Composting Pilot Program Introduced at Greenmarkets in Brooklyn, City

If you're like me, every time you throw out food scraps or egg shells, you feel a little guilty. But I don't have a worm bin, and to be honest, it grosses me out a little (yeah, I read and saw No Impact Man, I know about all the bugs you get when you compost in your apartment. Otherwise I'd jump on that bandwagon). So I'm super happy about GrowNYC's new composting program.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and GrowNYC, joined by Ron Bergamini of Action Carting, announced the launch of a pilot program to provide composting services to NYC residents at six new Greenmarket locations, 10 in total. The pilot was developed by GrowNYC’s Greenmarket and Office of Recycling Outreach and Education programs.

In Brooklyn, composting services will now be available at the McCarren Park Greenmarket (Union Ave between Driggs and N 12th St) on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Fort Greene Greenmarket (Washington Park at DeKalb) on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the Borough Hall Greenmarket on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Composting drop-off sites were already in place at the Fort Greene Greenmarket (conducted by the Fort Greene Compost Project), the Union Square Greenmarket (held by GrowNYC and the Lower East Side Ecology Center) and two Greemarkets in Queens (conducted by the Western Queens Compost Initiative).

Accepted materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps (rice, pasta, bread, cereal etc.), coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, egg and nut shells, pits, cut or dried flowers, houseplants and potting soil. Unacceptable materials: meat, chicken, fish, greasy food scraps, fat, oil, dairy, dog or cat waste, kitty litter, coal or charcoal, coconuts, diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants/soil or biodegradable/compostable plastics.

Food scraps can be collected in large yogurt containers or other covered plastic containers, plastic bags, milk cartons or in commercially-available compost pails. To reduce odors at home and at the Greenmarket, store items in the freezer or refrigerator. A layer of shredded newspaper at the bottom of your storage container also helps.

Food comprises about 17 percent of NYC’s waste stream. When this material is sent to a landfill it contributes to NYC’s disposal costs and creates greenhouse gas emissions. When composted, food scraps and other organic waste become a useful product that adds nutrients and improves the quality of soil for street trees, gardens and more.

“Last year in my Food Works speech one of our goals was to get more people to compost their scraps. You could throw a banana peel or apple core in the garbage but that’s just wasting valuable energy,” said Quinn. “I’m  thrilled to be able to support the opening of these new compost drop-off sites, and what better place to offer them than at the Greenmarkets, where many of the fruits and vegetables sold benefit from the rich, nutrient-filled compost NYC residents will be contributing to every time they drop their food scraps.”

“We’re thrilled that Speaker Quinn and the New York City Council is helping us offer residents a tangible resource that will shrink their trash pile-up and create a precious resource that will benefit local gardens and farms,” said GrowNYC Executive Director Marcel Van Ooyen. “Compost collection complements other services GrowNYC offers city dwellers looking to lower their environmental impact, including Greenmarkets, textile collections, cell phone and battery recycling, environmental education and technical and material assistance we provide community and school gardens.”

Based on the success of the pilot, GrowNYC will explore running the 6 new collection sites on a permanent basis.

Fabulous Fresh Finds, Week 4: Change of Plans

This past Saturday, I was forced to wait at home all day for the DirecTV tech. Alas, I couldn't make it to the GAP Greenmarket. Not wanting to go another week without farm fresh produce (gasp), I made a quick trip yesterday to the Borough Hall Greenmarket, which is close to my office.

Facing limited options at this particular market on this particular day, I came away with tomatoes and onions from Phillips Farms (Hunterdon County, NJ), peaches from Wilklow Orchards (Ulster County, NY), plums and — most excitingly — juice from Red Jacket Orchards (Ontario County, NY).

The juice was raspberry apple. Having never seen this combination before, I decided to try it. It was refreshing. I will absolutely go back for a bigger bottle (I bought the individual size). We plan on using the tomatoes for a caprese salad and will snack on the fruit this week.

The Borough Hall Greenmarket is held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays year round, and on Thursdays from April 1 through December 30. The city's Greenmarkets are a program of GrowNYC, a non-profit geared toward improving the quality of life in the five boroughs through environmental programs. This particular Greenmarket celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. 

