Mayor Bloomberg Announces Progress in Reducing New York City Emissions

The Eagle received the following press release:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced three developments in the City’s use of alternative fuel vehicles, part of the PlaNYC effort to reduce the amount of carbon emitted by municipal government 30 percent by 2017 and to reduce the entire City’s carbon emissions 30 percent by the year 2030.

The Mayor announced that the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will use two new hybrid electric diesel collection trucks, a hybrid hydraulic collection truck and a hybrid rack truck, the first in the country designed for heavy-duty applications; that the Parks Department and the Street Conditions Observation Unit (SCOUT) will field test ten all-electric MINI E vehicles on loan from the BMW Group; and that the Administration has launched a study to understand the electric vehicle market in New York City and how that market can be developed.

“Through PlaNYC, our vision for a greener, greater, New York, we’ve been dedicated to reducing pollution and improving the air quality in our City,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We are encouraging people to leave their cars at home by making mass transit more accessible and attractive, but no matter how much we modernize our public transportation, there will still be trips that have to be made by car. So we want the vehicles driven in New York to be more energy efficient and use cleaner fuels. I am proud to say that City government is leading by example, with the help of good corporate citizens such as the BMW Group.”

DSNY Hybrid Collection Trucks are First in the Nation

The DSNY has added to its fleet three new first-of-a-kind hybrid refuse collection trucks and one diesel-hybrid electric rack truck. The collection vehicles, which will soon be picking up residential garbage in the city, and the rack truck, which is used for lot cleaning, snow operations and for hauling of heavy materials, are the first such vehicles to be used in the country.

These vehicles will reduce truck emissions, decrease fuel consumption and truck noise, and help collect some of the over 11,000 tons of garbage and recycling DSNY picks up every day.

SCOUT Inspectors Drive MINI E Vehicles as Part of the BMW Group’s All-Electric Vehicle Development Program

SCOUT Inspectors, part of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, drive every City street once per month and report conditions that negatively impact quality of life to 311. The SCOUT team will use the MINI E vehicles to complement their current vehicle fleet, which includes the three-wheel Interceptor scooter and city-owned sedans.

The MINI E travels about 100 miles on a single charge and provides the agility and handling of a MINI Cooper. It is powered by a 150 kilowatt electric motor with the equivalent of 201 horsepower. The energy supply comes from a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The MINI E SCOUT vehicles are among 450 currently in the U.S., as part of a year-long field test. The City will provide important feedback to the BMW Group about the cars.

The MINI Es will be charged at DSNY garages and Department of Transportation facilities in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx. MINI is installing a special wall box in each facility that can fully recharge a completely drained battery in about two-and-a-half hours.

Electric Vehicle Study

Automotive manufacturers have made it clear that they will be producing electric vehicles in significant numbers in the next five to 10 years. The City has launched a study to understand who would be among the first to buy these vehicles and what the City could do to help accelerate their adoption.

Electric vehicles can contribute to the PlaNYC goal of reducing transportation emissions by 44 percent by 2030.

The study will examine New York City driving and parking patterns. Most New Yorkers do not own a car and even those who own cars may still rely on mass transit for daily commuting purposes. Many New Yorkers also park their cars on the street or in commercial parking garages, rather than in driveways or their private garages. All of these characteristics are important in identifying how to make electric cars a visible option for more New Yorkers.

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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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Brooklyn Heights Solar Panels, Before and After

This month, a roof on Columbia Heights in northern Brooklyn Heights was retrofitted with solar panels. At left, workers are seen beginning the installation. At right, a few days later, the installation is complete but the sun has not risen high enough to eliminate the shadow from a taller building across the street, not shown here. However, the sunlight has still reached part of the mansard roof to the right of the solar panels. The roof where the panels have been installed will receive sunlight for much of the day, but many brownstones don’t receive sufficient sun to cover the cost of putting in solar panels.

Photos by Henrik Krogius

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Green Courses at City Tech in Downtown Brooklyn

NYC College of Technology in Downtown Brooklyn is offering several green-themed courses through its continuing education program in the upcoming semester:

Photovoltaic Installation
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6-9 p.m., from 11/3 - 12/5, for $600
Presented by the Center of Sustainable Energy of Bronx Community College. Learn the basics of solar photovoltaic technology and how it is installed and maintained. Course includes four all-day Saturday lab sessions at Bronx Community College (11/7 - 12/5).
For more information click here.
Prerequisite: a professional background in engineering, architecture, electronics, building construction and related areas.

Solar Hot Water and Heating Systems Workshop
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., October dates TBA, for $290
The course will cover solar thermal systems (introduction, types and applications); solar thermal collectors and system components; solar thermal design and system sizing; installation of solar hot water systems; solar control strategy; system startup, maintenance and trouble-shooting; and solar savings and performance estimates.

Introduction to Green Roofs and Living Walls
Thursday, 6-9 p.m., from 9/24 - 12/3 (no class on 11/26), site visits: Saturdays, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., 10/3 & 10/7, for $470
This course offers an introduction into green roof and living wall construction, installation and maintenance. Topics include green roof benefits and incentives, reviews of green roof products, water-proofing, roof membranes and drainage. An introduction into green roof horticulture and irrigation as well as two site visits to local green roof projects. Can be taken in preparation for the Green Roof Professional Accreditation Test which will be offered in 2009.

