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Green Roofs to Be Installed at Broadway Stages After $1.5 Million Grant

Assemblymember Joseph Lentol, joined by Tony and Gina Argento of Broadway Stages and Marni Majorelle of Alive Structures. (Via Assemblymember Lentol’s office)

Jan. 25, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan

Broadway Stages will soon add 1.4 acres of green rooftops in Greenpoint thanks to a $1.5 million state environmental initiative grant.

The Brooklyn-based film and television sound stage company is partnering with green roof specialists Alive Structures to transform the roofs on three of its sound stages in Greenpoint through a grant by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation’s Green Innovation Grant Program, Assemblymember Joseph Lentol announced yesterday.

Broadway Stages previously partnered with Alive Structures, as well as New York City Audubon and Newtown Creek Alliance, for the Kingsland Wildflowers project, which transformed a Broadway Stages warehouse property at 520 Kingsland Ave. into a rooftop green space.

In addition to beautifying the streets of Greenpoint and restoring natural habitats for wildlife, the new green roofs will allow Broadway Stages to collect rainwater and either harvest it for use on site, or filter it and send it back into the ground to recharge rivers and streams.

“In addition to being a cost-effective method to collect debris, chemicals, sediment, and other pollutants that could end up in nearby waterbodies, green infrastructure projects like this green rooftop reduce air pollution and improve our quality of life,” said Sabrina Ty, CEO and President of NYS EFC.

The plants that will be used on the upcoming roofs are intentionally selected to help cool surroundings and improve air quality.

“The green roofs have the potential to remove the emissions equivalent of over 40,000 cars per year,” Lentol said.

Marni Majorelle, founder of Alive Structures, sees these new rooftops as just the tip of the green iceberg.

“The first 60,000 square feet of green roofs funded by this grant is just the beginning,” she said. “We envision acres of meadows stretching over several industrial rooftops, creating a unique and ecologically important green corridor in Brooklyn.”