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.
You can now get deals on Marlow & Daughters gourmet breads and fight food waste with the YourLocal app. Image via Marlow & Daughters on Instagram.
If you’ve ever worked in a cafe, you’ve likely seen first-hand the large amount of food that gets dumped straight into the garbage at the end of the day. If you haven’t, then you’ve definitely walked by piles of trash bags on our neighborhood sidewalks, and maybe not realized that many of them contain still totally edible food. Around 20% of trash in NYC is actually, and unfortunately, food waste.
Now, a new app has launched in North Brooklyn to help connect everyday people to day’s end food at cafes, gourmet grocers and more—the app alerts you daily at the exact moment food is up for grabs at a much lower price. In our neighborhood, you can get discounted Polish home cooking from Polka Dot(726 Manhattan Ave), fancy donuts from Du’s(107 N 12th St), pastries and sandwiches from Woops!(both Williamsburg and Greenpoint locations), gourmet bread from Marlow & Daughters (95 Broadway), pizza from DiFara(at N 3rd St Market), and coming soon, even grocery items from the Key Food on McGuinness. There’s at least a dozen more shops and restaurants participating in the area, and lots more are signing on every day. Continue reading →
A little bit of glitter can go a long way. It’s a fabulous way to give your day a little something lustrous, whether it’s on an outfit, an accessory, or even in makeup or lotion. And of course our dance party favorite: body glitter. However, it’s less fabulous, when all those magical sparkles–traditionally made of tiny bits of plastic–wash out into the ocean and float around for eternity. (Sound familiar? Your face wash did the same thing with its now banned microbeads).
Thankfully, Greenpoint Glitter is helping take the eco-guilt out of glitter with their certified compostable body glitter, specially produced from biodegradable film.
We sat down with Greenpoint Glitter founder Prue Watty to get the nitty gritty on her company, the glitter business, and what makes biodegradable glitter so special.
Come recycle your old and unused electronics with the Grand Street BID and Lower East Side Ecology Center on Saturday, October 21st from 11am-4pm (rain or shine). Drop off on the North side of Grand Street in front of Key Foods between Lorimer and Leonard Streets. Items accepted include: working and non-working computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, TV’s, VCR’s, DVD players, phones, audio/visual equipment, cellphones and PDA’s.
If you can’t make it on the 21st, Grand Street BID will also be collecting e-waste at their office, 246 Graham Ave, on Monday–Friday from 9AM-5PM.
The Department of Environmental Protection and GrowNYC held a successful rain barrel giveaway last weekend at the McCarren Demonstration Garden on Leonard Street. Two dozen barrels remain, and they can help you capture many $$’s worth of rainwater which can be used to water plants or for other household tasks. Installation is easy and you will be helping prevent harmful combined sewer overflow to our rivers by reducing runoff!
DEP’s Rain Barrel Giveaway Program is part of New York City’s Green Infrastructure Plan that aims to capture stormwater before it can ever enter the sewer system and thereby reduce combined sewer overflows into local waterways. DEP has committed to invest $2.4 billion in green infrastructure projects as well as other source controls, such as rain barrels, to significantly reduce combined sewer overflows by 2030. Read more about the program here.
Email Council Member Levin’s community liaison, Benjamin Solotaire, at [email protected] to claim your barrel.
Kingsland Wildflowers is a beautiful new green roof here in Greenpoint and is inviting the community to come celebrate its opening this Saturday, September 24th (11AM-3PM). Located on the roof of Broadway Stages (520 Kingsland Ave), Kingsland Wildflowers will serve as a green roof and community engagement space. Visitors will explore three newly installed roofs that have been planted with a mix of indigenous grasses and wildflowers native to the New York landscape.
Activities include:
● Tours of newly planted roofs with wildlife and plant experts!
● Interactive activities for kids and families!
● Music, food, beer!
● Partner organizations discussing local conservation projects!
● 360 panoramic views of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens!
This Saturday, June 4th (1-5PM)Go Green! Brooklyn Festival is taking over McCarren Park with a FREE celebration of the North Brooklyn Community and local environmental programs. Park-goers can engage with and learn about sustainability initiatives while sampling local food, participating in live-action art projects, music performances, and more!
Stevie Van Horn, Conflict Palm Oil free/Trash free/Plastic free at Homecoming
“I love the trees in Greenpoint!” says Stevie Han Horn, 28, who moved to Brooklyn from Colorado in 2012. “Part of it makes me feel as though I’m in a small town. There are a few roads in Greenpoint that make me feel so smitten because the trees funnel the street making it extra dreamy.”
Nature lover? Sure. But when I learned that Stevie lived “trash free”, that seemed a little too hippy dippy for me. Yes, even by my standards! At first I didn’t believe her, like, is it even possible to live trash free? What does that even mean? Continue reading →
Find out how to keep Greenpoint green for Earth Day this week.
On a global scale, this year’s Earth Day marks a significant point in climate-change combat as world leaders including President Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping, gather at the United Nations headquarters in New York City to sign the Paris Climate Agreement, attempting to keep global temperatures rising above 2 degrees celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. Thanks, guys!
And while historic world-wide initiatives are being considered, here are some ways we can get in on the action in our own neighborhood.
TODAY from 4pm-6PM you can join the NYC Eco-Schools and Greenpoint Eco-Schools in the Brooklyn Sustainability Coordinator Gathering, specifically celebrating the sustainability initiatives with Greenpoint’s teachers, students, parents and schools. This is a FREE gathering open to formal and non-formal educators across NYC and members of the Greenpoint community.
Calling all educators: Celebrate Greenpoint TODAY at 4PM.
2. Grab your crew, your posse, your family, or just your lonesome and head to Transmitter Park for Greenpoint’s INSTAMEET, co-hosted by Greenpointers and Edoardo Monti on FRIDAY April 22nd at 6:30PM. This is part of the WorldWide Instameet’s #LifeOnEarth celebration.
3. If hashtags aren’t really your thing, trot over to Newton Creek for an Earth Day Nature Walk, and learn about the the city’s wastewater treatment in one of the most infamously polluted industrial waterways in the US, all the while enjoying the inspired sculptures of artist George Trakas.Meet at the big picnic tables on the Whale Creek side at 6:30pm this FRIDAY.
4. Learn how you can help green Greenpoint through GCEF’s30+ environmental projects on Saturday, April 30th from 10am-noon at The Warsaw on Driggs Avenue. They’re looking for neighbors just like you to make things happen.
As Pope Francis alights upon our city, the New York Times turns its attention to Greenpoint’s own St. Anthony Church, where graffiti, theft, and abuse of holy water bely the sometimes less savory side of embracing the destitute.
Progress for Newtown Creek’s new Kosciuszko Bridge are right on track. Where public development projects are concerned, no news is certainly newsworthy.
New York’s first Polish Dual Language Program has landed at PS34. On the agenda: preserving the neighborhood’s cultural heritage, preparing kids to succeed in English, and raising a class of high-achieving wunderkind. Continue reading →
