Greening the Burg: Tree Planting on Driggs

Our Carroll Gardens Correspondent sometimes travels widely. She sent us this photo of trees being planted in Williamsburg by the New York Restoration Project. The location of the greening and trees that will be a lot bigger in 2020 and 2030 and beyond is on Driggs Avenue near N 11th Street.

Upcoming: Brooklyn Heights E-Recycling

Have some electronic devices that need to be disposed? The Third Annual E-Recycling Days at the First Unitarian Chapel in Brooklyn Heights (at Pierrepont St.between Clinton and Henry Sts.) are coming up on Saturday, May 3rd and Sunday, May 4th from 9AM-4PM on Saturday and Noon-2PM on Sunday. It's sponsored by Denominational Action and the Green Team. They're accepting air conditioners, answering machines, batteries (including household batteries, but not car batteries), cables and wiring, CD players, cell phones, copiers (floor and desk models), DVD players, electric typewriters, fax machines, hard drives, laptops, desktops, modems, pagers, monitors, keyboards (and other peripherals), printers, circuit boards, radios, remote controls, scanners, mainframes and servers.

Pre-Gowanus Green, They're Really Digging Public Place

After last last week's excitement about the selection of the Hudson Companies to develop the toxic Public Place site as Gowanus Green, we swung by to check on the progress of pre-cleanup work there. Concrete is being dug up and removed from the site, leading to neighborhood concerns about what will happen if/when contaminants are disturbed and the kind of monitoring that will occur. Significant digging has been going on at the site to remove huge blocks of concrete left over from its previous incarnation as a manufactured gas plant. The city says that this phase of work on the site doesn't pose a threat to public health or to nearby residents. One resident told us that residents of streets like Luquer, Huntington and Third and Fourth Place are "breathing in the dust there every day that is being stirred up." Unconnected to Public Place, a resident told us that soil testing behind some Carroll Gardens homes has found "high amounts of lead and arsenic." The Public Place cleanup is supposed to involve wetting down soil to keep dust down. Tents will be placed over areas where contaminated soil is being removed. The site is so polluted, however, that only some of the toxins will be removed. The rest will be left in place and covered with a foundation and protective membrane, a process known as "capping."

Protesting Exxon Mobil's Sponsorship of Go Green Greenpoint

Yesterday's protest against Exxon Mobil's role in helping to sponsor the Earth Day event in McCarren Park, was quite visually interesting and attended by some media and the police. Here are a few photos posted to flickr by amc_. The company's role was controversial, of course, given the huge spill of oil under Greenpoint that Exxon is responsible for cleaning up. One of the people involved in the protest emailed us to say:

We went to the event and held our political theater right in front of the exxon mobil booth. Most people were supportive, but the funniest part of the day for me was when the exxon employees tried to mitigate the seriousness of their company's actions by assuring us that they had already cleaned up less than a third of what has been seeping into the greenpoint community for 50 years!

There was also an interesting email exchange about the protest from an unidentified person that appears connected to the organizer of the Go Green Greenpoint event:

It is extremely poor form to try to disrupt what promises to be a very nice, grassroots event put on by your and my friends and neighbors. While there is certainly a place for protest and disobedience, I do not think that a positive, community-focused event is the appropriate place. Perhaps a more constructive action and presence would be to have worked with the event organizers to set up a booth educating Greenpointers and others of the hazards associated with the Exxon (and other) spills, and the oils companies' responsibility (both moral and legal) to clean it up. The Town Square group has been working day and night for months to put this event together, to provide a positive, ecologically-oriented event for Earth Day. It is a shame that you are trying so hard to mar and counteract their efforts.

An there was this response from one of the organizers of the protest:

I respect the work of the Town Square Group, and in addition to static informational booths we will offer a roving street theater performance with informational fliers about the oil spill and the greenwashing epidemic. We are artists and this is how we can positively contribute to an ecologically themed event for Earth Day - educating the public in a non-didactic way. Nothing in my email implied "disobedience", and please put it in perspective. It's not ok for some of the very worst environmental offenders in the US to sponsor Earth Day in a community where they are responsible for incredible environmental disasters. This is the very definition of greenwashing. I don't believe that their aide is necessary to pull off a local environmental celebration. They do not deserve positive publicity when so many of local community groups are engaged in a lawsuit with them for the harm that they've done.

Just another day in North Brooklyn.

