Climate Awareness Day in Brooklyn

This Sunday, Jan. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m., join Parents For Climate Protection, the New York League of Conservation Voters, NYPIRG, Transportation Alternatives, Park Slope Parents, and the Brooklyn Food Coalition at Congregation Beth Elohim for Climate Awareness Day.

The featured speaker will be Liz Butler, campaign director of 1Sky, the largest collaborative climate and energy campaign in the United States. Butler was a co-founder of ForestEthics and was directly responsible for the protection of over 50 million acres of forests in the U.S., Canada, and Chile. She also served as the National Organizing Director for American Lands Alliance and the Director of Missouri Public Interest Research Group. 

Butler's address will be followed by an audience Q & A and a letter-writing session directed at local and national politicians urging them to take action on climate change legislation. At 4 p.m. the event will split up into four breakout sessions that focus on topics including environmental policy at the state and local level, the impact of climate change on food production, green values and ethics, and new developments in building and transportation efficiency. There will also be special activities for children.

Congregation Beth Elohim is located at 274 Garfield Place at 8th Avenue in Park Slope. There will be a suggested donation of $5 for the event.

New Brooklyn Green Team Eco-Challenge

The Brooklyn Green Team has entered month two of its new eco-challenge — the no new clothing challenge. The group is supporting local shops owned by locals that dig out wearable treasures from past and present. Among the stats they list as encouragement: the 12 to 15 percent of people who shopped at consignment and thrift stores in 2006 saved 2.5 billion pounds of clothes from re-entering the waste stream.

Click here for information on how join the challenge and to check out some resources, including a list of local secondhand shops. (I recently scored big-time at the Park Slope Beacon's Closet — there are fabulous secondhand clothes out there!)

Project LeafDrop Collects Leaves From NYC Residents for Composting

Two years ago, due to budget cuts, New York City stopped collecting leaves separate from garbage. In response, a Park Slope community garden called 6/15 Green decided to expand its already large composting center to accept leaves from non-members, in order to divert those leaves from the landfills. That year the garden collected one-and-a-half tons of leaves.

Last year 6/15 Green teamed up with 23 other community gardens, botanical gardens, greening groups, environmental organizations, City agencies and community partners to form NYCLeaves, and together they created Project LeafDrop, a mission to reduce organic material in the city’s wastestream. Over eight tons of leaves were brought to Project LeafDrop sites and turned into compost and mulch for garden beds and street trees.

This year Project LeafDrop is back, with participating sites across the city. In Brooklyn, sites stretch from Williamsburg to Kensington/Ditmas Park, Sunset Park to East New York. Neighborhood residents are welcome to bring their leaves in clear plastic bags without twigs or trash to participating locations on specific dates. To find information on times and locations, view an interactive map here. 

Pictured above is a 2008 photo of the three-bin compost system at 6/15 Green Community Garden in Park Slope.

New Blog Feature: Fabulous Fresh Finds

So last week I moved to Brooklyn. I won't tell you where I lived before — I'll just say that it took me over an hour by train to get to the Eagle office in Brooklyn Heights and that there were little to no local food options in my neighborhood.

Now, the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket is just two subway stops (or a nice walk) away from my apartment! While I'm not brave enough or dedicated enough to embark on an exclusively local diet à la Leda Meredith, I'll try to stop by every Saturday. Since this is a green blog, I thought I'd regularly post what I brought home. Being a fan of alliteration, I've dubbed this new feature "Fabulous Fresh Finds."

A little overwhelmed and under prepared at the magnitude of the market this past Saturday, all I purchased was: a bunch of carrots, some green beans, and some zucchini from Phillips Farms, which is in Hunterdon County, NJ.

In the Northeast, carrots are in season from July to November (but are available through early April), green beans are in season from July through September and zucchini is in season from July through September (the zucchini did not photograph well).

So far, I've been snacking on the carrots and green beans raw — they're delicious — and I haven't done anything with the zucchini yet. I'm thinking maybe soup.

There were some other pretty exciting finds at the market. Next week I'm thinking I might pick up some mushrooms from Madura Farms, which is in Orange County, or maple syrup from Wood Homestead, which is in Schoharie County, NY.

The Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket is held on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. year-round. 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, founded in 1989, is GrowNYC's flagship Brooklyn market and is its second largest market behind Union Square.

