Summer is just around the corner, and Brooklyn’s MetroTech campus has announced it will be hosting a program of free music, film and sports in Downtown Brooklyn. Activating the MetroTech Commons, Forest City Ratner Companies has curated the Summer@MetroTech series to invigorate the community during the warmer months. This year, they’ve partnered with Rooftop Films, World Science Festival, BEAT Festival and the City Parks Foundation to create another summer of fun for area residents and visitors.


Read the rest of Summer@MetroTech to Bring Music and More to Downtown Brooklyn testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: BAM R&B Festival, BEAT Festival, Brooklyn, City Parks Foundation, eco design, Forest City Ratner Companies, green design, rooftop films, Summer@MetroTech, sustainable design, World SCienc eFestival

Image via Shutterstock

It’s not the sounds of the city or early morning trash removal that forces some Greenpoint, Brooklyn residents out of bed in the morning. Instead, a neighborhood rooster has become a local town favorite by bringing a bit of the countryside to the Kingsborough. Though it may be rather odd for a rooster to be lurking about, most residents don’t seem to be bothered by its crows. We’re curious to know, would you want to trade in your alarm clock for a daily cockle-doodle-doo?

Read the rest of Greenpoint, Brooklyn Residents Surprisingly Don’t Hate Mysterious Crowing Rooster testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Brooklyn, Brooklyn chicken coops, Brooklyn chicken farms, Brooklyn farms, Greenpoint, New York Restoration Project, nyc chicken coops, nyc chickens, NYC farming, Schenectady Avenue Community Garden, urban agriculture, urban farming

We’ve been wanting to see Lamacek‘s new Phelt “clusters” in person ever since we found out about them, and we finally got our chance this weekend at BKLYN Designs. The fun series takes eco-felt made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and turns it into spirally groupings that can be used as wall art, seat cushions, coasters and pretty much whatever else you can think of (Lamacek takes custom orders as well). We got a chance to ask Connie Lam, who founded Lamacek with partner Michael Sedlacek, about PHELT. Read on to see what we learned.

Read the rest of Lamacek Shows Off Fun Phelt Wall Clusters at BKLYN Designs 2013 testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bklyn designs, Brooklyn, connie lam, deer head lamp, eco design, eco-felt, green design, green furnishings, Lamacek, Michael Sedlacek, nyc, recycled materials, recycled plastic bottles, sustainable design, sustainable furnishings

Read the rest of Analog Modern Draws Upon Traditional Craft to Create Their Contemporary Furniture Collection testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Amanda Coen, Analog Modern, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, brooklyn designs, eco design, furniture design, green design, home goods, house ware, industrial design, Inhabitat, Inhabitat NYC, new york city, Peter Buley, reclaimed wood, recycled aluminium, recycled materials, salvaged materials, salvaged wood, sustainable design, West Elm

Read the rest of Pickett Furniture Uses Sustainable Wood and Vintage Textiles to Create Playful Handcrafted Pieces testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Brooklyn, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, brooklyn designs, eco design, furniture design, green design, home goods, house ware, industrial design, Inhabitat, Inhabitat NYC, Jeremy Pickett, new york city, pickett, Pickett Furniture Company, reclaimed wood, recycled aluminium, recycled materials, salvaged materials, salvaged wood, sustainable design, West Elm

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: adam frank, Aellon, Bien Hecho, Bower, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, brooklyn designs, Caleb Zipperer, CASA Kids, Dog Tag Designs, eco design, From the Source, furniture design, Garrison Architects, green design, home goods, hooker and co, house ware, industrial design, Inhabitat, Inhabitat NYC, Lamacek, mark Jupiter, new york city, Noble Goods, Palo Samko, pickett, reclaimed wood, recycled aluminium, recycled materials, salvaged materials, salvaged wood, sustainable design, Urban Chandy, West Elm

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013, artsy fartsy, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, Dog Tag Designs, Dumbo, eco design, green design, lamps, nyc, recycled materials, Steampunk, sustainable design, tables, Tyagi Schwartz, upcycled design

