriculture does not necessarily come with a smaller footprint, because the farming methods and delivery systems (pick-up trucks driving small loads down from upstate New York, for example) may be much more carbon-intensive than long distance rail or cargo ships, which are remarkably green methods of transport.

From Ecuador, to here, to your local deli, to your blender: travels of a banana. (Photo: NYCEDC)

From Ecuador, to Hunts Point market in the Bronx (above), to your local deli: travels of a banana. (Photo: NYCEDC)

The food map has been hailed as data collection done right; instead of cataloging produce as domestic when an item is shipped from the entry city to another U.S. city, data from Hunts Point accurately labels the item as international. The map shows the global reach of New York City’s food distribution system, and also shows that New York City remains far from regional food self-sufficiency.

The city has proposed a $332.5 million redevelopment project for the market, and there is little mention of incorporating local food distributors into the market’s network. The project plans to maximize land use on the property by expanding and upgrading the market, as well as updating on-site food safety. Read the Hunts Point Vision NYCEDC plan here, and more about Hunts Point in the New York World. Hunts Point is also included in the city’s discussion of critical networks, in the Special Initiative on Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR) report.

Citywide, stronger business case for green buildings

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In 2003, the first residential green building of New York City, the Solaire, was built in the north end of Battery Park City. The Solaire promoted green living and reduced negative environmental impact by focusing on indoor air quality, water quality and conservation, energy, and more. Ten years later, it is exciting to see that many more residential buildings have followed suit and incorporated sustainable developments that also spur good business.

The traditional belief that business and the environment cannot thrive together is being challenged not just by environmentalists, but by business leaders. For example, Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature, comes from Mark Tercek, a former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs who helped start Goldman’s environmental policy framework. The mutual benefits flowing between forward-thinking business and a better human and natural environment are also emphasized by the World Green Building Council (WGBC) in their report on green residential buildings, The Business Case for Green Building: A Review of the Costs and Benefits for Developers, Investors and Occupants.

The booming construction of green buildings isn’t just fueled by the increase in environmental concern or the building’s environmental benefits. Everyone already knows the environmental advantage of green buildings. What is interesting is the WGBC reporting’s on the financial gains and improvements of green buildings; a reality many people simply don’t recognize or still believe to be a false presumption. WGBC’s report expressed benefits that not only applied to tenants of green buildings but also developers and owners. The infograph below is a quick overview of the personal and overlapping benefits received by each.

Many people are concerned about the higher startup design and construction costs associated with green buildings. The caution is reasonable: not only do green buildings look better, they also often incorporate innovative technologies for efficiency. However, these benefits of green buildings don’t always translate to higher costs; people and industries just think they cost a lot more. WGBC addresses this issue as the Perception Gap, where the estimated and actual cost premiums of green buildings were plotted against each other. As you can see, most of the estimated cost premiums centered on a fifteen percent increase whereas most of the actual cost premiums were roughly under a four percent increase.

perspcetive

 

Looking at green residential buildings specifically, All but one of the design and construction costs of green residential buildings are at or under a three percent increase. The outlier was Zero Carbon Homes in the UK which had a twelve and a half percent increase; a small increase in costs when considering its noble agenda of zero carbon emissions.

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WGBC also reported that green buildings are experiencing decreasing costs over time. This is attributed to more experience and efficiency in designing and constructing green buildings and better education, awareness, and assessment of green buildings and sustainability issues. Another factor is that the gap between the baseline standard for building codes and green buildings are diminishing.

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The graph shows decreasing and more stable prices.

The innovative technology and alluring appeal of green buildings also make them a valuable asset. The increased appraisal of the asset can be credited to higher rental and lease rates, lower operating expenses, higher occupancy rates, and lower yields (higher transaction price due to lower capitalization and discount rates). The sale prices for green buildings when compared to conventional code-compliant buildings ranged from negative thirteen percent to positive thirty two percent, but was concentrated around ten percent. The study also found that increasing asset value is accompanied by a high standard of green certification. When considering LEED certifications, WGBC stated that “…just being ‘LEED certified’ does not add value– it starts at LEED Silver”.

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Two quick facts about the more well-known (operating costs and health) benefits of green buildings:

  • An upfront investment of at least two percent on construction costs of a project can amount to savings of over ten times the initial investment in twenty years. Source: Kats, G. 2003. Green Buildings Cost and Financial Benefits. Boston: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
  • Productivity and health benefits

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New York City boasts quite a few magnificent green residential buildings. The standout in affordable green housing is Via Verde, in the Bronx. (Site here.) Of course, the next expected benchmark is for the features of a ‘green’ building to be adopted as the norm, and for the designation ‘green,’ as successful as it has been for marketing, to vanish completely.