Recycle Plastic at the Park Slope Food Coop

Bring your clean, dry plastic to the Coop on the second Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the third Thursday of every month from 7 to 9 p.m. and the last Sunday of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Here is what’s collected:

• Numbers 1 and 6 clear plastics — mouth is wide or wider than the body, meaning not bottles. Labels okay.

• Number 5 — plastic tubs, cups and specifically marked lids and caps. Must be especially clean and dry. Discard any with paper labels, or cut the labels off.

• Plastic film and bubble wrap. One hundred percent transparent only — you must be able to see through the plastic. No colored or opaque. No paper labels. Minimal writing okay.

Be sure to arrive 15 minutes prior to collection time to allow for inspection and sorting of your plastic. Visit www.foodcoop.com for the Coop’s tips on how to be a really great recycler.

Eating Locally: Easy As Pie

Sure, you’ve considered eating foods from local farms that you purchase at greenmarkets or you get through a CSA share. But for one reason or another, you decide not to. You’re too busy, it’s too expensive, or it’s too inconvenient.

That’s where Leda Meredith comes in. The Park Slope resident decided in August 2007 to eat almost exclusively foods grown or raised within a 250-mile radius of her apartment for one year (“The 250”), an experience she chronicled in her first book, a memoir entitled Botany, Ballet and Dinner from Scratch. Since the year ended, she has continued to eat a mostly local diet.

Last month, Meredith released a new book, The Locavore’s Handbook: The Busy Person’s Guide to Eating Local on a Budget. In it, she writes that she had embarked on The 250 because she felt “bombarded by each news story of the latest environmental catastrophe that was being intensified by human activity: climate change accelerating at a much faster rate than predicted by scientists just a few years ago; topsoil in the Midwest’s farm belt so depleted and polluted that within a generation we may no longer be able to produce safe food there.”

The Locavore’s Handbook is a compilation of everything Meredith learned during her 250-mile diet. Included is a useful list of which fruits and vegetables are in season when, advice on how best to shop at greenmarkets, tips and resources on how to start a garden, and how to preserve foods. Plus, there are several recipes to try.

She has a chapter devoted to shopping within a budget and one devoted to convenience. An urban forager, she included a chapter with tips on foraging, and with the typical New York City apartment in mind, she offers a lot of advice on organization and storage.

Lest readers get overwhelmed with the wealth of information Meredith offers, at the end of each chapter, she has included a section titled, “If You Do Just One Thing,” where she condenses the chapter into its one most important feature. For someone who wants to start slowly and work his or her way up to locavore, it’s the perfect resource.

Read an interview with Leda Meredith about her new book here.

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EARTH DAY 2010

Every year since 1970, thanks to an idea by then-Sen. Gaylord Nelson, we’ve celebrated Earth Day on April 22. As eco-consciousness spreads, Earth Day has expanded into Earth Week, and even Earth Month. Below is a sampling of Earth events coming up throughout the borough:

Thursday, April 22 (Earth Day)

Green in BKLYN, 432 Myrtle Ave, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Green in BKLYN’s B-Earth Day Celebration. Not only is it Earth Day, but it’s the first anniversary of Green in BKLYN, a green home goods store in Clinton Hill. Visit the shop for the day-long party, which will feature a book signing by Brooklyn author Leda Meredith, Clinton Hill-based Vandra Thorborn answering questions about composting, Brooklyn artist Claudia Pearson signing her children’s book, and an organic wine reception. Visit greeninbklyn.com for all the details.

OutPost Lounge, 1014 Fulton St. from 4 to 10 p.m.: GREEN BKSTYLE. The April Brooklyn Fashion Week designers move toward more sustainable marketing and production. Visit OutPost Lounge to shop and see the green fashions featured. RSVP required. Visit www.brooklynfasionweek.com for more details.

Word Bookstore, 126 Franklin St. from 7:30 to 9 p.m.: Author Emily Elizabeth Anderson will discuss ideas from her new book, Eco-Chic Home: Rethink, Reuse and Remake Your Way to Sustainable Syle. She will talk about projects that make the home stylish and eco-conscious at the same time, demonstrating a paper crane chandelier, a CD case light and plastic bag flowers. Free, RSVP encouraged but not required. Visit www.wordbrooklyn.com for more information.