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: BKLYN Designs 2013, Brooklyn, Dumbo, eco design, green design, green events, green interiors, nyc, Palo Samko, reclaimed furniture, recycled materials, salvaged wood, sustainable design, sustainable furniture design, timber, upcycled design

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, design events, eco design, FSC Certified wood, green design, green events, green interiors, habitat for humanity, Noble Goods, nyc, sustainable design, wood

With BKLYN Designs 2013 just around the corner, we’ve been tooting the horns of some of our favorite NYC-based green designers who will present their work at the fair this year — and we’re excited to announce that Caleb Zipperer will be on the scene with his fresh brand of furniture inspired by games from his youth. Zipperer honed his craft as an apprentice for Dakota Jackson before moving to Williams-Sonoma, where he continues to work as a lead designer while still running his Williamsburg studio. For a sneak peek of his Tetris-inspired creations, check out the Corbu Side Table after the jump.

Read the rest of See Caleb Zipperer’s Modern Tetris-Inspired Furniture at BKLYN Designs 2013 testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, Caleb Zipperer, Dakota Jackson, Dumbo, eco design, green design, green furniture, green interiors, nyc, sustainable design, Williams-Sonoma

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, connie lam, deer head lamp, eco design, eco-felt, green design, green furnishings, Michael Sedlacek, nyc, recycled materials, recycled plastic bottles, sustainable design, sustainable furnishings

Read the rest of BKLYN Designs: Aellon Turns Shipwrecked Boats and Reclaimed Materials into Fabulous Furnishings testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013, Aellon, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, eco design, eco furniture, FSC Certified wood, furniture, green design, green design events, new york, reclaimed materials, recycled materials, shipwrecked boats, sustainable design

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bklyn designs, BKLYN Designs 2013, Brooklyn, CASA Kids, double bed, eco design, foldaway beds, furniture festival, homegrown, kid-friendly design, locally-built furniture, modular furniture, nyc, Roberto Gil, single bed, sustainable design, sustainable furniture, sustainable timber, Tuck Bed

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, Dumbo, found materials, furniture, mark Jupiter, new york, rare timber, reclaimed materials, recycled materials, redwood, water tower

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2013, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, design, eco design, eco lighting, eco-chic, Edison bulbs, green design, natural materials, Navy Yard, reclaimed wood, salvaged barn wood, sustainable design, Urban Chandy, urban chic, vintage

If you’re in the market for well-made furniture built with reused materials, you’ll definitely want to check out this year’s BKLYN Designs showcase of Brooklyn-born furnishings in May. One of the show’s prime purveyors of understated, recycled design, Bien Hecho is a woodworking studio founded by John Randall in 2006. We’ll definitely be looking for Randall’s elegant tables made with salvaged hard and soft woods at the event – read on for a sneak peek!

Read the rest of Bien Hecho Gears Up to Bring Their Understated Reclaimed Furniture to BKLYN Designs 2013 testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Bien Hecho, BKLYN Designs 2013, Brooklyn, brooklyn navy yard, eco design, environmentally conscious furniture design, furniture, green design, hard wood, new york, reclaimed materials, soft wood, sustainable design

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: adam frank, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, Dumbo, eco design, energy efficient lighting, green design, green interiors, interiors, kid-friendly design, Lumen LED, night light, projector, recyclable materials, recycled materials, sustainable design

During his final State of the Borough speech, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz announced plans to revive Coney Island’s historic Childs restaurant building — a protected city landmark that once housed a thriving business in the early twentieth century. After years of community resistance from local synagogues and residents afraid of the potential increase in traffic and noise to the area, Markowitz and city officials have come to a deal to transform a portion of the building and adjoining space into a $58 million, 5,000-seat music hall, amphitheater and eatery. The new space will support future community cultural events, including summer concert series, graduations and festivals.

