Battery Park City Library Achieves LEED Gold Certification

Battery Park City Library Achieves LEED Gold Certification

Battery Park City’s branch of the New York Public Library has just set a neighborhood precedent in the area by becoming the first public institution to receive LEED Gold certification. The library, which opened in 2010, was designed by 1100 Architect with the goal of sustainability in mind. The Battery Park City Branch is New York’s greenest library, and will use its status as a center for knowledge to promote the importance of energy efficiency and green design.
 

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6 Ways to Spend Father’s Day with Your Dad in NYC

6 Ways to Spend Father’s Day with Your Dad in NYC

Forget socks, ties or power tools; what your dad really wants for Father's Day is to spend it with his favorite kid - you! Whether you're 5 or 50, New York City will be buzzing with worthwhile things to do with your dad this Sunday, June 17th, and we've narrowed it down to our top 6 picks. From foraging for wild edibles to kayaking down the Hudson, check out our suggestions and enjoy them with your daddy-o.
 

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LEED Silver McCarren Park Pool Complex Opening Soon in Greenpoint!

LEED Silver McCarren Park Pool Complex Opening Soon in Greenpoint!

Great news for Greenpoint and Williamsburg swimmers - McCarren Park Pool will be opening for business this summer on June 28th! As part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative, the pool is being rehabilitated into an aquatic recreational center that will

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Take Your Tots to the New Amsterdam Early Childhood Center’s Annual Spring Fair this Saturday, April 28

Take Your Tots to the New Amsterdam Early Childhood Center’s Annual Spring Fair this Saturday, April 28

Kick off the spring season by treating your kids to a fun-filled festival in a Lower East Side community garden. The New Amsterdam Early Childhood Center is hosting its Second Annual Spring Fair, a three-hour event packed with games, craft-making, face painting,

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The Green Festival Lands in New York City for Earth Day

The Green Festival Lands in New York City for Earth Day

The Green Festival hits the Big Apple for the first time this weekend, April 21-22 at the new LEED-certified North Wing of the Jacob Javits Center. The eco-conscious event is perfectly timed for Earth Day festivities and will feature talks from 125 authors,

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6 Egg-citing NYC Easter Activities for Kids and Adults!

6 Egg-citing NYC Easter Activities for Kids and Adults!

Whether you're looking for a basket-full of chocolate bunnies or a nice pastel-colored cocktail to enjoy with your (hopefully) sunny Sunday afternoon, we've rounded up some egg-citing NYC spots to enjoy this year's Easter festivities. From an Easter egg hunt that involves tracking a giant rabbit in the depths of Manhattan, to a more low-key egg-decorating workshop that teaches you the Ukrainian batik-method of embellishing, to a lunchtime cruise where you can sip on mimosas as your kids pester the Easter Bunny, jump ahead for 6 of NYC's best Easter activities. They're sure to please kids and adults alike!
 

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Baby Boom in Lower Manhattan Could Mean Lack of Schools in the Near Future

Baby Boom in Lower Manhattan Could Mean Lack of Schools in the Near Future

Lower Manhattan is home to a new baby boom. According to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, downtown has seen the highest birthrates in 2010 and 2011. This rise in births may cause issues in the coming years, creating a higher demand for new pre-schools

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Escape the Winter Weather at Openhouse Gallery’s Green Pop-Up Park in Nolita!

Escape the Winter Weather at Openhouse Gallery’s Green Pop-Up Park in Nolita!

Has the colder weather kept you from enjoying the city's parks? The Openhouse Gallery offers the perfect solution: Park Here, an indoor pop-up park. With a daily event schedule that includes free food and drink tastings, film screenings and live music performances from the likes of Matisyahu, Deer Tick and the Freelance Whales, your summer park withdrawal symptoms will be taken care of!
 

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The Standard Hotel Ice Skating Rink Opens Below the High Line!

The Standard Hotel Ice Skating Rink Opens Below the High Line!

It may be a balmy 65 degrees today (hello, climate change), but it’s the week after Thanksgiving and that means only one thing: it’s time to get in the holiday spirit! What better way to start rolling in the holiday cheer than with a little ice skating? The

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Paint a Pumpkin on the High Line with Fulton Youth of the Future!

Paint a Pumpkin on the High Line with Fulton Youth of the Future!

