Friday, July 31, 2009

Though CUE is Gone, its Programs Live On

When the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) abruptly closed its doors earlier this year, questions swirled about the fate of the organization’s educational programs, accumulated from more than 30 years of service.

One such program is CUE’s “Green Brooklyn ... Green City” conference, the fate of which was unknown after the closing of the organization, until now.

The Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) recently announced that it would be taking over the conference, which will take place on Sept. 24, from noon to 6 p.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

The mission of “Green Brooklyn ... Green City” is to allow people to learn first-hand about from local experts about the many ways New York City is creating a more sustainable future. The event is the largest of its kind in Brooklyn and instructs attendees about actions they can personally take to lower their own environmental impact.

It will be the fifth year for the event, which last year had more than 60 exhibitors and 10 workshops. This year will be scaled down a bit, with four workshops, says CENYC spokesperson Amanda Gentile. She noted that the reason for less workshops is to
"ensure maximum attendance rather than have two running concurrently." There will be exhibitor tables and also on-site recycling and composting.

While topics for all the workshops haven’t been decided yet, one will be about climate change, another about greening your office, and another on food and the importance of buying locally, Gentile noted.

New this year is a daylong sculpture-building demonstration where artist Derick Melander will make sculptures from textiles collected for recycling.

Most importantly, “We’re trying to make this as close to zero waste as possible,” said Gentile. Which means exhibitors won’t be giving out brochures or promotional items. Booths will be more interactive, she added, with attendees signing up for e-news alerts instead of collecting paper materials.

Because the event is on a Thursday, it will run concurrently with the Borough Hall Greenmarket.

“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, non-profits and green businesses to learn and partner around green initiatives across the city.”

“Green Brooklyn ... Green City” will be a part of NYC Climate Week, which is a week designed to gather business and government leaders from across the world to discuss climate change. The week is from Sept. 21 to 25, 70 days before the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Back to homepage

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Brooklyn Children’s Museum Is Awarded LEED Silver


The Eagle received the following press release: Rafael Vinoly Architects’ expansion of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, located at the intersection of Brooklyn Avenue and St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, has been certified LEED Silver, making it New York City’s first LEED-certified museum.

In addition (as the Eagle has previously reported), it has been awarded a 2009 Building Brooklyn Award in the “Institutional” category from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Real Estate and Development Committee.

The museum was founded in 1899 and expanded on its current site in 1977. In 1999, it began to seek ways to increase capacity and to create a new public presence for the 21st century. Rafael Vinoly Architects has achieved this by creating a distinctive L-shaped, two story structure that differs from its context in color as well as physical form, yet remains welcoming and deferential to the museum’s existing built fabric.

The plan doubles the museum’s space to 102,000 square feet and is expected to expand its annual visitor capacity from 250,000 to 400,000. The architecture of the new building is compelling and inviting to children, its glittering envelope of 8.1 million yellow ceramic tiles creating a landmark attraction.

Two stories of new construction integrated with the existing structure add a spacious lobby, exhibition galleries, classrooms, a library, a café, a gift shop, and administrative space.
Child-friendly features include low-level handrails and porthole windows. Whenever possible, construction utilized rapidly renewable and recycled materials.

The museum is the first in New York City to employ geothermal wells for heating and cooling purposes.
“The design of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum is a force for shaping the creativity of young minds,” says Rafael Vinoly. “Its expanded presence in the neighborhood elicits a visceral, instinctive response in children that’s exciting to see.”

Photo by Chuck Choi

Back to homepage

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Clearwater Lecture Tonight


Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Waterfront Museum in Red Hook (290 Conover St.), Captain Samantha Heyman and Captain/Shipwright Nicholas Rogers of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater will present "Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Launching and Restoration of the historic Hudson Sloop Clearwater."

Launched in 1969 after years of fundraising by singer Pete Seeger, the Clearwater sails the Hudson river, hosting public tours and school groups. The historic vessel's purpose is to educate about New York's waterways and the environment.

Next week, from July 30 to August 2, the Clearwater will be docking in Red Hook. For more information about the lecture or the ship, visit www.waterfrontmuseum.org or www.clearwater.org.

Photo courtesy of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.