Related:

Fabulous Fresh Finds, Week 3: On the Road

Fabulous Fresh Finds: Week 2

New Blog Feature: Fabulous Fresh Finds

Book Festival's Green Panel Wrestles With Consumer Decisions

In a panel entitled, “It Ain’t Easy Being Green” at the Brooklyn Book Festival this past Sunday — moderated by Ted Hamm, founding editor of the political journal Brooklyn Rail — environmentalists Colin Beaven (No Impact Man), Heather Rogers (Green Gone Wrong) and Anna Lappé (Diet For a Hot Planet) gathered to speak about the green movement.

Before starting the discussion, I was happy to notice that Beaven removed three of the Poland Spring water bottles from the table (the panelists had their own reusable water containers, Ted Hamm did not). It always frustrates me that these water bottles are supplied at so-called "green" events, sometimes even the same events at which stopping the use of said water bottles is discussed.

Anyway, the overall theme of the discussion was how corporations and consumers have misapplied the label of sustainability. As a case in point, Lappé, who has been working to change the country’s food system, spoke about how McDonald’s claims to be a sustainable company — a "community-building sustainability organization," in fact — in part because its Happy Meals have come with stuffed animal versions of endangered species.

"We cannot just let food be at the mercy of our market sources," she continued. "We have to change the food system from the ground up."

Rogers pointed out that "getting to environmental sustainability isn’t a product we’re going to buy. It's a process." She travels around the world looking at how other cultures tackle environmental solutions. "I don't know if we can solve the problems of mass consumption through more consumption," she said, mentioning an example of an organic sugar company that grew its sugar cane in the place of a forest that it had destroyed.

"Shopping isn't voting, it's shopping," she noted. "There are so many technologies we already have. And yet in the United States we're constantly focused on the technology that's just around the corner."

Beaven spent a year of his life living in New York City producing no environmental impact. That year produced a blog, a book and a documentary film shown at the Sundance Film Festival. He explained that if people start by making lifestyle changes, they can then get involved in the political process.

"We don't need to know much more that we already do. The question is whether we believe we can do anything about it," he said, "Our capacity to do more good is infinite. The question is: What do we use our resources for?"

Green Panel at this Weekend's Book Festival

The Brooklyn Book Festival returns to Borough Hall for the fifth year this Sunday, Sept. 12. Among the many events will be a panel entitled "It Ain't Easy Being Green," in which experts will discuss whether sustainable environmental practices are really helping save the planet. With Colin Beavan (No Impact Man), Heather Rogers (Green Gone Wrong), Anna Lappé (Diet for a Hot Planet) and Miyun Park (Gristle).

The panel will be at 3 p.m. at St. Francis Mcardle Hall, on the first floor of St. Francis College.

Spring at the Borough Hall Greenmarket

It was a hot day at the Borough Hall Greenmarket. People milled around, picking up fresh strawberries, asparagus and leafy greens. This greenmarket is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the spring and summer season. Visit www.grownyc.org. for a list of the other greenmarkets in Brooklyn. Visit the Locavore's Guide to New York City to find out what fruits and vegetables are in season right now.

Face of a Farmer at Borough Hall Greenmarket

Pictured here is Fred Wilklow, owner of Wilklow Orchards upstate in Highland, NY. He has been a staple at the Borough Hall Greenmarket in Columbus Park for 25 years, and offers small fruits, vegetables, cider, baked goods, jams, beef and pork. Visit farmer Fred at the greenmarket every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

New York City's Greenmarket program is operated by GrowNYC, formerly the Council on the Environment of New York City. Learn more about the organization and its many programs here.

Photo by Mario Belluomo 

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First Greenway Workshop 'High-Energy, Productive'

Thursday night was the first of four workshops hosted by the DOT in collaboration with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) and the Regional Planning Association to hash out details for the 14-mile route with community members. It was held at Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn.

“We had a high-energy, productive workshop,” said BGI co-founder Meg Fellerath in an e-mail message. She explained that there were about 60 community participants, who worked in facilitated groups to come up with route preferences for the Greenway in the Downtown Brooklyn area.

“Lots of thoughtful ideas were presented during the report-back to the large group, and DOT will be taking all of this into consideration as they look at different route alternatives. DOT will present their synthesis back to the community in a few months for comment,” Fellerath continued. “DOT felt that it was a great turnout and level of excitement, and they’re looking forward to the next meeting.”