This Saturday the High Line saw its share of pre-Halloween festivities. The sunny day and pumpkin patch attracted kids of all ages who were dressed in costume and ready to have fun. The pumpkin painting was organized by Fulton Youth of the Future as part of their Youth Market program and young helpers, such as Jayson Rosado (right) and Michael Marrero (left), were on hand to assist with pumpkin sales and painting activities.
 

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6 Eco-Friendly Ways to Enjoy Autumn in NYC!

6 Eco-Friendly Ways to Enjoy Autumn in NYC!

While there's nothing like summer in New York City, fall is definitely the Big Apple's best season. The hot, sticky air has been lifted and a crisp, cool breeze puts a little more pep in our step. Fallen leaves crunch under our boot-clad feet, hot spiced apple cider replaces our iced coffee, and pumpkins and squash take over our Greenmarkets. With Halloween a little over two weeks away, we're in full fall-swing, and we've compiled a list of a few festivities that showcase the best fall fun that New York City has to offer. From a haunted museum to delicious autumn food, we've got something for everyone!
 

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Friends of 20th Street Park Push for New Green Space in Chelsea

Friends of 20th Street Park Push for New Green Space in Chelsea

On West 20th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues you can find a quarter-acre open lot, something that is increasingly hard to come by in the city. However, its future remains uncertain. With great demand for both affordable housing and green space there is a debate brewing over the future of the lot currently occupied by the Department of Sanitation (DOS). Over the past year, Friends of 20th Street Park has evolved into a growing, concerted effort to demand that the lot be converted into a much needed park. With a district population in a neighborhood that ranks last on open space scores and grew over ten times the Manhattan average in 2009, the area is long due for some greenery.
 

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New York Schools Receive $59K in Mini-Grants to Build Student Gardens

New York Schools Receive $59K in Mini-Grants to Build Student Gardens

The city’s garden initiative program for schools founded by GrowNYC just got great news! The Grow to Learn: Citywide School Gardens Initiative has been awarded $59,044 in mini-grant funding from the Mayor’s Fund. The funds will be split amongst 36 New

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Learn How To Dye Your Clothes With Local Produce at the Mobile Textile Lab

Learn How To Dye Your Clothes With Local Produce at the Mobile Textile Lab

If you're a Greenmarket regular, you may have already run into Laura Sansone's House-Wear Mobile Textile Lab. With her small cart on wheels, she takes an inspiring natural dye process to local farmers markets around the five boroughs. The dyes are made on the spot using seasonal produce from the farm stands, and the wool is sourced from New York State farms. Sansone's cart demonstrates the fusion between textiles, farming, and food, and shows how fashion can be both sustainable and accomplished on a truly local scale.
 

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Last Chance to Go Skating at the High Line Retro Roller Rink!

Last Chance to Go Skating at the High Line Retro Roller Rink!

Is it just us or did Summer 2011 pass by in the blink of an eye? It felt like just yesterday that we announced the opening of the Uniqlo Retro Roller Rink at the High Line lot and it's already closing in just a few days! The pop-up rink, which has provided hours of free-wheelin' entertainment for New Yorkers will be closing up shop this Monday, September 26th, so if you haven't had a chance to skate a lap or twenty, head on over there right now!
 

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New York Students Can Now Say No to Animal Dissection in Science Classes

New York Students Can Now Say No to Animal Dissection in Science Classes

While dissecting frogs and fish may be a cornerstone of biology classes, slicing and dicing animals for the sake of science doesn’t sit well with many people. Whether you’re a vegetarian, vegan, or just an animal-loving individual, you may have moral objections

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Recycle-A-Bicycle Teaches NYC Kids How to Fix Bikes & Help the Environment

Recycle-A-Bicycle Teaches NYC Kids How to Fix Bikes & Help the Environment

What do you get when you combine green transportation, an eco education, and job training? Recycle-A-Bicycle! One of our favorite non-profits in New York City, Recycle-A-Bicycle helps youths across NYC learn real-life job skills while giving them an environmental education. The program not only recycles discarded bicycles, but turns them into usable modes of green transportation. The Green Jobs Training Program helps at-risk youths learn a skill and appreciate sustainability -- and gives them a bicycle for themselves at the end.
 