Back to homepage

Monday, July 20, 2009

Enviromedia Mobile Tours Brooklyn

This summer the Enviromedia Mobile, the "traveling nature and maritime museum on wheels," has been touring Brooklyn. On Saturday it visited Governors Island, and on Sunday it visited IKEA/Erie Basin Park. This photo was taken at Erie Basin Park, and shows Urban Divers members preparing a tipi for the day’s "Urban Trekker Tour 2009." The festival featured a variety of environmentally oriented activities, including an eco-cruise, birds of prey demonstration, catch-and-release fishing, live underwater video exploration and eco activities under the tipi.

Upcoming festival dates are: August 30 and September 27 at Governors Island, August 16 at Valentino Park, August 15 and September 13 at IKEA/Erie Basin Park, and July 26 at Bensonhurst Park. For more information about each day, visit www.urbandivers.org.

Photo by Mary Frost

Back to homepage

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Green Buildings Honored at Building Brooklyn Awards

At last night's Building Brooklyn Awards, held by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, two eco-friendly projects were honored. Galapagos Art Space, a DUMBO venue on track to LEED Certifcation, received the arts and culture award. Pictured here are Galapagos director Robert Elmes (left) with Tony Daniels of Cycle Architecture, the LEED-accredited architect who designed the space. The Perry Building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, received the National Grid Award, honored as Brooklyn’s first multi-tenanted green building.

Click here for
Eagle writer Linda Collins' full report on the event.

Photo by Jennifer MacFarlane

Back to homepage

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Reduce, Reuse, Re... Cyclone?

Now through July 18th, the Brooklyn Cyclones and National Grid present Going Green Week at KeySpan Park.

The Cyclones’ Going Green Week will feature National Grid expo tables on the ballpark’s concourse level to educate and motivate fans, regarding ways to be more environmentally conscious.

National Grid also offers a variety of energy efficiency tips, valuable rebates for the installation of energy efficiency products and information on its web site, www.thinksmartthinkgreen.com.

At last night's game, the first 2,500 fans in attendance received Going Green tote bags, presented by National Grid.

On July 18th, the first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a 100% Organic Cotton T-shirt, presented by National Grid. That night, the Cyclones will also be wearing Bamboo Jerseys, made of all-natural fibers.

Tickets to Cyclones games are available at the team's web site.

Back to homepage

Green Job Workshops at Brooklyn Public Library

The Brooklyn Public Library is hosting two green job workshops in the upcoming weeks. Attendees will learn about the next generation of jobs that will have a positive impact on the environment, find out which types of businesses need green workers, and what skills and training is needed to land a great job.

The first meeting will be Tuesday, July 28, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Business Library at 280 Cadman Plaza West. The second will be Tuesday, August 18 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Central Library, at 10 Grand Army Plaza in the second floor meeting room.

Register online here or call 718.623.7000 (select option 4).

Back to homepage

Monday, July 13, 2009

The Waterpod Project: Sustainable Living In the Waters of NYC


If you’ve ever wanted to escape city life without being too far from the city, you might take some cues from artist Mary Mattingly. After several years of planning, she is now living on an inland deck barge — dubbed Waterpod — currently docked at Governors Island’s Yankee Pier.

Built from recycled materials and eco-friendly products, Waterpod is a sustainable living space, with its inhabitants (all artists) living almost completely off the barge itself. Chickens and a garden supply the food, and the barge relies solely on solar power, bicycle power and a picohydro system (water power).

Designed as a public work of art, since it launched in late May (it was first docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard), it has showcased artwork and served as an educational tool, with visits from three to four school groups a week, said Mattingly.

Waterpod has open hours for the public to take tours. This past weekend, inhabitants of the barge hosted a yoga session, after which participants were encouraged to tour Governors Island’s green landscape.

The barge will be touring the Hudson and East Rivers, docking in each of the five boroughs. So far, it has had a strong presence in Brooklyn. Along with the Navy Yard, Waterpod was previously docked at the Sheepshead Bay Marina. For almost two weeks in August, the barge will visit Brooklyn Bridge Park.


Sustainable Living

Waterpod measures about 120 by 18 feet. It is made up of four separate spaces: a public area; space for the garden; an area that includes a bathroom, kitchen and gathering space; and a structure of 10 by 60 feet that’s broken up into sleep spaces.