The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is a 14-mile, multi-use, off-road path spanning from Greenpoint all the way down to Bay Ridge. It was envisioned by Brian McCormick, Milton Puryear and Fellerath, who incorporated as the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative in 2004. They celebrated BGI’s sixth anniversary this month.

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DOT Announces Workshops For Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) announced it will host a series of community workshops on the future of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway — a planned 14-mile bicycle and pedestrian path stretching from Sunset Park to Greenpoint. When finished, it will connect many existing parks and public open spaces along the waterfront.

With funding from Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez, the Greenway will enhance waterfront access, improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and increase recreational opportunities in these areas, many of which are along underused and difficult-to-access corridors. While portions of the plan have been implemented in sections — including along Columbia Street in Red Hook — DOT is currently conducting a master planning process to refine the project elements and to target gaps in the network. Feedback from the workshops will help the city identify goals for the DOT to work on with other agencies as it develops a long-term vision to implement in the coming years.

The series of four workshops includes one in each of the four waterfront community districts spanned by the Greenway. They will be held in collaboration with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) and the Regional Planning Association and are scheduled from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at these locations:

Downtown Brooklyn
Thursday, March 25
Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon St.

Sunset Park
Thursday, April 8
St. Michael R.C. Church, Fourth Avenue and 42nd Street

Red Hook
Tuesday, April 13
Red Hook Recreation Center, 155 Bay St.

Greenpoint/Williamsburg
Thursday, April 22
Brooklyn Brewery, 79 North 11th St.

RSVP to brooklynwaterfrontgreenway@dot.nyc.gov.

This announcement comes in conjunction with BGI’s sixth anniversary. Milton Puryear, Brian McCormick and Meg Fellerath incorporated as the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative in 2004. They envisioned the 14-mile off-road path spanning from Greenpoint all the way down to Bay Ridge to be multi-use and have different components.

According to BGI’s plan, the path will be between 20 and 30 feet wide in total, encompassing a 4- to 8-foot landscaped buffer between it and the street, a 10- to 12-foot bike bath, and a 6- to 10-foot pedestrian path.

BGI hosts monthly cleanups along the Columbia Street section of the Greenway. The next one will be on Saturday, April 22.

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Council on Environment of NYC Gets a Makeover

Upon hearing the name “Council on the Environment of New York City,” many people assume the organization is a city agency. Still others aren’t aware that this organization has been responsible for the city’s greenmarkets since the very first one opened in 1976.

Because of these problems, said spokesperson Amanda Gentile, the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) underwent an almost year-long re-branding process, working with its board, staff and pro-bono consultants, including the Harvards Business School Alumni Association. The end result: a new name, GrowNYC. 

The new logo, circular with the new name and a green apple in the middle, is surrounded by the words “Greenmarket,” “Garden,” “Teach” and “Recycle,” representing the organization’s programs. 

While the logo is new, GrowNYC’s mission will remain the same, which is to “give people the tools and the education and the resources to make New York City a more sustainable environment,” assistant director Julie Walsh told the Eagle in a previous interview. “It’s by the people, of the people, and for the people.”

GrowNYC has operated over 45 Greenmarkets city-wide — with 11 in Brooklyn — since the program began in 1976, with 11 in Brooklyn. The one at Borough Hall — one of the city’s oldest — celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. 

Executive director Marcel Van Ooyen said last year that this greenmarket “is an example of all that we’ve been able to accomplish,” and that it’s one of the most popular.

The Open Space Greening (OSG) program, founded in 1975, has helped neighborhoods build and sustain over 60 community gardens throughout the city, 26 in Brooklyn.

A relatively new program, the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE), started in 2006 sends representatives out into the boroughs to educate residents about the city’s curbside recycling program, encouraging them to take advantage of it.

“What we try to do is basically get people to understand the program,” said David Hurd, director of OROE, in December. “To debunk the classic myth [that recyclables don’t get recycled].”

GrowNYC has three different programs geared toward educating the city’s youth: Training Student Organizers (TSO), “Learn It, Grow It, Eat It” and Greenmarket Youth Education Project. Through TSO, students have built and demonstrated solar ovens, planted trees, removed invasive species and learned about New York City’s watershed.