The Solaire 20 River Terrace, Manhattan

Photo: Arch record construction.com

  • Filtered air continuously humidified or de-humidified
  • Waste water and storm water are reused to provide water for toilet flushing, landscape irrigation, and cooling towers
  • Energy design is thirty five percent more energy efficient than regulation requires; results in a sixty seven percent lower electricity demand during peak hours
  • Solar panels integrated beautifully into the side of the building
  • Rooftop garden that provides natural insulation

Photo: joonbug.com

The Visionaire 70 Little West Street, Manhattan

Photo: Americanaldes.com

  • Constructed with fifty percent recycled materials
  • Sky-lit swimming pool
  • Windows that filter out UV rays: minimizes heat loss in winter and heat entry in summer
  • Solar paneled exterior
  • Rooftop garden that harvest rainwater for irrigation, reduce storm water run-off, and reduce building heat

Photo: Batteryrooftopgarden.wordpress.com

The Verdesian 211 North End Ave, Manhattan

Photo: Cityreality.com

  • Air filtration system that removes eighty five percent of particulates
  • Abundance of natural light with floor-to-ceiling windows
  • Recycle water for flush system and cooling tower

Photo: Farm8.staticflicker.com

Via Verde 704 Brook Avenue, Bronx

Photo: viaverdenyc.com

  • City funded affordable complex in South Bronx
  • Rooftop garden that dissipates heat and absorbs rainwater runoff
  • Storm water reclamation system
  • Building-integrated solar panels
  • Over 20% of building materials were locally made

Photo: viaverdenyc.com

Graphs: World Green Building Council


Across from Edgar Allen Poe’s cottage, talent flourishes in a high-end community center

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A resident of the midsection of the Bronx walks into the one-room visitors center at Poe Park, looks around at the near-empty space and says, Can I offer my talent here?

This is how it happens at the Poe Park Visitors Center, a narrow outfit with a modern design facing the poet’s historic, gothic cottage in his namesake park. Since this quiet facility opened in May 2012, a flurry of neighbors have offered up their skills for free.

tmarch.com

tmarch.com

Classical music performances, comic book art exhibits, yoga classes, nonfiction story-telling workshops, and other work has arisen out of these simple walk-ins.

“I think the ambience here kind of brings that out more,” said Lucy Aponte, who oversees the center. “People see it’s a creative place, you know? It seems to be drawing a lot of creative people. That’s what’s happening.”

Activity at the center had a slow start, with the space not opening until about two years after construction finished, and with a shortage of funding to staff it full-time before the Parks Department took it over. While community groups struggled to figure out how to breathe life into it, life happened.

But that phenomenon was seen as a springboard. One of the center’s designers has jumped back in this summer with a low-tech wall installation designed to escalate this trend.

Image courtesy of VisionArc

Image courtesy of VisionArc

“We’re trying to encourage even more activity,” said Landon Brown, Director of Vision Arc, a branch of Toshiko Mori Architect, which the Mayor’s Office commissioned to design the center.

Vision Arc’s bureaucratic sounding “Community Mapping Initiative” is akin to a bulletin board. Instead of pins, though, it allows visitors to write their own skills, suggestions or neighborhood needs on paper circles and stick the writing on the wall.

Visitors added to the wall, “I want to learn more English and practice my pronunciation,” “want to give a pasta class,” suggestions for Citibike in the Bronx — and the ideas kept coming.

Brown says the wall is not to just bring in ideas for the space but ideas for the community at large.

“A big shift that’s happening right now in the design community and certainly beyond is asking what is the role of design in addressing systemic challenges.”

Here are some examples of the turnout, provided by Landon Brown.

We Need More… 

(Social Services) “A fathers support program for fathers that are bringing up their kids alone”

I Regularly Use 

(Food & Nutrition) “Green Market at the New York Botanical Garden”

I want to Learn…

(Skills Training) “To practice my pronunciation”

(Health & Wellness)

“CPR Training & First Aid,” “Deep Breathing, Tai Chi, Yoga”

I Have Skills In…

(Skills Training) “Math tutoring”

I Can Provide…

(Arts & Culture) “…teaching Manga cartoon workshops to introduce Japanese youth culture,” “Craft restoration of furniture…”

The Community Mapping Initiative at Poe Park is part of a wave of community collaborative platforms, which is part of a broader trend called ‘the sharing economy.’ OurGoods.org and Trade School, both founded in NYC, and Yerdle, founded in San Francisco, are online projects with similar goals of opening new pathways from one user to the next, and Change by Us is like a community bulletin board for NYC, for creating participatory projects.