Although the space to sleep is small and the barge is sometimes shared by up to five people, Mattingly (pictured left with Alison Ward and Eve K. Tremblay, artists and residents of the Waterpod) says it wasn’t that hard of an adjustment. “My apartment in Long Island City was quite small as well,” she laughed.

A typical day for the Waterpod occupants — all volunteers — starts at around 6:30 a.m., said Mattingly. Morning activities include visiting the chickens, cleaning their pen and watering the garden. The group then makes coffee with a “rocket stove,” which is a steel drum in which scraps are burned, made for the Waterpod Project by students in California.

Mattingly explained that for the remainder of a day, inhabitants clean the deck, check e-mails, make phone calls, work on the systems on the boat that aren’t yet complete, and take some leisure time.

The experience of living on the Waterpod has been good so far, Mattingly noted. “It’s really nice to sleep here at night. It’s peaceful.” But, she said, “it’s more isolating than I had imagined.”

There have been some challenges that Mattingly didn’t anticipate before moving on to the barge. “We don’t have enough food,” she said, because the chickens only produce one to two eggs a day and the vegetables — although getting fuller, particularly because of the rain — haven’t been able to feed the entire group. So they have supplemented with produce from local CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture groups) and gifts they have received.

Mattingly said the group has also decided to incorporate visits to surrounding neighborhoods, something that wasn’t planned before. They would take between 20 and 40 dollars a day out to explore.

Mattingly previously thought the group would be able to rely on bicycle power, but this has also proven difficult. “I have to pedal for half an hour to get half my cell phone charged,” she said. So they’ve placed more of an emphasis on solar power, which has been good despite the rain, and a machine that generates power from rainwater. Mattingly noted that she hopes to get a wind turbine installed on the barge, but that’s also been a struggle, as the Department of Buildings doesn’t allow them in New York City.

Still, “every day I’ve been learning something new,” Mattingly says. She hopes that people who visit and learn about the Waterpod will make changes in their own lives. “We’re pushing the limits for New York City. I hope it inspires people to implement [sustainable practices] in their own lives.”

Photos by Georgine Benvenuto

Back to homepage

Friday, July 10, 2009

Time's Up! Weekend Events

Time's Up!, New York City's direct-action environmental group, has a few bike-related events in Brooklyn listed on its web site for this coming weekend:


Tonight

Brooklyn Critical Mass, 7 p.m., with two meet-up points: the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park or the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge. Critical Mass is a bicycling event that was originated in 1992 in San Fransisco to raise awareness about how unfriendly the city was to cyclists. Now, Critical Masses are held in over 300 cities around the world. The Brooklyn Critical Mass started in 2004, and is a monthly celebration of bicycles and other nonpolluting means of transportation.

Coney Island Cyclone Ride, 7 p.m., with three meet-up spots: 7 p.m. at the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge (southweat corner of Chambers and Centre Street/Park Row), 7:25 in Brooklyn at the Carroll Street Drawbridge (between Nevins and Bond), or 7:50 at the 69th Street Pier in Brooklyn at the Shore Parkway bike path entrance. The Cyclone Ride goes to Coney Island Amusement Park from Manhattan, in time to see the fireworks. Once at Coney, the group spends about an hour and a half in the park, on the beach and on the boardwalk. Some people return on the subway, others ride.

Brooklyn Critical Mass After Party, 9 p.m., at the East River Bar, 97 S. Sixth St., off of Bedford Avenue, next to the Time's Up! Brooklyn Space.

Rage of Nature Benefit Party, 10:30 p.m. Ride from the party at the East River Bar, 97 S. Sixth St., to the benefit at Wow Haus, 37 Grand Ave. Live bands, B-movies, games, performances, and much more, $15.


Saturday, July 11

XUP Mechanics at Williamsburg Walks, 12 - 7 p.m., North Seventh and Bedford. The Time's Up! Mechanics will be tabling all day Saturday as part of the final Williamsburg Walks event in Brooklyn. The Co-op mechanics will be conducting free bike repair lessons, safety checks, and answering any bike related questions throughout the day.