East River Bar, 97 South Sixth St., 8 p.m.: Earth Day is Every Day After-Party. Time’s Up, NYC’s Direct Action Environmental Organization, will be holding a bike ride for Earth Day, starting at Union Square Park South and ending in a barbeque at East River Bar in Williamsburg. Wear green for the ride and after-party, which will feature a DJ, dancing and eco art show of ecological and environmental prints by JustSeeds Cooperative.

Saturday, April 24

Flatbush Food Co-op, 1415 Cortelyou Road from 9 a.m. to noon.: Plant swap co-sponsored by Flatbush Food Co-op and Sustainable Flatbush. Trade perennials and other plants, swap gardening tips and get started with a garden. You don’t have to bring something to take something. Rain or Shine. Visit sustainableflatbush.org.

Fifth Avenue Family Festival, Fourth Street at Fifth Avenue, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Puppetry Arts and the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID team up to bring a family event to the neighborhood filled with crafts, games and giveaways. The event also has activities in celebration with Earth Day. Children can make puppets out of recyclable materials found in restaurants and stores located along Fifth Avenue, such as “pizza puppets” made out of pizza boxes from 7-Eleven. Free.

Audubon Center at Prospect Park, from 1 to 4:30 p.m.: Earth Day 40th Anniversary Celebration. Find out how Earth Day began and learn about how you can help nurture and preserve our planet. Calculature your carbon fooprint, bring old tee-shirts or sweaters to make a one-of-a-kind tote bag with Bags for the People, turn cereal boxes into wallets with Replayground, and Bash the Trash will be building recycled instruments and performing live. Free. Visit www.prospectpark.org for more information.

Brooklyn Flea, 176 Lafayette Ave (Saturday, April 24), and 1 Hanson Place (Sunday, April 25): Greenmarket’s Annual Flower Sales. Choose from hundreds of local, seasonal plants and flowers: annuals, assorted pots, bulbs, herbs, perennials, cut flowers, vegetable plants and more.

Sunday, April 25

McCarren Park, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The 3rd annual Go Green! Greenpoint! Earth Day Celebration. Event will feature vendors selling earth-friendly merchandise, organizations promoting earth awareness, school and community group participation, music, a health and wellness demonstration area, a recycling station and healthy food. Free. 

IKEA/Erie Basin Waterfront Park, One Beard St., from 1 to 5 p.m.: The Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy Enviromedia Mobile Earth Day Celebrations 2010. Activities include: catch and release fishing, live underwater video exploration, electronics and sneaker recycling, kite flight, tours of the mobile museum, refreshments and live music. Event will also feature a ceremonial launch of a giant floating “earth ball” to 100 feet, signifying the 100 percent commitment to mitigation of impacts on climate change and ocean acidification. Free, for more information call (347) 224-5828.

Ongoing

The Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge, 290 Conover St. at Pier 44: "A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things." April 23 to May 9, Friday to Sunday at 7 p.m. A “floating fantasia” of a show performed on a docked barge in Red Hook about a man floating on a shrinking iceberg, a smuggling sea captain delivering messages in bottles, and a marooned sea creature. They will all collide in a mythical place called Florida. All tickets $18 through SmartTix. Visit www.polybeandseats.org/slimy.html for more details.

Kingsborough Community College, 2001 Oriental Boulevard: 5th Annual Eco-Festival, April 27 to 30. Theme for this year is “Sustainable NYC.” Various speakers, film screenings, environmental books on display, an afternoon of poetry, music and fashion, a green trade fair and more. Free and open to the public. For more information visit www.kingsborough.edu/eco-festival.                                  

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Green Mountain Energy Offers Alternative for Brooklyn Customers

A grassroots approach isn’t generally something you would associate with big companies or with an energy provider.

But since Green Mountain Energy company — the leading provider of clean energy in the nation — launched in New York last summer, its employees have been using exactly such an approach, visiting greenmarkets and fairs, and educating potential customers.

Through a partnership with Con Edison, Green Mountain opened its New York service territory last August, becoming the only energy services company dedicated to clean power in the region, said John Holtz, director of East Region Markets. Started in Vermont, the company, is now headquartered in and serves Texas, as well as Oregon and New Jersey.

Holtz and Green Mountain’s other New York employees visit greenmarkets throughout the city, introducing the company to residents, and also educating them about the fact that they have a choice of who they can buy their electricity from. Many people don’t know they have a choice, Holtz noted.