Read more about Poe Park in the New York Times, and about the design via architect Toshiko Mori.

 

 

 

 

How to move forward, one year after Sandy

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This Sunday the 28th and Monday the 29th, Occupy Sandy and a number of other organizations join together to remember a year of post-Sandy New York, to celebrate what has not been lost, and to demand a just rebuilding of the five boroughs’ neighborhoods and communities.

Sandy hit New York last October 29, 2012 and in many ways our city and citizens are still reeling from the impacts the storm waters and winds themselves caused, and the existing, deep inequalities they revealed.

Events include a march to City Hall organized by Alliance for a Just Rebuilding, Sustainable South Bronx, Coalition for the Homeless, the Sierra Club, 350.org, Occupy Sandy, Red Hook Initiative, Legal Aid Society, and many more; a day of music and healing with Coney Island Gospel Assembly, conferences; a writing workshop; Rebuild by Design receptions at NYU and in New Jersey; the unveiling of a memorial plaque in Staten Island for those lost in the storm; and the release of a book of photographs on the storm and its impacts.

Turn The Tide on Sandy Rebuilding

Events and actions are free and all are welcome.

More information here. 

Photos: OccupySandy.net

The future of NYC’s waterfronts, according to the mayoral candidates

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On April 9, over 600 people attended the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance’s (MWA) Conference, “Leadership for Our City of Water: Living with the Water, not Fighting It.” The conference was held at Pier 40 in Hudson River Park aboard the Hornblower Infinity. Among these 600 people were six of the mayoral candidates, who laid out their visions for the future of New York City’s waterfront. There were common views amongst all the candidates: all saw the waterfront as an important city resource, and all wanted a return to a “working waterfront.” Concerns about equitable rebuilding post-Sandy were frequently expressed, while the means by which to pay for it was more unclear. All of the candidates spoke in favor of expanding ferry service between the five boroughs, and many mentioned using a metro card swipe to pay for a ferry ride.

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City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was the first candidate to speak in a series of one-on-one discussions moderated by Christopher Ward, MWA Chairperson. Quinn pledged, “I will be a waterfront mayor” and strongly stated that New Yorkers can “still live near the water–we can’t hide from it.” She discussed focusing on hard and soft infrastructure changes, expanding Staten Island’s Blue Belt system, and researching sea walls as storm protection solutions. Quinn cautioned that “every community is different [and] would require a different response” when asked about Governor Cuomo’s buyout programs for affected areas. She emphasized developing the Brooklyn waterfront as a resource especially for its employment potential. If elected mayor, Quinn would appoint a Deputy Mayor of the waterfront, but stop short of creating a Department of the Waterfront.

Christine Quinn discussing the waterfront (http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/photo/2013/04/debate-on-boat-13655174277664.JPG/image640x480.jpg)

Christine Quinn discussing the waterfront (http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/photo/2013/04/debate-on-boat-13655174277664.JPG/image640x480.jpg)

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio was the next candidate to outline his vision for the waterfront. He emphasized using the federal aid from Hurricane Sandy as an opportunity to correct economic injustices. De Blasio described the placement of NYCHA Housing in environmentally vulnerable areas as “systematic decisions to isolate poor people,” and called for larger investments to address these problems. When asked about PlaNYC 2030, Bloomberg’s sustainability plan, De Blasio said he would continue to follow it as mayor. De Blasio is an advocate for a “holistic ferry system” that would be integrated into all five boroughs, and he would use federal aid to pay for the majority of the cost. De Blasio also described Governors Island as “even more central to the recreational and educational possibilities of our city in the next ten to fifteen years.”

Former City Comptroller Bill Thompson spoke of “working with the community to build better and smarter” in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. He outlined his waterfront vision including niche businesses, parks combined with affordable housing and amenities, and using the waterfront as a learning tool for non-profits and schools. He emphasized the development opportunities along the Brooklyn waterfront, but cautioned that every area is different and there would not be just one solution. Thompson said he would create a comprehensive plan to address various areas, establish timetables, align resources, and communicate with communities. He proposed establishing a commuter tax and using weight based registration fees to raise funds in order to expand and integrate ferries into the larger mass transit system.