In some cases, the presence of these youthmarkets has helped make neighborhoods safer. Walsh told about one particular youthmarket in a south Bronx neighborhood near a police surveillance tower. “Within two weeks of the market operating, [the police] were able to leave,” Walsh told the Eagle.

“We want people to engage in behaviors that will make a more sustainable city — behaviors that they will carry with them,” she continued. 

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Recycle Batteries and Cell Phones at Brooklyn Greenmarkets

The Eagle received the following press release:

Beginning this week, the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) is placing collection boxes to recycle old rechargeable batteries and cell phones at select Greenmarket farmers markets across the city.

CENYC has joined the Recyclable Battery Recycling Corporation’s (RBRC) national Call2Recycle program which will help NYC residents conveniently recycle their cell phones and portable rechargeable batteries. All of the materials collected through the Call2Recycle program are recycled and used to create other types of materials, including new batteries and scrap metal. None of the material broken down from the recycling of rechargeable batteries and cell phones makes its ways into landfills.

Residents can now easily recycle these items at eight Greenmarket locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Collection boxes will be available at the Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket (the northwest entrance to Prospect Park) on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“By participating in the Call2Recycle program, we’re able to conserve natural resources and at the same time prevent harmful materials from entering our landfills,” said CENYC Executive Director Marcel Van Ooyen. “This program is one of the ways we help New Yorkers recycle better, reuse more, and reduce waste.”

Rechargeable batteries are commonly found in cellular and cordless phones, laptop computers, cordless power tools, two-way radios, camcorders, digital cameras, and a variety of other portable electronic products. When the battery can no longer hold a charge, it can and should be recycled. In fact, with the implementation of Local Law 97 of 2005, it has been illegal for NYC resident to discard rechargeable batteries in the trash since December 2006. The average American cell phone user has a total of 3 or more cell phones and 6 cordless electronic products in their possession.

“Community participation is a crucial part of our program because it puts us in touch with the public,” says Carl Smith, RBRC President. “Communities like New York City are helping to make rechargeable battery and cell phone recycling a reality, and that’s great for the environment.”

“We’ve seen how textile recycling programs at our farmers markets are a success and we are thrilled to add rechargeable batteries and cell phones to the list of materials we collect for recycling,” said Greenmarket Director Michael Hurwitz. “Our Greenmarkets are becoming the go-to resource for sustainable living—with many offering compost collections, textile recycling, and other community-based activities.”

In addition to cell phones and rechargable batteries, CENYC also collects unwanted clothing at 8 Greenmarket locations. Through its clothing and textile recycling program, CENYC has diverted nearly 500,000 pounds of textiles from the landfill.

For more information, visit www.cenyc.org/recycling/batteries.


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Enviromedia Mobile Unveils at Borough Hall

Yesterday at Borough Hall Plaza Park, the Enviromedia Mobile, a traveling urban nature maritime museum on wheels, was officially unveiled. An 11-year project of the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy under the direction of Ludger Balan, the museum is a way for New Yorkers to “think of our urban environment as a habitat,” Balan said. Students visiting the museum can learn about species native to New York’s waterways and how climate change will impact them.

Pictured here in front of the mobile museum, left to right, are Jay Kaplan of Waste Management, who presented the Enviromedia Mobile with a $10,000 check; Balan; students Robert and Margaret Ellis; Dan Wiley representing Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez; Assemblyman Bill Colton, who funded the Mobile with a $100,000 grant; and Rachel Amar of Waste Management.

Here is a view of the entire Enviromedia Mobile from the entrance. Some photos of exhibits are below, including models of two cormorants, which are birds native to New York. Another feature of the Mobile is an authentic dugout canoe used by Lenape women, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Hudson River.

"The success of our environment begins with young people," Belan said. "If they are not connecting, the stewardship will not be there."

For more information visit www.urbandivers.org. For bookings call (347) 224-5828.

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Green Brooklyn Fair a 'Huge Success'

To explore a sustainable future for New York City, green experts and novices alike flocked to Brooklyn Borough Hall last Thursday for the “Green Brooklyn … Green City” Fair hosted by the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC).

Brooklyn was the perfect place to hold the celebration, according to Borough President Marty Markowitz, who referred to it as “the ‘green’ republic of Brooklyn,” saying, “Brooklyn is really leading the way forward for a greener New York City.” Markowitz cited his own office as an example: it’s the first borough president’s office in the city to install bike racks and to use hybrid cars.