Con Edison customers can simply visit www.greenmountain.com/newyork or call toll free, (877) 216-GMEC (4632) to switch energy services companies. The bill will still come from Con Edison, but the electricity will come from Green Mountain.

In Brooklyn, Green Mountain has had a regular presence in the greenmarkets at Borough Hall, Grand Army Plaza and Fort Greene.

Greenmarkets “are a perfect place for us to be,” Holtz said, “because we’re selling a product, we’re selling a service, but we’re also selling a movement.”

Representatives — including a “Super Earth” mascot (pictured above) — set up a booth at September’s “Green Brooklyn … Green City” fair, hosted by the Council on the Environment of New York City, and Green Mountain will also co-sponsor this fall’s Atlantic Antic.

He explained that residential customers have the option between two electricity products: “Pollution Free” and “100% Wind.” The difference between the two is that the Pollution Free product delivers electricity made from local sources — 10 percent wind power from turbines upstate and 90 percent hydropower from small local dams. The 100% Wind product comes from wind turbines across the country: in Pennsylvania, Texas, Oklahoma and Oregon.

Purchasing Green Mountain Energy can have a substantial impact on the environment. According to data supplied by the company, an average New York City household using 100% Wind for one year can offset nearly 8,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. This is the equivalent of not taking 2,000-plus cab rides, or recycling almost 20,000 aluminum cans.

Holtz says that though purchasing electricity through Green Mountain is slightly more expensive than through an energy service company producing power from coal (approximately $10 more a month), he hasn’t encountered resistance. “I’m very pleased with the reception we’ve gotten here.”

Brooklyn has been especially enthusiastic: Green Mountain’s very first New York customer was a Park Slope resident. Convivium Osteria Restaurant in Park Slope purchased electricity through Green Mountain, as did the Sephardic Home for the Aged in Bensonhurst. Archstone, a leading developer of multi-family housing, purchased electricity for its 12 New York City properties, one in Brooklyn Heights.

“We wish we had started earlier,” said Michelle Pulixi, owner of Convivium Osteria. She said she started purchasing electricity from Green Mountain about a month ago. “We are an environmentally conscious business … we’re just doing it to have a clear conscience.”

“We have big hopes for New York,” said Holtz. “New Yorkers are very conscious of the environmental issue.”

Photo by Mary Frost

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Park Slope's 3r Living Closing its Doors

Green home goods store 3r Living on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope will be closing its doors at the end of the month. A few weeks ago, owners Samantha Delman-Caserta and Mark Caserta posted a sign on their door, that said,

"When we opened this store in April of 2004, it was a dream come true. Over the past five years we have been honored to provide the community with greener, healthier and safer options, as well as a much-needed community recycling center. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of the customers and friends we have made over the years."

Some inventory is still left, for sale between 20 to 75 percent off, and the store's fixtures are now for sale. Though this store will close, the husband-wife team will continue to operate a store in Maplewood, NJ and an online store at www.3rliving.com.

Last year, Delman-Caserta told the Eagle that her store has not been immune to the current economic climate.

"We’re not asking you to come out and spend money that’s going to put you in jeopardy," she said at the time. “What we’re saying is, if you’re going to go out and buy, think about what you’re buying and think about where you’re buying it and what it does for you. Buying from a major retailer, the money doesn’t come directly back to your community.

"Buying from a brick and mortar or a mom and pop shop in your neighborhood, I believe it’s close to 50 percent of the money that you spend stays within your community, if not more," she noted.

"A lot of small businesses are just not going to be able to make it through the long haul. We just have to count on our neighborhood and hope that they all understand that shopping locally really does make a difference,” Delman-Caserta continued. "Even if it’s ten dollars it makes a difference."

The Casertas continue to urge their customers to shop locally. The final paragraph of the store closing sign on their door states:

"Also, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE help us to make sure that this does not happen to other businesses in the area. Eat, drink and shop local! Supporting restaurants, boutiques and bars on 5th Avenue, even just a little, can go a very long way."

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Brooklyn Green Team Raises 1K at Party

The Brooklyn Green Team held a party at Bar Reis in Park Slope, in celebration of its second anniversary of grassroots activism last weekend. The group of friends, who got together after seeing the film The 11th Hour, raised $1,000 at the party, which they are donating to Park Slope green home goods store 3RLiving, the Lower East Side Ecology Center and Partners In Health for Haiti relief.