John Liu, the current City Comptroller, spoke next about his vision of “reclaiming the waterfront for people who live here now and newcomers alike.” He supports restoring the smaller waterways, such as the Gowanus Canal and Flushing Creek, as well as returning to a working waterfront. Liu is an advocate for integrating ferries throughout the boroughs, a cross-harbor freight tunnel, and potentially using Liberty Island as a multi-ferry station. If elected mayor, Liu would integrate water transportation issues into the Department of Transportation rather than create a new department. He emphasized sustainable growth and his desire to “restore New York City as a world class city.”

John Catsimatidis, the CEO of the Red Apple Group and Gristedes Foods, described himself as the best mayoral candidate for the waterfront because he is the “only candidate with investments in the waterfront.” He emphasized the need to increase funding to attract more cruise ships and draw tourists from the ships into the city. Catsimatidis is also an advocate for using Liberty Island as a terminal to connect tourists with the transit system, but he is also in favor of using Ellis or Governors Island. His overarching vision for NYC is to continue to improve upon existing conditions to prevent backsliding into the past.

The last mayoral candidate to speak was Adolfo Carrion, Jr, the Bronx Borough President. He touted his record for improving the waterfront in the Bronx by rebuilding piers and increasing public access in Hunts Point. He is an advocate for creating a Department of the Waterfront to have a “new platform for waterfront issues across the five boroughs.” He emphasized working with the Department of City Planning, and said “people need to have a real voice in how we grow.”

The moderator and Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance Chairperson Christopher Ward described his initial reactions to the mayoral candidate’s platforms. He was impressed that six candidates attended, and cited Hurricane Sandy for placing waterfront development squarely in the public eye. Ward also called for more detailed and structured plans to guide development along Brooklyn’s waterfront and for the proposed freight tunnel. Ward’s critiques concerned the specificity of the candidates’ plans: Who will pay? How will these visions become reality? With just over six months to go until Election Day, the mayoral candidates have shown their “broad strokes and vision,” according to Ward, but the nuts and bolts of financing, balancing public-private partnerships, and implementation remain to be seen.

How to move forward, one year after Sandy

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This Sunday the 28th and Monday the 29th, Occupy Sandy and a number of other organizations join together to remember a year of post-Sandy New York, to celebrate what has not been lost, and to demand a just rebuilding of the five boroughs’ neighborhoods and communities.

Sandy hit New York last October 29, 2012 and in many ways our city and citizens are still reeling from the impacts the storm waters and winds themselves caused, and the existing, deep inequalities they revealed.

Events include a march to City Hall organized by Alliance for a Just Rebuilding, Sustainable South Bronx, Coalition for the Homeless, the Sierra Club, 350.org, Occupy Sandy, Red Hook Initiative, Legal Aid Society, and many more; a day of music and healing with Coney Island Gospel Assembly, conferences; a writing workshop; Rebuild by Design receptions at NYU and in New Jersey; the unveiling of a memorial plaque in Staten Island for those lost in the storm; and the release of a book of photographs on the storm and its impacts.

Turn The Tide on Sandy Rebuilding

Events and actions are free and all are welcome.

More information here. 

Photos: OccupySandy.net

Green Thumb Workshop — Fruit Tree Pruning

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FruitTreeTrimmingMarch is a great month to finish winter pruning. Help to prune the small trees and shrubs at this community garden. Learn how to prune fruit trees to improve production and protect tree health. We will demonstrate and explain the techniques first and then assist as you prune on your own.

This workshop is in partnership with the New York Botanical Garden.

Please RSVP

National Girls and Women in Sports Day in the Bronx

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GirlsSportsJoin us for National Girls and Women in Sports Day, an annual event honoring female athletes! To celebrate, NYC Parks has free events in all five boroughs.
Activities will include:

  • Fitness challenge and talks led by WNBA’s New York Liberty players Kym Hampton and Essence Carson
  • Basketball clinic
  • Hula-hoop, double dutch and street hockey demos
  • Salsa dancing demonstration
  • Performances by St. Mary’s hip hop squads
  • Guest speakers
  • Giveaways

Kids registered by 11:00 a.m. will receive a free t-shirt while supplies last! Girls are welcome at this family-friendly event.