Participants could shop and tour the Borough Hall Greenmarket and visit 40 exhibits in Columbus Park. Encouraged to make the exhibits as minimal waste as possible, exhibitors brought interactive elements to their booths instead of paper giveaways. Petri Plumbing and Heating had a dual flush toilet on display, while Brooklyn-based Green Depot had some of its products on display.

There were booths focused on green design as well. From the Source, a Greenpoint design firm, uses “reclaimed and sustainably harvested woods” to create furniture, said designer Kristin Riccio. At another exhibit, Kris Drury, a representative from the Pratt Design Incubator, explained that her organization supports Pratt’s entrepreneurial alumni in starting sustainable businesses. The Incubator is currently assisting a startup called SMIT to develop and launch a new solar/wind-powered “ivy” technology.

Artist Derick Melander was at another exhibit with a group of volunteers folding and stacking clothes for an on-site art demonstration. He told the Eagle that around 40 volunteers enlisted, and at the end of the day, the sculpture of folded clothes was around six feet tall. “It definitely had a big visual impact and got the message across,” Melander said.

Workshops on Climate, Business and Food

Three workshops took place in the Ceremonial Courtroom at Borough Hall throughout the day. The first, “The State of the Climate,” was moderated by CENYC Executive Director Marcel Van Ooyen. Panelists were Dr. Radley Horton, Columbia University and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Hugh Hough of The Climate Project and president of Green Team USA; and Dr. William Solecki, professor of Urban Environmental Change at Hunter College and director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities.

The three speakers touched on the alarming state of the current climate, rising global temperatures, and increasing occurrences of extreme weather events. Even a summer like this one, which didn’t see as many high temperatures as in previous years (the hottest year on record was 2005, said Hough), is still consistent with climate change, explained Horton.

The second workshop of the day, “Green Your Business,” was moderated by Christina Salvi, recycling outreach coordinator, at the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education at CEYNC. Presenters were Vanessa Knight, director of the Sustainable Business Network of New York City; Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard; and Jim Holiber, general manager of Green Depot.

Knight presented a portion of Brooklyn’s wealth of innovative green businesses and said that to succeed in the green market means “running a business with people, planet and profit in mind.” Holiber spoke about Green Depot and how the business listened to its customers and evolved its product line.

Kimball talked about the green goings-on at the Navy Yard, most notably the most recent project, the adaptive reuse of buildings to create a Green Manufacturing Center and an exhibition and visitors’ center.

“The most green thing you can do is an adaptive reuse of an historic structure,” Kimball said.
“Local vs. Organic: And Why We Care” was the last workshop of the day, moderated by Michael Hurwitz, director of the Greenmarket Program at CENYC. Speakers were Anna Lappe, noted environmentalist and bestselling author; Justone Bossert of Red Jacket Orchards; and Dr. Dickson Despommier, professor of Environmental Health Science at Columbia University.

“We absolutely need to support our local farms,” said Lappe. “Without doing that we will have no farms left.” Farmer Bossert agreed, while Despommier took it further, explaining that we don’t have enough land to farm on. “We farm [land] the size of South America,” he said, explaining that with new technologies, we can build vertical farms, like greenhouses, that allow us to grow any kind of food anywhere.

This was the fifth year for the fair, the first for CENYC as its host. “Looking out at the crowds, it was easy to see Green Brooklyn ... Green City was a huge success,” said Van Ooyen. “For some participants it was a chance to make new connections, share ideas, and expand their knowledge base of environmental issues. For others, it was their first discovery of simple ways to help improve the environment.”

Photo: Derick Melander (center in the blue shorts) stands with a group of his volunteers as they take a break from folding recycled clothes at the “Green Brooklyn … Green City” fair last Thursday. Melander was conducting an on-site sculpture demonstration with the clothes. At the end of the day, the stacked, folded clothes were six feet tall.

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Green Brooklyn … Green City at Brooklyn Borough Hall This Thursday

This Thursday, New Yorkers will converge yet again at Brooklyn Borough Hall for another fair, this time a green one. It’s the fifth annual Green Brooklyn … Green City fair and symposium, where attendees will visit workshops and exhibits to learn about how New York City is creating a sustainable future.