Money was raised through a cover charge and a silent auction. Some of the items included a gift certificate to Park Slope restaurant Aunt Suzie’s, a $100 gift certificate to Green Apple Cleaners, a nature photograph donated by Green Team founder Amanda Gentile, a greenmarket basket donated by the Council on the Environment of New York City and a free yoga class.

The Brooklyn Green Team, pictured here at the party from left to right, is Robert Weinstein, sisters Amanda and Noelle Gentile, Jennifer Bartels, Melissa Browning and Johanna Voutounou.

Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Green Team.

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Brooklyn Green Team to Host Second Anniversary Party

This Saturday, Jan. 30, the Brooklyn Green Team will celebrate its second anniversary with an 80s-themed party at Bar Reis on 375 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope. For a $10 cover charge, sample local and organic drink specials and participate in a silent auction. Items in the silent auction include a gift certificate to Park Slope restaurant Aunt Suzie's, a $100 gift certificate to Green Apple Cleaners, a nature photograph donated by Green Team founder Amanda Gentile, a “greenmarket” basket donated by the Council on the Environment of New York City, a free yoga class, and more.

City Council Member Brad Lander will speak at the party, and a DJ will spin 80s music starting at 11 p.m. Attendees will receive $20 gift certificates to Green Apple Cleaners, while supplies last.

Money raised at the party will benefit Haiti relief efforts and will also aid local electronics recycling, according to Gentile.

The Brooklyn Green Team is comprised of a group of friends — sisters Amanda and Noelle Gentile, Melissa Browning, Jennifer Bartels, Johanna Voutounou and Robert Weinstein — who got together after seeing the film The 11th Hour and wanted to inspire positive change. They hold regular eco-challenges to raise environmental awareness.

Photo above is from the Green Team's first anniversary party. From left to right: Noelle Gentile, Johanna Voutounou, Amanda Gentile, Jennifer Bartels, Melissa Browning and Robert Weinstein. Courtesy of the Brooklyn Green Team

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Park Slope Petitions Obama For Leadership On Climate Defense

The Eagle received this press release:

On Sunday, Park Slope citizens had a chance to tell President Barack Obama that real cuts in carbon emissions are necessary to avoid environmental catastrophe, as activists from the Park Slope Greens and Parents For Climate Protection collected signatures to send to the White House.

In under two hours the activists collected close to 150 signed pledge cards from Brooklynites, stating that US legislation and policies must cut climate pollution by at least 25 percent to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent to 95 percent by 2050. These are the targets that climate scientists say are necessary to avoid a climate crisis.

The Obama administration’s earlier announcement of cuts of 6 percent from 1990 levels fall far short of the warnings of the scientific community.

In addition to posters and literature about the climate defense movement, the activists displayed a dozen home-made ice globes that melted in the afternoon sun to symbolize the need for climate defense now, as glaciers and arctic sea ice recede every year.

Activists in attendance included David Pechefsky, Green Party 2009 Candidate For City Council, and Gloria Mattera, Green Party Candidate For Brooklyn Borough President in 2005.

The pledge cards will be mailed to the White House before President Obama appears at the Copenhagen conference on December 18th.

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Three Brooklyn Students Are Finalists in 'Green Teen' Essay Contest

Six New York City students — three from Brooklyn — were finalists in the second annual Green Teens Essay Contest. It was a competition which invites young writers ages 12 to 18 to submit a 300-word personal essay about how they will help Mayor Bloomberg implement MillionTreesNYC, which is a PlaNYC initiative to plant and care for one million trees by 2017.

The grand prize winner of the contest (who was from Manhattan) received $1,000, two runners up received $500 each, and three honorable mentions received $100 each.

“Growing young minds through environmental awareness is the key to success in greening New York City,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “These green teens have demonstrated a savvy understanding of the immense health and environmental benefits of trees, and they have generated a number of creative ideas to engage even more New Yorkers in MillionTreesNYC. We look forward to working with the essay finalists to further develop their ideas for implementation and help create a greener, greater New York City.”

Runner up Nedine Dobson, 17, from Clara Barton High School in Crown Heights titled her essay, “A Melting Pot of Beautiful People With Beautiful Trees,” and in it wrote, “Each school district should be responsible for involving each school in the district to embark on a go green project. The project will require groups of students to be responsible for the design of areas in their school district to plant trees — this initiative promises to make New York, with its melting pot of beautiful people, a garden of beautiful trees.”