Read the rest of Coney Island’s Famous Childs Restaurant to Reopen as New Eatery and Amphitheater testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Brooklyn, childs brooklyn, childs coney island, childs restaurant, coney island, dick zigun, Hurricane Sandy, luna park, marty markowitz, occupy sandy, state of the borough

Read the rest of 6 Fun, Green Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in NYC! testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Brooklyn, eco friendly st patricks day, green NYC, green st patricks day, la gringa taqueria, little ireland, museum of natural history, new york sports club, new york st patricks, nyc carriage rides, nyc walking tours, st paddys day nyc, st patricks day, st patricks day nyc, st patricks day parade, what to do for st patricks day

When Hurricane Sandy wiped out the lifeguard stations and public bathrooms on many of New York City’s beaches, the city found itself in a bind. How could it rebuild these necessary facilities in time for the summer of 2013? To answer that question, officials turned to architect Jim Garrison, who has been designing buildings for the city for over three decades, and luckily, his firm was ready to jump into the fray and design more than 50 beach structures for a scheduled opening on Memorial Day. The resulting facilities will be flood-resistant, sustainably-built, modular and prefab (not to mention nifty-looking).

Read the rest of See Pics of the New Flood-Proof, Prefab Beach Buildings NYC Plans to Roll Out This Summer testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Brooklyn, eco design, environmental sustainability, flood-proof construction, Garrison Architects, green building, green design, green NYC, Hurricane Sandy, Inhabitat Local New York City, Inhabitat NYC, jim garrison, new york city, nyc beach buildings, nyc prefab, post-Sandy construction, prefab beach buildings, sustainable design

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: backyard retreat, Brooklyn, cedar, Clinton Hill, Clinton Hill playhouse, GDT, Grant Davis Thompson, Grant Davis Thompson Inc, Palmer Thompson-Moss, playhouse, reclaimed material, reclaimed ship lights, salvaged blue stone, sandbox, wood-burning stove

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 11 Stanwix Street, 596 Acres, Brooklyn, Bushwick, Daniel Eizirik, green space nyc, I'm so lucky you found me, Mohen & Segal, sustainability, the Silent Barn, urban gardens, vacant land

Passive Houses are supertight, well-ventilated, heavily-insulated buildings that require up to 90% less energy for heating and cooling. The movement, which began in Germany over 20 years ago, is slowly spreading in the United States, and in Brooklyn in particular. In this video, Brooklyn Independent Television invites you to get an inside look at three Passive House retrofits in the BK that show how even landmarked brownstones can get energy-efficient makeovers, preserving the past with an eye towards a sustainable future.

+ Brooklyn Independent Television

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Brooklyn, brooklyn independent television, brooklyn passive houses, eco design, green design, green home, green home nyc, green homes, passive house, passive houses in brooklyn, passivhaus, sustainable design

Now that Christmas has come and gone, many New Yorkers will begin discarding their holiday trees. If you’re wondering how to dispose of your tree, we know just the place to drop it off — in fact, we know of 70 places! The New York Department of Parks and Recreation, along with the New York Department of Sanitation and GreeNYC, will be hosting its annual Mulchfest in parks all over the city from Jan 12-13, inviting New Yorkers to recycle their old trees into wood chips to donate to city parks or to keep for their own gardens. Last year, over 24,000 trees were recycled throughout the city, and the team is looking forward to beating that record this year.

Read the rest of Recycle Your Christmas Tree at Mulchfest 2013! testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bronx, Brooklyn, christmas tree composting, christmas trees, composting, green NYC, GreeNYC, Manhattan, Mulchfest, mulchfest 2013, New York Department of Parks and Recreation, new your department of sanitation, nyc, Queens, recycle bronx, recycle brooklyn, recycle nyc, recycle queens, tree chipping, tree composting, tree mulch, where to discard christmas trees

Mayor Bloomberg and several other city officials kicked off the opening of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5 this morning. The $26 million, five-acre former shipping pier will feature three outdoor multi-purpose recreation fields for soccer and other team sports, a picnic peninsula that will include picnic tables, barbecues and children’s play equipment and a continuous esplanade for strollers, sports spectators and people interested in fishing.

Read the rest of Mayor Bloomberg Opens Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5 testing

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 5, brooklyn bridge park pier 5 opening, green space nyc, mayor bloomberg, nyc events, nyc parks, NYC public spaces, parks nyc, pier 5 brooklyn