Ukrainian Easter Egg Workshop

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Ukranian Easter EggsLearn the time-honored art of creating these intricately patterned Ukrainian Easter eggs and create your own using a wax-resist technique at this hands-on workshop. Hot wax and permanent dyes used; please dress accordingly. Age 14 and up. Bring a bag lunch, only light refreshments offered. Space is limited. Registration required at (718) 885‑1461 or info@bpmm.org


Pruning and Training Fruit Trees

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FruitTreeTrimmingLearn how to prune fruit trees to improve production and protect tree health. This workshop will also cover the basics of training young fruit trees.  Grow to Learn registered schools only may request soil, compost, and lumber for fall delivery.

Please RSVP for this workshop.

Action to Fix Westchester Avenue

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The freshest campaign from Bronx activists was chosen by a few hundred people who’d just ridden the Tour de Bronx. Westchester Avenue, they all said, is too dangerous for walking and biking. Join Bronx activists to chat up passerby about this dangerous street.

Transportation Alternatives Bronx Activist Meeting

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Join your neighbors at the Transportation Alternatives Bronx Activist Committee in 2014 as we work to make the Bronx a safer and more vibrant place to walk, bike, and get around with public transit.

At this engaging and lively monthly meeting we discuss issues of concern, build our community, and plan fun events. Come to meet fellow Bronx advocates and get involved in campaigns for safer street at the neighborhood level.

Working with Kids in Community Gardens

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BIGGARD_SU_C_^_SUNIQNavigate the fun, but often challenging world of working with kids in the garden.

NYC Parks Green Thumb will go over proper garden behavior and stewardship practices with hands-on demonstrations. They will also offer strategies that will allow you to get work done in the garden while still executing a successful lesson plan.

Supplies: Kids’ Wheelbarrows and Tools

RSVP HERE

Urban coyotes

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Near the Bronx/Westchester border. (Photo: GothamCoyote.com)

Near the Bronx/Westchester border. (Photo: GothamCoyote.com)

“Since the nineteenth century, coyotes have expanded their range north, south, east, and west. Traditionally a species of the open plains, coyotes have come to occupy rural, forested, and urban landscapes. A breeding population on suburban Long Island is all but inevitable, leaving just the question of when. With healthy populations in the northern and western suburbs, New York City lies at the front of the Eastern coyote’s range.”

This remarkable description of our newest four-footed neighbors comes from an evocative blog post by Dr. Mark Weckel, naturalist at the Gotham Coyote Project and researcher at the American Museum of Natural History.

We contacted the experts at the Gotham Coyote Project for more details, and learned the following:

“We don’t have any evidence that they’re permanently residing anywhere other than the North Bronx,” said Dr. Chris Nagy, colleague of Weckel’s at the project.

Let’s back up a second. Coyotes may now live year round in the Bronx? (Not that a coyote would know where Westchester ends and the Bronx begins.)

Originally a Midwestern species, the coyote first arrived in the Northeast in the early years of the twentieth century. It was first sighted in New York State in the 1920s, according to Weckel, an ecologist who studies coyote migration. And sightings have become more common in the northern reaches of New York City, where the Bronx borders Westchester. “By the late 1990s, [coyotes] had come to colonize all of New York State, except for Long Island,” Weckel told us.

A hidden camera in a northern NYC park (gothamcoyote.com)

The Gotham Coyote Project uses remote camera traps to track the local coyote population, and some of their images can be seen on their site. The cameras have helped prove the presence of coyotes, but they are of limited help when it comes to measuring the size of the population, because coyotes are hard to tell apart. Tigers, by comparison, have unique stripe patterns that allow scientists to identify them based on photographs. “With coyotes,” Nagy told us, “you can’t tell the difference reliably.”

But there are other methods to track who is who in the native coyote scene: Nagy plans to use scat surveys. “You can get DNA from the poop, and you can identify individual animals,” he said. Nagy also casts doubt on claims that urban coyotes have a genetic difference from rural populations. “Certainly there’s evidence that they kind of have different life history patterns,” he said, but noted that it was inaccurate to divide coyotes into “the urban guys and the rural guys. “In New York,” he said, “it’s a very very gradual transition,” from urban to natural habitats. And, he added, “There’s intermixing along that gradient.”

“Usually when you’re trying to manage wildlife, it’s really more about managing people and getting the community behind you,” said Nagy. “People are really where the work is located.” So making people comfortable is the best step to smoothing human/coyote cohabitation.