Hosted by the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC), the fair is free and will run from noon until 6 p.m., with opening remarks at 11:30 a.m.

Three workshops are scheduled throughout the day, to take place in the Court Room at Borough Hall. From noon – 1 p.m. is “The State of the Climate” workshop, where the science of climate change and its impacts on a local and global scale will be discussed. Presenters at this workshop are Dr. Radley Horton, Columbia University and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Hugh Hough of The Climate Project and president of Green Team USA; and Dr. William Solecki, professor of Urban Environmental Change at Hunter College and director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities.

The second workshop of the day, “Green Your Business,” from 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., will focus on new innovations in green buildings, ways to make operations more green from the ground up, and resources needed to minimize the impact of a business. Presenters will be Vanessa Knight, director of the Sustainable Business Network of New York City; Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard; and Jim Holiber, general manager of Green Depot.

“Local vs. Organic: And Why We Care” will be the last workshop of the day, running from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Discussing how we grow and get our food will be Michael Hurwitz, director of the Greenmarket Program at CENYC; Anna Lappe, noted environmentalist and bestselling author; and Justone Bossert of Red Jacket Orchards.

The Borough Hall Greenmarket will be running as usual on Thursday, so attendees to the Green Brooklyn fair will be able to purchase fresh local produce and baked goods.

CENYC’s Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE) will be on hand doing on-site recycling by hand, and Brooklyn-based clothing recycling company Wearable Collections will also be there accepting donations of old clothes.

Clothes collected by Wearable Collections will be given to artist Derick Melander, who will be conducting a daylong sculpture demonstration. Aided by 20 volunteers, he will carefully sort, fold and stack recycled clothes into an art piece, to be completed by the end of the fair.

Non-profit organization Bags for the People — which provides a sustainable alternative to plastic bags — will be sewing cloth bags live at the Green Brooklyn fair, giving them out for free.

Over 30 exhibitors will be at the fair, including the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Greenbridge/The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Pratt Center for Sustainable Design/Pratt Design Incubator, the Prospect Park Alliance Volunteer Corps, and Green Depot.

This is the first year CENYC has hosted the fair — the now-closed Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) having hosted it the previous four years. CENYC spokesperson Amanda Gentile (who actually used to work at CUE) said that this year the fair will be “more interactive and less paper-focused” than in previous years. For example, a green plumber will be bringing in a dual flush toilet for attendees to see.

“We’re trying to make this as close to zero waste as possible,” said Gentile.

“The 5th Annual Green Brooklyn … Green City conference is a great opportunity to connect city residents with the tools they need to take direct action to improve the environment,” said CENYC Executive Director Marcel Van Ooyen.

“CENYC is known for being a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of organization between our work in community gardens, Greenmarket farmers markets, service learning programs for youth, and grassroots recycling outreach,” he continued. “What better way to dig in than to bring together residents, government agencies, nonprofits and green businesses to learn and partner around green initiatives across the city?”

This event is sponsored by Waste Management, TD Bank, Green Mountain Energy, National Grid, and the Village Voice.

Green Brooklyn Conference Details

When the upcoming Green Brooklyn... Green City conference, held by the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC), was announced, all the details weren't set in stone yet. Here are some updates:

There will be three workshops throughout the day, not four as previously reported. "The State of the Climate" workshop will be from noon - 1 p.m., "Green Your Business" will be from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. and "The Future of Food" will run from 3 - 4 p.m. All workshops take place in the Court Room inside Borough Hall.

CENYC is looking for volunteers for the conference, to assist with day-of logistics and on-the-ground marketing the week before the event. One or two event interns are also needed in the next few weeks to help with the final phase of planning. If you're interested, email Caitlin Shann at cshann@cenyc.org.

A sculpture demonstration by artist Derick Melander will feature him (with a group of volunteers) racing against the clock to create a four thousand pound structure entirely made from carefully folded second-hand clothing,a rranged by color. If Melander and team make their goal, the sculpture will be five feet wide and seven feet tall. Bring your old clothes to contribute! Wearable Collections will collect what's not used.

The upcoming conference will be at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Thursday, September 24, from 12 - 6 p.m. with opening remarks at 11:30 a.m.