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NYC Parents Sue DOE to Speed Up Removal of PCB Tainted Lights From City Schools

NYC Parents Sue DOE to Speed Up Removal of PCB Tainted Lights From City Schools

We haven’t heard much lately about the continuing battle to have PCB-tainted light fixtures removed from city schools, but on Wednesday, NYC parents filed a federal lawsuit in response to the city’s refusal to replace PCB laden light fixtures within a shorter

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LEGO Animals Invade the Bronx Zoo!

LEGO Animals Invade the Bronx Zoo!

Any Inhabitat reader knows how much we love LEGOs, and this time, this architectural toy of choice has managed to create a fun and interactive way to experience the Bronx Zoo. Deemed "The Great Summer Zoofari," this new installation features a smattering of impressive LEGO statues that are situated right next to their real-life counterparts. Accompanying the arrival of this latest addition to the Bronx Zoo's menagerie of creatures is a series of LEGO-riffic events that are sure to bring out your inner child. Hit the jump to see our personal encounters with the pixelated creatures!
 

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Today is the LAST DAY to Visit the Wacky Rainbow City Wonderland at the High Line

Today is the LAST DAY to Visit the Wacky Rainbow City Wonderland at the High Line

If you were thinking that the one thing missing from the High Line is a lot full of crazy giant bouncy castle-like creatures, today is your lucky day. To celebrate the opening of Section 2 of the High Line, the parking lot below the elevated park at 30th Street has been transformed into a weird and wacky wonderland full of giant colorful balloon creatures. Miami-based art collective FriendsWithYou, in partnership with AOL, opened "Rainbow City" last month in honor of the ever growing High Line. For the month of June, Rainbow City will transform the usually grim location into a 16,000 square foot playground. The best part? It's designed for interaction, so you can touch and move anything you like. But hurry -- today is the last day for the candy-colored world! Hit the jump to see the surreal playland for yourself!
 

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Downtown Students Reap First Harvest at the Battery Park Urban Farm

Downtown Students Reap First Harvest at the Battery Park Urban Farm

Our favorite turkey-shaped farm is bursting with fresh produce! This week, the student gardeners at the Battery Park Urban Farm reaped the “vegetables of their labor” after two months of tending to lettuce, radishes, peas, kale, collard greens, and other delicious herbs and veggies. The one acre farm is sponsored by the Battery Park Conservancy, and over the last few months, it has brought together hundreds of downtown students and residents who planted and cared for the crops.

© Battery Park Conservency
© Battery Park Conservancy


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NYC Students Cook With Solar Powered Pizza Boxes at Union Square Greenmarket

NYC Students Cook With Solar Powered Pizza Boxes at Union Square Greenmarket

Why buy a microwave when all you need is a cardboard box and a little help from the sun? Students from Edward R. Murrow and James Madison high schools presented a clever collection of fun and exciting green home designs at the Union Square Greenmarket yesterday

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PHOTOS: New York Sun Works Plants NYC’s First Public School Greenhouse On Top of P.S. 333

PHOTOS: New York Sun Works Plants NYC’s First Public School Greenhouse On Top of P.S. 333

New York Sun Works, a non-profit dedicated to bringing sustainability and environmental science to New York City schools, plans to develop 100 innovative science labs in NYC schools. This past fall, NY Sun Works teamed up with Manhattan School for Children (P.S. 333) on the Upper West Side to launch the pilot project The Sun Works Center for Environmental Studies, also known as The Greenhouse Project, an interactive greenhouse located atop the public school. Designed by Kiss + Cathcart, the greenhouse has been an unique experience for the students and has generated some serious buzz. NY Sun Works recently invited us to take a tour of the urban agricultural oasis, so hit the jump for an exclusive look inside!
 

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LEED Gold Community Center for the Lower East Side Girls Club To Open in 2012

LEED Gold Community Center for the Lower East Side Girls Club To Open in 2012

Back in 2009, we learned that the Lower East Side Girls Club would be getting an amazing new green community center to be the first and only Girls Club in NYC. The development finally broke ground last year, and construction is in full swing. Designed by Cutsogeorge

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30th Annual Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival Blooms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden This Weekend

30th Annual Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival Blooms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden This Weekend

The weekend weather forecast for New York shows sunshine and high 60s, so what better way to spend it than outside enjoying nature? This Saturday and Sunday, April 30th and May 1st, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is hosting one of the most popular and gorgeous

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