Alligators & Turtles Crawl into NYC for a Swamp in the City at Chelsea Market
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House Approves Three-Mile Natural Gas Pipeline for Brooklyn and Queens
Aerial view of the area where the Brooklyn-Queens pipeline would run
Brooklyn and Queens homes may soon be powered by natural gas instead of heavily polluting number 4 and number 6 heating oils. On February 7, a bill for construction of a new three-mile pipeline sailed through the House of Representatives. The pipeline would traverse under Jacob Riis Park and the Gateway National Recreation Area in Queens and through a small part of southern Brooklyn. The plan has been met with little criticism, and NY1 reports that it is part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative for a more sustainable city powered by cleaner energy. However, we can’t help but be ticked off by this, as natural gas is not a sustainable resource nor is it a source of clean, renewable energy.
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HWKN’s Spiky-Armed Bright Blue “Wendy” Wins the 2012 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program
Brooklyn-Based Contemporary Gardening Magazine Wilder Quarterly Offers Inhabitat Readers 15% Off
Described as a publication for those enthralled by the natural world, Wilder Quarterly is a visually-stimulating new magazine aimed at modern day growers and gardeners. The Brooklyn-based print publication features everything from local farmers and foodies to architects and amateur urban gardeners. Inhabitat recently shared a few of Wilder’s stories from the Winter 2012 issue, and Wilder generously created a special discount code for Inhabitat readers to enjoy 15 percent off of a single issue or a subscription.
Charm Your Valentine With Recycled Paper Roses from Lower East Side Girls Club
This Valentine’s Day, give your love something eco-friendly — a bouquet of artful recycled newspaper roses! While cut flowers are pretty for a fleeting moment, they are wasteful and die quickly. These delicate paper roses stay fresh forever, and they show your sweetheart that you not only love him or her, but also Mother Earth! The roses make a unique Valentine gift and also benefit the Lower East Side Girls Club.
BIG Brings the Love to Times Square With a Pulsing 10-Foot Tall LED Heart Sculpture
One World Trade Center Is Now the Most Expensive New Office Tower in the World
The greatly anticipated One World Trade Center is now the most expensive new office tower in the world. An additional $700 million in estimated costs is bringing the total cost of 1 WTC to almost $3.8 billion. What’s more is that many of these extra millions are being tacked on due to a design flaw. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the necessary loading dock for tenants to move in will not be completed on time, so five temporary loading docks must be built, jacking the cost up by millions.
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The Giants’ Super Bowl Victory Parade Will Use 100% Recycled Paper Confetti!
As Giants fans crowd the streets today to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl win, the confetti that will sprinkle down upon fans and players will be made of 100 precent recycled paper! Offices and recycling companies around the city have donated over 50 tons of shredded paper that will be used as victory confetti as Eli Manning and the Giants parade through Lower Manhattan.
Centre-Fuge Transforms a Construction Trailer into a Mural-Covered LES Public Gallery
Inhabitat Visits the New LES Ecology Center E-Waste Collection Warehouse in Gowanus
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New York City Has Passed 29 Green Building Laws In the Last Two Years
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced last week 25 percent of the proposed green building laws have been drafted into law over the last two years. The proposals were part of a green building report originally published by the Urban Green Council. Of the 111 recommendations in the report, 29 of them have been drafted into law, with an additional eight recommendations currently being codified. The new laws will reduce greenhouse emissions by 5 percent citywide, saving the city $400 million by 2030.
Low Line Creators Design a Sunlight Irrigation System Prototype for the Delancey Underground Park
New Interactive Map Shows How Much Energy Every Building in NYC Uses
New York City urban planners now have an important tool to help create energy reduction plans. An interactive map of New York has been developed by the Columbia University Engineering School to show the energy consumption of individual buildings across the five boroughs. Users can select a building on the map, see how much energy it uses, and what it uses the energy for. The data will help planners initiate energy conservation programs and know exactly which buildings and areas to target.