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Boro Hall Greenmarket: Highly Sustainable

Reaches Quarter-Century Milestone

Sure, greenmarkets and local eating are all the rage now, but they’ve been around longer than you might think. The Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC), which was started in 1970, has been opening and maintaining greenmarkets for more than 30 years.

“The first market opened under the 59th Street Bridge in 1976,” said CENYC assistant director Julie Walsh. Today, CENYC operates 49 greenmarkets in the city, with 11 in Brooklyn. The newest is in Bay Ridge, which opened in October of 2008.

This month the Borough Hall Greenmarket, one of the city’s oldest, will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Monthlong festivities will culminate in a celebration on June 27, which will include a seafood cook-off, pizza baking with Bread Alone Bakery, and a solar panel demonstration from environmental education group Solar One. Sustainable food advocates Just Food will have a table at the event, as will CENYC’s Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE).

On Cadman Plaza at the intersection of Court and Montague streets, the Borough Hall Greenmarket is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays year-round and Thursdays from April 2 through Dec. 24.

Fred Wilklow, head farmer of Wilklow Orchards, has been selling at the Borough Hall Greenmarket since it started. Back then, he said, customers came from all over because it was the only one in the area. Even now, some of those same people shop at the greenmarket.

“I’m looking forward to [the party], I’ll see a lot of people who have been customers since the first day,” Wilklow said. “I’ve seen families grow up, my family has grown up. It’s become my second hometown.”

Wilklow Orchards, along with Phillips Farms, provides fresh picked fruits and vegetables, plants and flowers, and grass-fed meat to the market. Also available are fresh fish, eggs, buffalo yogurt, cheese and meat. New this year are Long Island wine producers Paumanok Vineyards, along with organic vegetables, chicken and eggs from Fishkill Farms.

Michael Hurwitz, CENYC Greenmarket program director, said the Borough Hall Greenmarket “demonstrates the strength of the market, the farmers that are there and the community around the market.” He added, “You can go there on a Saturday and buy anything you want that’s edible. There’s a diverse array of products.”

CENYC Executive Director Marcel Van Ooyen says the greenmarket “is an example of all that we’ve been able to accomplish,” and that it’s one of the organization’s most popular greenmarkets.

Helping the City Live Better

CENYC’s mission is to “give people the tools and the education and the resources to make New York City a more sustainable environment,” Walsh said. “It’s by the people, of the people, and for the people.”

In addition to greenmarkets, CENYC brings fresh food and produce to underpriveleged areas with its Youthmarket program.

“Communities that are food deserts, that really need access to fresh healthy food, they can’t support a traditional farmer’s market model, so what we do is we buy wholesale from the farmers in our Greenmarket program and set up a farm stand that’s staffed, operated and managed by community youth,” Walsh explained.

In some cases, the presence of a youthmarket has helped make neighborhoods safer. Walsh told about one particular youthmarket in a south Bronx neighborhood near a police surveillance tower. “Within two weeks of the market operating, [the police] were able to leave,” she said.
With CENYC’s Open Spaces Greening program, 57 community gardens have opened in New York City since 1978, 26 of them in Brooklyn.

“We want people to engage in behaviors that will make a more sustainable city — behaviors that they will carry with them,” Walsh noted. “People can see the link. When you go to a community garden you see the importance of preserving nature.”

CENYC also has a presence in 13 city schools with its environmental education program, one of those being Madison High School in Midwood. Through Training Student Organizers (TSO), students have built and demonstrated solar ovens, planted trees, removed invasive species and learned about New York City’s watershed.

In 2006, the Office of Recycling Outreach Education (OROE) was created by CENYC. This part of the organization is specific to the five boroughs, each having its own recycling outreach coordinator. These coordinators target specific neighborhoods that have low recycling diversion rates.

“[OROE] teaches people how to properly recycle,” said CENYC development and communications specialist Amanda Gentile. She said that in the past, OROE has set up a table at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket and conducted a “recycling challenge.” Its purpose is “to make recycling as easy as possible,” she added. OROE will hold the recycling challenge at the Borough Hall Greenmarket’s anniversary celebration.

But no matter what CENYC does, it’s always with a positive outlook. “There’s not so much talking about negativity,” Gentile said. “We’re simply doing things that are directly making improvements, and trying to get people involved in doing that with us.”

Photo above, by Don Evans, is Eva Skillicorn from Wilklow Orchards

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