Prospect Park Moonlight Ride, 9 p.m., meet at Grand Army Plaza, the northern entrance of Prospect Park. The ride is opened to bikers and skilled skaters, and is not a race.


Sunday, July 12

Bike Repair Class: Brakes and Gears, 2 - 4 p.m., 99 South Sixth St. off Bedford Ave. Learn how to fix your bike. All bike workshops and classes are free.

Fix Your Bike Workshop, 4 - 6 p.m., 99 South Sixth St. off Bedford Ave. Learn how to fix your bike. All bike workshops and classes are free.

For details and information, visit times-up.org.

Back to homepage

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Greenway Cleanup This Weekend

Join the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) for its monthly cleanup of the Columbia Street section of the Greenway. It will be this Saturday, July 11, from 10 - 11:30 a.m. Tools, trash bags and work gloves are provided, and all ages are welcome. Meet at BGI's office, 145 Columbia St. between Kane and DeGraw. RSVP to bmccormick@brooklyngreenway.org.

Back to homepage

Botanic Garden Unveils Plans For 'Green' Visitor Center


The Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) last week released plans for its new Visitor Center pavilion, which is slated to replace the current entrance adjacent to the northern parking lot at 900 Washington Ave. The project will break ground this summer and is planned to open in spring 2011.

As the first new structure built at the garden in 20 years and designed by architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi — architects of the Seattle Art Museum’s celebrated Olympic Sculpture Park — the 22,000-square-foot complex will house a new garden shop, an orientation room for tours and classes, an information desk, an event space, a refreshment bar and restrooms.

Visitors will cross a welcoming plaza, accented with plantings, to enter the new building. From the entrance, the center will extend westward toward the Cherry Esplanade.

Conceived as a seamless extension of the Garden’s landscape, the sinuous glass building, nestled into an existing berm at the Garden’s northeast corner, will serve as a three-dimensional continuation of the garden path system, framing a series of views into and through the Garden.

“Some of the world’s best buildings take their cues from natural settings,” said BBG President Scot Medbury. “Our vision for the new Visitor Center is that it should be an extension of the landscape, not just serving as a physical entry to the Garden but creating opportunities to enrich the visitor experience so that even before they begin their Garden tour, they will be transported.”

While the form and materials of the new building will echo historic structures at the Garden, its design and function will belong to the 21st century as the Garden’s first green structure, certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The Visitor Center will apply to receive a LEED Gold certification.

Sustainable design elements featured in the new center will include recycled building materials, passive solar components, geothermal heating, and bioswales (recessed catchment zones filled with water-loving plants) that will improve storm-water management and relieve the burden on the municipal sewer system.

The design will also feature a “living roof” that will utilize a wide range of native and/or drought-resistant plants, offering both energy savings and seasonal displays.

“We are in awe of both the exceptional beauty and the environmental sustainability of this innovative design,” said Medbury. “The new Visitor Center will physically embody our institutional commitment to conservation. We hope it will also inspire our neighbors and visitors to think about how they can incorporate green solutions into their own homes, businesses and lives.”

Weiss/Manfredi’s design was presented with a prestigious Award for Excellence in Design by the Public Design Commission of the City of New York. The award recognizes the superb integration of form, function, and sustainable practice in the design of the Garden’s new Visitor Center.

“A botanic garden is an unusual kind of museum with a living collection that is constantly changing,” said Marion Weiss, principal at Weiss/Manfredi. “The new Visitor Center is conceived as inhabitable topography, defining the threshold between the city and the Garden. Like the Garden itself, the building is experienced cinematically and is never seen in its entirety.”

“To provoke curiosity and interest in the world-class collection, the new building will provide a legible point of arrival and orientation, an interface between culture and cultivation,” said Michael Manfredi, also a principal at the firm.

“A chameleon-like structure, the Visitor Center transitions from an architectural presence at the street into a structured landscape within the Garden. The building redefines the physical and philosophical relationship between visitor and garden, introducing new connections between landscape and structure, exhibition and movement.”

The Visitor Center’s design was approved by the Design Commission in June 2008. Lead funding for the Visitor Center has been provided by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York City Council, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Representative Yvette C. Clarke.