Green Roof Professional Accreditation Test Prep
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., 10/10, for &70 plus a $20 registration fee.
Intended for those students interested in preparing for the Green Roof Professional Accreditation Test offered by the independent non-profit organization Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, which will be offered for the first time in October. The course will cover topics anticipated to be on the test and will help students come up with a study plan. Will review basic green roof design, engineering and installation. Students planning to take the test prep should have som eprior knowledge of green roofs including the different kinds of green roof systems, green roof plant and soil types, and general design and installation details.

City Tech is also offering a free, green-related community program:

Urban Energy: Incentives for Solar, Wind and Energy Smart Savings
Saturday, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m., 10/24
Will discuss how you can benefit by switchign to renewable energy. Presentations by representatives from the Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College, the NYC Economic Developoment Corporation, the Pratt Center for Sustainability, Future Green, Con Edison and Aeon Solar.
Free, but registration is required.

Visit www.citytech.cuny.edu/academics/continuinged for more information about these and other City Tech continuing education courses, and how to register.

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Green Job Workshop Tonight

The Brooklyn Public Library is hosting a green job workshop tonight at its main branch. 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 program runs 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).

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Brooklynite Turns Job Loss Into Green Opportunity

With all the recent talk about job loss and unemployment, it’s easy to get discouraged. But for one Boerum Hill resident, losing her job was an opportunity to follow her passion.

Jessica Pichardo grew up in the Bronx and moved to Brooklyn four years ago. She worked as an investment banker for 10 years after she graduated college, but was laid off last year. She decided not to look for another job in a field she wasn’t passionate about.

“I always saw myself opening up a restaurant... you know, after I have children, once life is a little calmer, kind of as a side project,” she said. But after losing her job, she said she realized, “I had nothing but an open opportunity to chase my dream. I still have youth on my side, and I said, ‘Now’s the time to do it.’”

So she set to work on a concept, found a location, and after about a year of planning, Pichardo opened the Linger Café and Lounge last month.

Linger is “first and foremost a really cozy neighborhood spot for people to feel that they can come here throughout the course of the day,” Pichardo explained. During the week (except for Monday), she opens at 9 a.m. for morning coffee and pastries, offers lunch and then small plates for dinner, closing at 10 p.m. On the weekends it is open until 1 a.m. and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

She saw a need in her own neighborhood (she lives four blocks from Linger, which is on Atlantic Avenue between Third and Fourth avenues) for a place to go that was relaxed and familiar, to hang out or have a drink. “I’m offering a really chill, sort of comfortable environment for you to just unwind and relax.”

Pichardo didn’t just want her new endeavor to be welcoming, she also wanted it to be as low-waste as possible.

“I’m doing my best to run a green operation here. We have energy-saver equipment, low water usage in the bathroom, all of our packaging is biodegradable and fully compostable,” she explained. She also arranged with a trash company that picks up food scraps to compost them off-site.
“We have a minimal waste kitchen. The only things we throw out are rubber bands and maybe some wood from crates. Everything else is either recycled or composted.”

Everyone who works at Linger lives in Brooklyn, all the artists to be featured on the walls are local, and live music on Saturdays is provided by local bands. Pichardo purchases produce from farms upstate, tea and coffee that is fair trade and organic, and only offers local wine and beer.

“If there are little things I can do, why not? You want to make a positive impact on the world, it’s important to pass down some good information, because otherwise what’s the point?” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s really important to me to leave this world a better place than when I entered it.”

Because the food is local, the menu changes often, and Pichardo (who cooks all the food) wants to be flexible. “One of the most important things that I’m doing is remaining adaptable: getting customer feedback, interacting with people, hearing from them what they like, what works and what doesn’t work,” she said. “If people want more of something, I’m going to do it and I’m not going to stick with something if its not working.”

Pichardo is confident that this adaptability and the absence of anything like Linger in the neighborhood will ensure its success. Her concept is symbolic of a larger trend: The fast-paced attitude in the country has become slower now that so many people are forced to re-evaluate their lives.

“In the last few years you have all this corporate greed, the whole economy basically coming to shatters because of the financial industry — it forces people to really stop and realize, ‘Hey, why am I chasing the dollar? What is that getting me at the end of the day?’” Pichardo said. “It’s definitely time to stop and smell the roses.”

Pictured above, left to right: Jessica Pichardo with Jessica Waterman, Melissa Detroy and Janessa Williams, three of her staff members.

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Green Art Show Donates to CENYC

Eagle reporter Harold Egeln attended the opening of a new art gallery in Clinton Hill, a 19th century brownstone that was converted into an arts venue. The first exhibit at the gallery is focused on the environment. Comprised of works of art by Jonathan Levy, the solo show entitled "Style of Nature" encourages people to look at the natural world around them and separate themselves from their everyday lives.

Fifty percent of the sales of Levy paintings sold from this exhibit will be donated to the Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC).

Pictured above is Levy with a "Humming River" painting. Read Harold's full story here.

Photo by Harold Egeln

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