Nagy acknowledged that the risk posed by coyotes is “not zero,” but said that with a few precautions, it is minimal. “Compared to dogs, it’s nothing; compared to vehicles, it’s nothing; compared to pollution, it’s nothing,” he said. Still, researchers agree that studying coyotes has value beyond quantifiable results. Weckel, who has worked to include high school students and interested citizens from the project’s outset, said it helps with “blurring the line” between nature and city.


A coyote plays with a bottle on the frozen Pond, near 59th Street, in Central Park in 2010. (D. Bruce Yolton)

From the coyote packs that may have taken up a steady presence in city parks in the north Bronx  (Gotham Coyote Project doesn’t reveal the locations of their research sites, for fear of disturbing the animals), and beyond city lines in Westchester, an occasional migrant comes far south into the metropolis. Several coyotes have traveled down into Manhattan. There was a famous visit to Central Park in 1999, followed by 2006, and then a series of visits in 2010. These wild adventures ended in capture and the carrier case, but with plenty of camera attention and public fascination beforehand.

Coyotes’ adaptability is evident in their very presence around us in the Northeast. After humans wiped out previous top predators in the region, like the Eastern wolf and the cougar, coyotes came in to fill the unoccupied niche. As Mark Weckel puts it, “the coyote is a parable for how Americans have historically interacted with nature…it’s a conservation success story, but there was no conservation plan.” With the kind of drive that suits life in the big city, coyotes are bringing the wilderness to us.

Weckel and Nagy were featured on PBS in January, in a Nature episode about urban coyotes — with the buzz-friendly name ‘coywolf,’ as the Eastern coyote does have a bit of wolf mixed in. Excerpts below:

Researchers are continuing to investigate whether the coyote’s adaptability — so evident in its presence in farflung habitats — has shown itself on the genetic level.

Javier Monzón, a postdoctoral fellow at Stony Brook University, led the first study that showed how the Eastern coyote is genetically distinct from its Western ancestors. Drawing on previous research that had identified sequence differences between dogs and wolves, and between dogs and coyotes, Monzón investigated the hypothesis that Eastern coyotes had hybridized with wolves since their arrival.

After finding significant similarities between wolf and coyote mitochondrial DNA, which is only passed from a mother to her offspring, Monzón concluded that male wolves had been mating with female coyotes, but not the other way around. He also found that coyote samples from farther East had more genetic similarities with wolves than their Western counterparts.

Now, Monzón is looking to further his knowledge on the genetic impact of coyotes’ changed surroundings. According to his research, it seems coyote evolution has proceeded rapidly, with variation introduced by wolf hybridization as its “main driver.”

Differing with Nagy, Monzón believes there are measurable genetic differences among coyotes within the Northeast, depending on their habitats. “Urban coyotes are genetically different from forest coyotes,” he said, adding that “forest and urban are different from rural coyotes,” as well.

In his study, he sampled 427 coyotes, from agricultural, forested and suburban/urban testing sites. To account for coyotes’ range, he allowed a radius of approximately nine kilometers from the sampling site. He found genetic differences in one urban group of coyotes, which included samples from suburban/urban sites near Cape Cod, Boston, Albany, and Portland, Maine.

How fully ‘urbanized’ could Eastern coyotes get? Daniel Bogan, an animal behaviorist at Siena College, who studies coyotes in Westchester (and leads workshops on how to coexist), isn’t ready to draw conclusions. While he said coyotes might adapt their behaviors within their lifetimes, “I don’t think that there are major evolutionary changes occurring just yet in their interactions with people.”

“In a large scale, if you’re thinking about all of New York State, they’ve been moving from more natural areas to more urban and rural landscapes,” he said, acknowledging that “because the natural areas are chopped into small pieces, they end up having to using multiple remnants,” forcing coyotes to travel through developed areas.

But, according to Bogan, coyotes rarely linger near development, and have not adapted to a trash-intensive diet as they move closer to cities.

Still, he said, “It’s just amazing to me how capable this animal is of just existing in so many different landscapes.” While he was not ready to draw conclusions, he tentatively pegged coyote’s success to factors like their reproduction, which occurs rapidly, begins early in their life cycles, and yields many offspring.

Coyotes have long figured in North American mythology; like Prometheus, in Native American cultures Coyote stole fire and gave it to man. Mark Weckel notes the coyote’s symbolism to a city undergoing its own rapid evolution in the face of change:

“At a time when urban conservation is red hot and we talk about farming rooftops, greening our streets, or restoring wetlands, all with an eye to a more sustainable, resilient, ‘natural’ city, the coyote should be our mascot, our flagship species.”

 

 

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