Kingsland Wildflowers (courtesy of Assemblyman Joe Lentols’ office)
More green roofs will be constructed in Greenpoint thanks to a state environmental fund. Today, North Brooklyn’s State Assemblyman Joe Lentol announced a $1.5 million state grant awarded to Broadway Stages in a partnership with Alive Structures to construct a total of 1.4 acres of green roofs at three of their local soundstages.
The success of Kingsland Wildflowers green roof, which opened in 2016, demonstrated a way forward for the North Brooklyn area to transform rooftops at a large scale. In a statement, Assemblyman Lentol said that the green roofs will provide many benefits for the natural environment.
“Kingsland Wildflowers at Broadway Stages was a great success and is the perfect example that shows the potential of this project. I am very excited that this grant funded such a great project right here in Greenpoint. It will add green space, improve the environment and provide a natural habitat for countless beneficial insects and birds.”
The Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund initially backed the Kingsland Wildflowers roof that was created through a partnership between the Newtown Creek Alliance, Broadway Stages, Alive Structures and NYC Audubon.
That, if you recall, is one of several projects brought to us by the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund (the payout from the Exxon oil spill settlement), which is funding initiatives to improve the local environment.
Today, the GCEF-funded Greenpoint Eco-Schools initiative is having a ribbon-cutting ceremony of sorts, and Greenpointers will have an opportunity to vote for future projects before the week is up. Continue reading →
Back in September, the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund invited the public to submit proposals for improving the neighborhood’s green space as part of the $19.5 million grant program (funded by the 2011 settlement with ExxonMobil as retribution for the Greenpoint Oil Spill).
An important component of the fund is ensuring that the community has “a direct, continuing role in guiding GCEF’s development and implementation,” according to the website. This means that all Greenpoint residents (not just environmental experts and non-profit organizations) are encouraged to get involved. The deadline for proposals was recently extended to 12/18/13.
The GCEF is holding a networking event on 11/7 to encourage applicants to meet each other and to foster collaboration between community members with similar project ideas. In addition, the event will be a way for applications to meet technical experts who might have useful knowledge about their project’s logistics.
When: Thursday, November 2nd When: 6:30-8:30pm Where: Polish Slavic Center (176 Java St)