PM Update: BCUE's Cool New Green Gowanus Digs

The Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment has moved into cool new digs on newly-hot Seventh Street in Gowanus (which will also be the site of the new Union Hall venue). We got an early look at it last week, but were asked to keep the photos to ourselves until today. Well, the day has arrived, and we can show the new BCUE HQ, which is a former doll house factory. The building is super-environmentally friendly and is shooting for a Gold LEED certification. The $4.2 million project features Vermont slate steps, the original reclaimed floor (which had been under three inches of concrete), steps and tables made from original wood that was removed, low-flow toilets and rainwater recapture system and more energy-saving bells and whistles than we could keep up with (maximum ambient lighting, sector-control system to turn lights on and off depending on use, energy saving fixtures throughout). BCUE had been housed in an historic building in Prospect Park that was particularly conducive to its education mission. The new facility has big meeting and teaching spaces in addition to office space for staff. The move took place in late January when workers were still putting the final touches on the building. The actual public grand opening is on May 10.

Upcoming Reminder: Go Green! Greenpoint! Earth Day

We've posted this before, but Town Square's Go Green Greenpoint! Earth Day event is taking place tomorrow (4/19) from 11AM-4PM in McCarren Park. Per an email:

"Go Green Greenpoint!" is going to be a lot of fun - enviro-friendly vendors, food, music, art contests, recycling stations and much more! School, companies, government agencies and community groups will also be showcasing educational displays. There'll be live music on stage all day along with chess stations and wellness classes.

There's also electronics recycling for computers, monitors, laptops, digital cameras, etc.

Upcoming: "Virtual Toxic Tour"--Do You Know Where Your Superfund Site Is?

Here's a fun event: a Virtual Toxic Tour and Community Mapping Workshop that will be taking place on Saturday (4/19) from 3-6PM. It will be happening in Manhattan at Eyebeam, which is located at 540 W. 21st Street, but will involve toxic issues in Greenpoint. Here's a bit about it:

In collaboration with fellow Brooklyn activists, Brooke Singer (www.superfund365.org) and Emily Gallagher, Habitatmap invites you to participate in our Virtual Toxic Tour and Community Mapping Workshop...The virtual tour will focus on groundwater contamination and hazardous vapor concerns in several areas of Greenpoint which are currently under evaluation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. We will explore the neighborhood's historic and contemporary industries, detail the contaminants of concern, and discuss potential remedies. This case will serve as a reference point for participants as we work with them to document toxic exposures in their own neighborhoods, brainstorm effective community organizing strategies, and help them recruit a network of activist peers to their cause.

Check out Habitatmap here.

FUN WITH TOXICS BONUS: The marker in the image above that is about three-fourths of the way down over the BQE in Williamsburg is a state superfund site at Meeker Avenue between Metropolitan and Union Avenues. If you have ever walked under the BQE on Metropolitan Avenue to go to the neighborhood on either side of the highway, you've passed this site. It's the former Ansbacher Color & Dye Factory, which would appear to have been demolished to make way for the BQE without being cleaned up. For the record, it is directly to the west of the future site of the Gateway to Williamsburg development and to the east of several properties being developed or being sold as development sites. It is also a couple of hundred yards from a Karl Fischer-designed building at 525 Union Avenue.

Upcoming: Gowanus Canal Flotilla

Among the things that spring means are more chances to get out on the Gowanus Canal. So it is with the 9th Annual Gowanus Canal Earth Day Flotilla. This will be happening on Sunday, April 20 from 11AM-3PM and will include "a ceremonial eco-cruise" on the Big G. It is sponsored by the Urban Divers and includes the chance to go up the canal on a 32-foot Indian Shipping Canoe that holds 21 people. Per an email:

Join us for a fun-filled of environmental education through recreation. Paddle along this annual flotilla on the historic and notorious little estuarine waterway that flows in the heart of Brooklyn. Armed with landing nets, garbage bags, our fleet of skiffs, including our unique 32ft canoe (accommodates 21 paddlers at at a time). The Urban Divers Environmental Educators guide eco-volunteers on an eco-cruise and help pick-up floatable debris along the water and on shore...Everyone is also welcomed to bring their own kayaks or canoes or GET ON BOARD OUR FLEET OF VESSELS, including our unique GIANT 32ft INDIAN SHIPPING CANOE- vessel accommodates 21 paddlers at time. To register to volunteer call The Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy at 718-802-9874, or 347-224-5828.

The starting point is Second Street at the Canal. A post with photos from last year's event is here and a video is here.

Upcoming: Making Brownstones Green

Want to make a brownstone green? Well, the New York City College of Technology Division of Continuing Education is presenting "Anatomy of a Brownstone: Green Roofs, Green Homes." It will take place on Saturday, April 26, in the Atrium Amphitheatre at 300 Jay Street. There are two sessions, (morning and afternoon). The 10AM-Noon session is at 300 Jay in Downtown Brooklyn. The 2PM-4PM session is at 93 Nevins in Boerum Hill. The cost is $40. Per an email: "Learn about green roofs, energy audits, whole house design, and sustainable building products from experts and professionals in the green design and build community. Discover how to save energy, reduce waste, and increase the overall comfort of your home."