Rendering courtesy of Weiss/Manfredi

Back to homepage

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Saving the Environment, Scoop by Scoop


Sometimes, a sweet tooth and concern for the environment go hand in hand. Such is the case for Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream (VLAIC) started last year by brothers Ben and Peter Van Leeuwen and Laura O’Neill, Ben’s wife, who are not only committed to offering the best ice cream possible, but also to reducing their carbon footprint.

What began from testing recipes in their Greenpoint home has evolved into a business that includes three trucks (soon to be five) that are stationed around the city and a presence in Whole Foods Markets in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Various independent markets, such as Get Fresh and Foragers Market in Brooklyn and Pioneer Supermarket in Manhattan, also carry VLAIC.

“We always wanted to have a smaller impact on the environment,” said O’Neill, who went on to explain that one way this is achieved is by keeping the trucks stationary, “like more of a storefront.”

The ingredients are all fresh, and local or organic wherever possible. The ice cream is made from hormone-free fresh milk and cream from farms in upstate New York. Other ingredients in the ice cream base are egg yolks and pure cane sugar. O’Neill explained that they don’t use condensed milk or preservatives or corn syrup in their ice cream, giving it a clean taste.

“It sets us apart from other ice creams,” she said. “It’s just like the kind of ice cream you would make at home.” She noted that their product has 19 percent butterfat and 30 percent less sugar than other high-end ice creams.

Also minimizing VLAIC’s carbon footprint are the disposable goods used, which are made from 100 percent renewable resources. The cups and napkins are Bagasse, a fiber made from sugar cane husk; and the drink cups, spoons and straws are made from corn husks.

The freezers in the ice cream trucks are plate freezers and charge overnight, meaning they don’t need to be plugged in every day. “We just have a very small generator to run the lights and cash register,” said O’Neill. “This means our trucks are nice and quiet and not burning unnecessary fuel all day.”

When creating their 10 flavors, O’Neill and the Van Leeuwens searched worldwide for the best ingredients possible. For the vanilla ice cream (VLAIC’s most popular flavor), they use organic Bourbon and Tahitian vanilla orchids grown in Papua New Guinea. French company Michel Cluizel is VLAIC’s chocolate supplier, and they use Piedmont hazelnuts for their hazelnut flavor.

“All of our ingredients are to the standards of organic or above,” O’Neill said. She noted that the red currants for the “Currants & Cream” flavor are local — grown in the Hudson Valley — and that the pistachios for the pistachio flavor are the only ones certified by the International Slow Food Institute, which supports food that is produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment.

VLAIC just introduced — six days ago, in fact — its newest flavor: Earl Grey tea, made with organic Rishi Tea and using only tea leaves from ancient tea trees. Later this summer, O’Neill will introduce a cinnamon flavor.

Currently, the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream trucks stop in Brooklyn on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. One of the trucks has a permanent location on Greene and Prince streets in SoHo, and another stops under the High Line park at West 13th and Washington streets. VLAIC’s Twitter feed posts daily locations under the tag “VLAIC.”

Out of all their locations, O’Neill says she prefers Brooklyn. “We like working in Brooklyn because it’s our neighborhood,” she said, adding that she sees a lot of regular customers. She and Ben were in the truck at Bedford Avenue on the Fourth of July, where they sold so many banana splits that she had make a few trips to buy more organic bananas.

VLAIC’s commitment to the environment goes beyond daily business practices: to help preserve the Mountain Gorilla, one of the world’s most endangered species, one percent of all profits are given to Wildlife Direct, a grassroots organization that actively protects endangered species. VLAIC also donates to the WSPCA and the World Wildlife Foundation.

For more information about Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, visit www.vanleeuwenicecream.com.

Photo by Marc Hibsher

Back to homepage

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

DOE Triples Number of School Recycling Coordinators after Requests from De Blasio

The Eagle received this press release:

Councilmember Bill de Blasio today applauded the new and improved recycling programs in New York City public schools that will dramatically increase recycling efforts in the City’s education system. The Department of Education (DOE) has tripled the number of School Recycling Coordinators and provided recycling training for public schools, following aggressive lobbying from de Blasio.