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JPMorgan Chase Headquarters Renovation Achieves LEED Platinum Status
JPMorgan Chase’s recently renovated global headquarters on Park Avenue in New York City has achieved LEED Platinum status! The newly greened building now holds the title of being the largest renovation in the world to achieve the USGBC’s highest certification. The renovation to the 50-story building will cut energy consumption by 50 percent and save more than one million gallons of water every year.
NYC Farmer Annie Novak Shares the Ins & Outs of Rooftop Farming in the Winter
photo © Jackie Snow for Wilder Quarterly, used with permission
Rooftop farming during the winter may seem like an oxymoron, but Annie Novak of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn says that winter on a farm is far from fallow. In the latest issue of Wilder Quarterly, a new Brooklyn-based magazine geared toward contemporary gardeners and growers, Novak shares the details of wintery urban agriculture while reflecting on the struggles she and other farmers faced over the last year because of 2011′s rough weather.
Staten Island Chuck Disagrees With Punxsutawney Phil, Says Spring is On the Way
Groundhog Day is here and spring is in the air — at least for New Yorkers. This day of weather reckoning, where we put all our sunny spring hopes on a furry animal and his shadow, has produced mixed results this year! While famed fur ball Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning in Pennsylvania, thus predicting six more weeks of winter, Staten Island Chuck did not. This is great news for New Yorkers who can look forward to enjoying an early spring, if they aren’t already.
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MoMA PS1 Unveils New Courtyard Performance Dome For Winter Events
This week, MoMA PS1 unveiled a winter weather friendly performance dome in their iconic courtyard. Known as one of the hottest spots for summer music parties and avant-garde installations, the PS1 courtyard will spend the next few months showcasing a series of artist performances and works inside the dome for a fresh seasonal program called “Sunday Sessions.”
First World Trash Makes Stylish Handbags From New York’s Discarded Billboards
Former Brooklyn Navy Yard Cemetery to be Transformed into a Memorial Park
A plot of land that was once used as the final resting place for 2,000 marines and naval shipmen will soon be transformed into a memorial park. The site is being developed as part of a larger plan by the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, which is developing 14 miles of unused space around the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a lush waterfront. The former naval cemetery will become the Navy Yard Hospital Memorial Landscape, a meadow of native plants with raised pedestrian walkways, designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz and Rogers Marvel Architects.
New York International Gift Fair Showcases Hot Sustainable Designs Made With Natural Materials
Lower East Side Ecology Center Opens Permanent E-Waste Drop-Off Depot in Gowanus
The days of planning your weekend so you can finally lug that hefty old computer to the occasional e-waste drop off are over. The Lower East Side Ecology Center, host of many electronic waste collections, has just opened a permanent drop-off site in Brooklyn. Grab your faxes, printers, scanners, even cell phones and pagers and head on down to the new warehouse at 469 President Street in Gowanus to help the nonprofit’s recycling efforts.
New Zoning Proposal Could Bring 1,200 Acres of Rooftop Farms to NYC
A new proposal by the Department of City Planning would allow commercial buildings throughout the city to be topped with rooftop farms or greenhouses without increasing the building’s floor area ratio and height restrictions. According to a study by the Urban Design Lab, this amendment could bring almost 1,200 acres of rooftop farms to the city. The zoning proposal was spurred by the popularity of rooftop farms such as the expanding Brooklyn Grange.
The Outsider Art Fair Brings Upcycled Artworks to New York City
The Greatest Grid Exhibit Showcases Manhattan’s Transformation From Farmland to City Streetscape
Join Just Food for a Two-Day Conference to Help Grow the Local Food Movement
The local food movement is hardly just a movement anymore. Last year, local foods sales hit $7 billion nationwide, proving that this is no longer just a niche market. On February 24 and 25, Just Food is hosting a conference dedicated to everything related to local foods in New York City at the Food & Finance High School. Hard core locavores and those who want to learn more are invited to listen to experts ranging from top-rated chefs to local farmers and participate in special workshops about growing your own food, keeping a sustainable kitchen, and more.
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