Eric Murray Datcher, 16, from the Bushwick High School for Social Justice, earned an honorable mention with his essay, writing, “The key to the Mayor’s plan is involving the youth of New York City. There are young people throughout the city who are simply waiting for an opportunity to make a major change. The Million Trees project could be that change to unite the youth in a positive project. I believe I can use my strong voice to gather more students, young people, and community members to beautify more places throughout New York City.”

Jamel Irby-Shabazz, 12, of Park Place Middle School in Park Slope, also earned an honorable mention with his essay, in which he wrote, “Every month we will get teens to sign up as a special citizenship program with the NYC Parks Department to help plant trees. Teens will then make a difference in their community and experience something positive in their community. The teens will also be able to place their family name on the trees. I also believe that a million trees will equal a million healthy breaths. A million healthy breaths can help a brain learn and be more conscious about the environment in which we live.”

The essay contest was sponsored by Flowerworks Florist & Landscape Contractor, Carver Federal Savings Bank, Our Time Press, and Gxart Studio. Essay finalists were honored on November 19th at Restoration Plaza on Fulton Street, in an event celebrating the newly-formed Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District (BID).

For more information about MillionTreesNYC, visit www.milliontreesnyc.org.

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Bloomberg's Trip to the Greenmarket

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is seeking election to a third term this November, stopped by the weekly farmer’s market at Grand Army Plaza last Saturday to chat with constituents, and to buy some grapes. Perhaps also because his eating habits were recently scrutinized in a New York Times feature?

Photos by Mike Plotz

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Eat-In on Labor Day in Brooklyn

No plans on Labor Day? Join Slow Food USA — an organization dedicated to promoting good, clean and fair food — for its National Eat-In day on Monday, Sept 7, in conjunction with its Time for Lunch Campaign. An Eat-In is a potluck that takes place in public and gathers people to support a cause, in this case to get real food into schools.

Not Eating Out in New York has a list of some Eat-Ins, several of which are in Brooklyn:

• Prospect Heights, at the schoolyard of PS 9 Teunis G. Bergen School (80 Underhill Avenue on St. Mark’s Avenue), from 12 – 3 p.m.
• Williamsburg, at Bridget (20 Broadway between Dunham Pl. and Kent Ave), from 12 – 3 p.m.
• Gowanus, at The Bell House (149 Seventh Street), from 3 – 7 p.m., a local-themed Eat-In hosted by the Ladies Who Lunch.
• Park Slope, a kid-friendly Eat-In, at 6/15 Green Community Garden (Sixth Avenue and 15th Street), from 3 – 5 p.m.

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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

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Brooklyn Parents Want Greener Schools

Last week, Brooklyn parents spoke a combination environmental event and Lander campaign rally outside the Old Stone House in Washington Park, which was supported by City Council Democrat candidate Brad Lander. Eagle writer Harold Egeln reports here.

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A Bike Made of Bamboo?

This past Sunday, Washington (former J.J. Byrne) Park was the setting for Brooklyn's first annual Bike Jumble, a bicycle flea market.

Sean Murray, a staffer for Bamboo Bike Studio in Red Hook, was at the Bike Jumble, showing his bikes made out of bamboo. The bamboo comes from Long Island and is a sustainable alternative to the traditional titanium.

Click here to read the full story about Murray and the Bike Jumble by Eagle writer Caitlin McNamara.

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Get Fresh Market and Eatery in Park Slope

Pictured here from Get Fresh Market and Restaurant in Park Slope, left to right, are Lindsay Wolff, culinary intern; server Alana Sweetwater; and Juventino Avila, chef and owner of the food market/eatery.

Get Fresh is an eco-friendly business, “the ingredients are sourced locally as much as possible and they’re organic and sustainable as much as possible," said Wolff.

Avila said he opened Get Fresh as a market a year ago, but opened the restaurant portion in January of this year.

I met and chatted with Wolff, Sweetwater and Avila at BAM for Brooklyn Uncorked last week. Read more about the event, held by magazine Edible Brooklyn, here.

Get Fresh is at 370 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope. Visit www.getfreshnyc.com for more info.