Upcoming: Dumbo Meeting Tonight About Energy Efficiency

Tonight (4/9) at 7:00PM, representatives from National Grid (formerly KeySpan) will be in Dumbo for a reception to "discuss their new Energy Efficiency rebate incentive programs for residential and commercial customers. The programs are designed to help National Grid customers save money by improving the energy efficiency of their homes or businesses, and to help ensure a cleaner, 'greener' future." It's being done in conjunction with the Dumbo Improvement District's neighborhood sustainability initiative, SEED (Smart Environmental Efforts in DUMBO). The programs provide incentive rebates for customer's interested in upgrading or replacing their old heating and hot water systems with new high efficiency gas heating equipment. It will take place from 7PM-9PM at JLA Studios, 63 Pearl Street in Dumbo.

Upcoming: Go Green Greenpoint

It's the "Go Greenpoint" Earth Day Festival in McCarren Park on April 19!

Upcoming: Earth Week at Prospect Park

Per an email from the Prospect Park Alliance, our favorite Brooklyn park has a whole lot of events lined up for Earth Week from April 19-27. Here's a sampling:

The Prospect Park Youth Council Pre-Earth Day Celebration will take place on April 19 from 10AM-3PM at the Youth Resource Center at Bowling Green Cottage (Prospect Park Parade Ground). "Get a jump on celebrating Earth Day (April 22) with the Prospect Park Youth Council! Activities include gardening, removing of invasive weeds and plants, and reconstruction of flowerbeds and veggie gardens. Learn about what we can do as individuals and families to reduce waste and conserve energy. And soothe what ails you by learning holistic remedies to common ailments. Free."

Also on April 19, an event called Hands on New York happens from 10AM-2PM at the Endale Arch on the north end of the Long Meadow. "In partnership with New York Cares, help shore up walking paths along the Long Meadow and manicure its magnificent trees. Walk-ins are welcome. Call (718) 965-8960 for more information.

Earth Education Day takes place on Sunday, April 20 from 12-5PM at the Audobon Center. Per the email: "Start off your environmental education week at the Audubon Center with a day of learning about your local ecosystem in Prospect Park. Make crafts with recycled materials, take a Discover Tour, and learn how nature can make you happier!"

Meanwhile there will be different events at the Audobon Center from April 21-27 from Noon-5PM every day. "Earth Week at the Prospect Park Audubon Center will have a different theme each day, with programming for environmentalists of all ages. Learn how to do your part through lectures, tours, activities, film screenings, workshops, recyclable crafts, and a daily exhibit. View works and an installation by artist Jessica Baker, who prints geometric designs on leaves found in Prospect Park and other parts of Brooklyn.

Full details on all activities at the Prospect Park website.

City Responds to Public Place Worries, Downplays "Fugitive Dust"

The city has responded to concerns about work underway at the Public Place site in a letter sent to City Council Member Bill de Blasio saying that the current preliminary work doesn't pose a threat, but that a water truck and other steps will be taken to contain "fugitive dust" when concrete removal gets underway. Residents have already complained about "fugitive dust" being stirred up by work that has already taken place. Mr. de Blasio had sent a letter with a long list of questions to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. HPD responded with a memo from the Mayor's Office of Environmental Coordination answering the questions. The city says that some air monitoring will take place once concrete removal gets underway at the site and that it will take steps to minimize the dust including a water truck. In addition, it says measures will be taken to make sure soil "is not tracked into the community." The memo says that clean soil will be placed at the site after the concrete is removed and that "underlying tar-contaminated soils will not be exposed during this limited concrete removal activity." The city also says that it will not monitor air quality at the Smith-9th Street station because "fugitive dust will not be an issue at the subway station." The actual site cleanup is still in the future as a plan must still be developed by Keyspan/National Grid.

More Drilling at Roebling Oil Field

As we noted last week via an email we got, work has started on an expansion of the Roebling Oil Field project, aka the Roebling Oil Building and/or Warehouse 11. We found the pile driver on scene on Sunday and a petroleum-like smell wafting from the scene, though as far as we could tell the aroma was coming from the creosote soaked piles that are being driven. The interesting part will come when the site is excavated. Was the oil contamination on the site limited to the end of the property where the pollution was removed and the building has already been put up or is there more to clean up?

Upcoming: Public Place Update

Preliminary work is underway at the Public Place site between Smith Street and the Gowanus Canal, with residents already expressing concern about safety precautions during the cleanup of the highly contaminated site. On March 31, representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Mayor's Office of Environmental Coordination and KeySpan/National Grid will make a presentation to Community Board 6. Topics will include the level of environmental contamination, remediation plans for the site and the next steps in the cleaning process. The meeting will take place at 6:30PM at Long Island College Hospital, which is at 339 Hicks Street in Conference Rooms A+B. People living near the site are concerned that was work has started before their questions have been answered.