“The best way to save our environment is to make our children invested in the future of our planet. Throwing paper into the garbage can or using designated recycling bins for regular trash sends a bad message to our children, yet for years New York City public schools have operated this way. Creating effective recycling programs in public schools will cut down on unnecessary waste and educate our children at the same time. I commend the Department of Education for taking these important steps which will not only help our planet, but also encourage our children to become responsible stewards of the environment,” said Councilmember Bill de Blasio.

Last June, the City Council's Education and Sanitation Committees held a joint hearing at the request of Councilmember de Blasio to examine school recycling policies. At the time, the DOE acknowledged that there were significant shortcomings with the state of recycling in the school system, and the agency further noted that only 372 out of the City's more than 1,400 schools had School Recycling Coordinators in place.

Following the hearing, the DOE immediately began to revamp school recycling policies and procedures. The DOE revised the Chancellor's Regulations on recycling to bring them up to date with the current school organizational structure. The DOE also issued multiple directives to school principals instructing them to designate school recycling coordinators for the start of the 2008-2009 school year.

De Blasio has praised these initial improvements, after exercising continuous oversight on school recycling over the past year. In February, de Blasio wrote to the DOE to request information about progress in increasing the number of School Recycling Coordinators, and the level of training provided to School Recycling Coordinators.

Since this time, the DOE has announced three very important achievements with regard to improving School Recycling:

1) The number of School Recycling Coordinators has more than tripled since one year ago at the Council's oversight hearing, called by de Blasio. There are now Recycling Coordinators in 1,223 schools, up from only 372.

2) The DOE has created a Sustainability Committee that includes the Division of School Facilities, City agency representatives and labor representatives to increase sustainable practices in schools.

3) School Recycling Coordinators are now provided with training to ensure that they have the support to create more environmentally friendly practices in schools. The DOE has already held training sessions in Staten Island and Brooklyn.

Back to homepage

Brooklyn Bowl Opens Tonight!


Beginning tonight at 6 p.m., green bowling alley Brooklyn Bowl (at 61 Wythe Ave in Williamsburg) is open for business in a soft launch capacity. During this time, operating hours will be Sunday, Tuesday - Thursday from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Friday and Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. It won't be open on Mondays and will only serve to a 21+ crowd.

As for food, a small snack menu will be served from July 10 through the 20th and an expanded "preview" menu will begin on the 21st. The full menu by Blue Ribbon will debut on August 4.

Live music performances, advance lane reservations and extended hours (including child-friendly weekend days) will begin in late summer.

Photo by Adam Macchia

Back to homepage

Thursday, July 2, 2009

No Words

AP Photo

By a Condo, Get... A Prius?


It’s a deal you can’t refuse. This weekend only, today through Sunday, July 5, residents who commit to buying a one-bedroom unit at The Sinclair Condominiums in Prospect Heights will receive a brand new Toyota Prius.
Eagle writer Linda Collins has the scoop.

Back to homepage

'Recycle, Reused, Rescued' Art Show in Bay Ridge


Gallery 364 owner and founder Georgine Benvenuto has opened a new art show with the theme, "Recycle, Reused, Rescued," in which artists submitted worked made from recycled and reclaimed materials. Pictured here is
"American Flag," by Michael Esposito, made of hundreds of small Americana items from toy plastic trucks to figurines and everyday items.

For more information and photos by Eagle reporter Harold Egeln, who attended the show's opening, click here.

Photo by Harold Egeln

Back to homepage

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Climate Change Exhibit Extended in DUMBO, and Other News

The photography show, Visualizing Climate Change, at DUMBO's Henry Gregg Gallery, has been extended until July 31st. It is a showcase of work from photo agency GHG Photos. For more information go to www.henrygregggallery.com.

Joshua Wolfe, founder of GHG Photos will receive the 2009 Ansel Adams Award. The “award honors an individual who has made superlative use of still photography to further a conservation cause.” Josh will be the third GHG member to win the award. Steve Kazlowski was last year’s recipient and Gary Braasch won in 2006. This is coming on the heels of his recently published book
Climate Change: Picturing the Science, that was co-authored with Gavin Schmidt. For more information on the book and reviews go to www.picturingclimatechange.com.

Back to homepage