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Slope Shop 3r Living Sells Eco-Friendly Products

Back before ‘green’ was on everybody’s lips and in everybody’s lives, the movement had to start somewhere.

Five years ago, Samantha Delman-Caserta (left) and her husband, Mark Caserta, decided to go into business together. They opened a mom-and-pop shop on Fifth Ave. in Park Slope and started selling eco-friendly products.

“We lived in the neighborhood. I had worked in retail for a long time, he was working in eco-politics in New York City,” she recalled. “We kind of married again.”

At the time, the types of goods Delman-Caserta was looking to stock in the store weren’t widely available; she had to search, ask questions and do research. “There was a decent amount already available but no one was really talking about it.

“You would find [these products] in little sections, because people thought they were cute or they had beautiful aesthetics, but no one was telling you why they were good for you, or why it was good to have them, or why it might be that it costs a little bit more,” she explained. “We decided that the need was really there.”

So she contacted suppliers and manufacturers to acquire products that matched several requirements. “Everything in the store has to fit the 3 ‘r’s’ [reduce, reuse, recycle],” Delman-Caserta said. All the products in the store are either manufactured with all natural or organic ingredients, made using recycled materials or made in a way that reduces waste to the environment.

But 3r’s stock also has to fit into two other categories. “We’re not an eco-luxury store,” Delman-Caserta said, asserting that everything she sells has to be affordable. “We’re really about the affordable and then we’re about aesthetics I needed to be able to work these things in my life as well.”

Upon venturing into 3r Living, customers are presented with a wide variety of merchandise, including reusable water bottles, bamboo kitchen utensils, reusable shopping bags, wallets and jewelry made from recycled materials, cleaning supplies, organic cotton sheets and books.

When Delman-Caserta and her husband first began planning for the store, it was important for them to actually have a location, and not just be online.

“Opening a brick and mortar was something that we felt we had to do,” she said. There was a pretty wide range of availability online, but she wanted people to be able to “come in and touch and feel and see and test and become familiar with [the products] and feel comfortable incorporating them into their lives.”

Now, with two locations (one in New Jersey) and a web store, Delman-Caserta is more than happy to share the stage with the many businesses that have joined the green trend.

“It’s our pleasure to have other people out there doing it with us. It makes people more aware, it keeps us foraging ahead and trying to find the new and the better and the different.” But she is quick to say that quality should stay high.

“We don’t want companies to come into the market and lower the standards,” she said. “That was our biggest fear — that they would force manufacturers to lower standards.”

Living Green

As part of 3r Living’s philosophy, Delman-Caserta and her husband set up a community recycling center (left) when they first opened the store, to collect batteries, small electronics and CDs to send out to recycling centers.

“The community recycling center is opened during our business hours seven days a week,” she said. “New York City doesn’t provide a program for [recycling these types of items] and they don’t provide education.”

The electricity in the storefront on Fifth Ave. is also completely wind-powered, and the paint on the walls is low-VOC.

Delman-Caserta, her husband and their three-year-old son, live eco-friendly at home. They use reusable shopping bags, have wind-powered electricity and furnish their house with antiques. Their son even uses a reusable water bottle.

“We try as best as we can to live as minimally as possible, because that’s the best thing you can do for the environment,” she said.

Shopping Locally, Buying Less

3r Living, despite the popular opinion about the resiliency of green businesses, hasn’t been immune to the current economic climate. And even though she does want people to shop at her store, Delman-Caserta doesn’t want her customers to spend what they don’t have.

“We’re not asking you to come out and spend money that’s going to put you in jeopardy,” she said. “What we’re saying is, if you’re going to go out and buy, think about what you’re buying and think about where you’re buying it and what it does for you. Buying from a major retailer, the money doesn’t come directly back to your community.

“Buying from a brick and mortar or a mom and pop shop in your neighborhood, I believe it’s close to 50 percent of the money that you spend stays within your community, if not more,” she noted.

“A lot of small businesses are just not going to be able to make it through the long haul. We just have to count on our neighborhood and hope that they all understand that shopping locally really does make a difference,” Delman-Caserta continued. “Even if it’s ten dollars it makes a difference.”

But, she said, “We’re not all about buying. We also hope that sometimes when people come in we inspire them to go home and see the different things that they already have in their home. Whether it’s finding a better use for them, using them differently, or just using them.”

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