Upcoming: Final Second Chance Saturday Recycling

It seems like Second Chance Saturdays--the clothing recycling events at Grand Army Plaza--just got underway. Yet, we have already arrived at the last one:

Bring your unwanted textile materials to the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket on Saturdays. Clothing and household linens are Reusable & Recyclable. Where: Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket, NW entrance of Prospect Park.

The recycling goes from 8AM-4PM. Clothing, coats, shoes, boots, hats, jackets, towels and bedding are accepted. The program has been operated by Goodwill Industries.

In the Trash: Windsor Terrace School Tosses Styrofoam Trays

As we reported yesterday, PS 154 in Windsor Terrace became the first school in New York City to ban the use of styrofoam trays and substitute eco-friendly trays made from a sugar cane fiber known as Bagasse. Whereas styrofoam is a petroleum-based product that takes tens of thousands of years to break down, the cane fiber trays decompose within 45 days. City schools use 850,000 trays a day or four million every week, so a switch to an eco-friendly alternative would actually make a significant environmental contribution. The press event announcing the pilot program featured Council Member Bill de Blasio along with students and parents. Mr. de Blasio said that "It is deeply troubling that the DOE knowingly purchases and uses million of styrofoam trays a year despite the fact that styrofoam is extremely harmful to our environment and creates massive amounts of waste." A bit more from the Council Member's press release:

Polystyrene, more widely known as styrofoam, is composed of Benzene, Styrene and Ethylene. Styrofoam is a licensed trademark of its manufacturer, the Dow Chemical Company. Benzene and Styrene are both listed on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s hazardous substance list. Styrofoam does not biodegrade; it crumbles into fragments that have no expiration date. Styrofoam trays, as they fall apart, prevent other trash from decomposing.

Councilmember de Blasio has also introduced legislation, Intro 609, which would prohibit the use of styrofoam by City agencies and food establishments. The cities of Berkeley, California and Portland Oregon were some of the first to prohibit polystyrene food packaging. Due to public pressure, Mcdonald's stop using polysterene packaging in 1990.

Styrene, a basic building block of polystyrene, is considered a possible carcinogen. Toxic chemicals can leak out of the products into the food that they contain (especially when heated in a microwave). Per the press release: "These chemicals threaten human health and reproductive systems. These products are made with petroleum, a non-sustainable and heavily polluting resource."

PM Update: Windsor Terrace School Tosses Styrofoam Trays

PS 154 in Windsor Terrace officially became the first school in New York City to ban styrofoam lunch trays and replace them with environmentally friendly trays made from sugar fiber. Council Member Bill de Blasio appeared at a press event this morning with parents and students to make the announcement. City school currently use 850,000 styrofoam trays a day or more than 4 million per week. Per a press release from the Councilman's office:

The new trays are made from sugar cane fiber known as Bagasse, made from cane fiber pulp left after juicing. They are designed to easily break down either in a landfill or in backyard composting, within 45 days. In contrast, the trays made of styrofoam typically take 10,000 years to break down and studies suggest the possibility of chemical migration into the food our children eat each day.

More detail tomorrow.

Windsor Terrace School Dumping Styrofoam Trays

PS 154 in Windsor Terrace is becoming the first school in New York City to jettison styrofoam trays and Council Member Bill de Blasio is holding a press event at the school today with students and parents. The trays are being replaced with ones made from sugar cane fiber. Per an email:

The new environmentally friendly trays are designed to easily break down either in a landfill or in backyard composting, within 45 days. In contrast, the trays made of styrofoam typically take 10,000 years to break down and may be seeping toxic chemicals into the children's hot food which is served directly on the tray. The quantity of trays used throughout the City is astounding. The Department of Education (DOE) uses 850,000 trays a day which adds up to over 4 million trays a week. Brooklyn Properties and The Juice Box are the official sponsors of the pilot program. Councilmember de Blasio has also introduced legislation, Intro 609, which would prohibit the use of Styrofoam by City agencies and food establishments. McDonald's stop using styrofoam packaging in 1990. The cities of Berkeley, California and Portland Oregon were some of the first to prohibit polystyrene food packaging. Although the trays are commonly known as Styrofoam trays, Styrofoam is a licensed trademark of its manufacturer, the Dow Chemical Company.

The event takes place this morning (3/25) at 11AM. There was a post along with a video about the issue and PS 154 at the City Room last July.

Light Electronics Recycling in Park Slope Today

There is a modest opportunity to recycle electronics at PS 321's Winter Carnival today in Park Slope. From 10AM-4PM cell phones, cell phone chargers, cell phone batteries, PDA's and MP3 players can be dropped off for recycling. As far as we understand, they are not accepting computers or other large items. PS 321 is on Seventh Avenue between Second and Third Streets. There will be games, prizes, face painting, food, entertainment and a rummage sale with children's clothing, games, toys, books and DVDs. There will be a raffle with money being used to buy math books that have been cut from the education budget.