Oct. 17, 2024 By Kirstyn Brendlen Utility giant National Grid, one of the many parties responsible for turning the Gowanus Canal into a toxic Superfund site, is claiming its fellow polluters aren’t doing their fair share to clean up the canal — and that it can no longer shoulder the cost alone. Earlier this…
Tag: environment
Great moments in tree-story: Parks Department adds 17 local legends to list of ‘Great Trees of New York City’
Oct. 8, 2024 By Kirstyn Brendlen There are 600,000 pieces of living history in Brooklyn: trees. They fill the borough’s parks, line its streets, and shade its playgrounds and schoolyards, but their contributions often go unnoticed. In 1985, the city’s parks department set out to change that when it compiled the first list of…
System to contain toxic chemicals beneath Gowanus school to be installed early next year, officials say
Oct. 1, 2024 By Kirstyn Brendlen A ventilation system to protect students at a Gowanus elementary school from contaminated air has passed its first round of testing, according to state officials, but isn’t set to be fully operational until at least after Christmas. Officials tested the air at P.S. 372 The Children’s School earlier…
Pols call on DOT to crack down on dust, noise at Columbia Street concrete facility
Sep. 20, 2024 By Kirstyn Brendlen A city-owned concrete facility is producing dust and noise in the Columbia Waterfront District, and local leaders say something needs to be done. Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation moved its concrete recycling facility from the South Brooklyn Army Terminal to a lot near the piers on…
City advances plans for delivery ‘microhubs’ to reduce truck traffic, pollution in Brooklyn and Manhattan
Sep. 17, 2024 By Kirstyn Brendlen The city took one step closer to cleaner, greener package delivery on Tuesday as the Department of Transportation advanced a delivery “microhub” pilot program. The hubs would give truck drivers a space to safely transfer their cargo from long-haul trucks to smaller, safer, and more sustainable methods of…
A pearl on the shoreline: Billion Oyster Project to build massive new reef near Canarsie
Aug. 13, 2024 By Barbara Russo-Lennon
New York City is getting a pearl of underwater development off the shores of Brooklyn — one that will rival Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in terms of ecological importance.
Clearing the air: 1,500 new trees at Green-Wood Cemetery will filter greenhouse gases, fight climate change
Aug. 6, 2024 By Kirstyn Brendlen
A tree grows in Green-Wood Cemetery — or, it will soon.
Brooklynites bring sustainability and creativity together at 8th annual Kingsland Wildflowers Festival
Aug. 1, 2024 By Jada Camille The 8th annual Kingsland Wildflowers Festival, a nature-inspired arts celebration, welcomed hundreds of visitors over the weekend to explore Broadway Stages’ 24,000-square-foot green roof, listen to music, and see how the natural world and the artistic world often coincide and interact. Attendees chose between guided nature walks and…
Greenpoint residents say DKN Ready Mix concrete facility has brought dust, noise, and health concerns
Jul. 30, 2024 By Kirstyn Brendlen
A new concrete batching facility in Greenpoint is stirring up dust and controversy as locals, outraged by what they say is outright pollution of the air and water, urge regulators to crack down.
City to open free compost distribution center in Greenpoint
Jul. 26, 2024 By Kirstyn Brendlen
After finding itself with an excess of compost, the city will open a compost distribution site in Greenpoint next month, where urban gardeners can pick up sone “black gold” for free.