Are you about to renovate and want to donate your building materials but don’t know if that’s possible? Well it is and there are companies that will welcome your donation and provide financial incentive to do so. Donating your building materials is (generally) tax-deductible, saves you disposal fees, helps NYC reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, and helps folks build a green industry!

We’ll be talking about reusing and recycling building materials at the August 19 “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Retrofit” session of the Green Building Monthly Forum!

Read on for a list of places that will take your donation of building materials! (more…)

Did you guess this chair was first an old bourbon barrel?? If you’re anything like me and want to combine your love affair of modern contemporary home furnishings with a desire to be green, you should definitely check out  Uhuru (Pronounced: oo-hoo-roo) in Red Hook, Brooklyn - yes in NY!! I came across this place a while ago. Uhuru is a small, design build furniture company that uses materials that have been reclaimed, recycled, re-purposed, reused, or otherwise rejected from their original function. Uhuru has recently been named one of Greenopia’s Distinguished sustainable companies for New York City for 2008-2009.

GreenHomeNYC does not receive fees from the purveyors of products or services mentioned in its blog posts.

We’re gearing up for our 7th year of Green Building Monthly Forums!

The Green Building Forum is held on the third Wednesday of each month (except December) at 6:30 PM and features presentations by green building practitioners followed by discussion. The events are always free and open to the general public.

The 2009 dates and topics are listed below. We’re continuing the tradition of mixing in case-studies of green building with discussions around policy and how-to’s.

Mark your calendars and check the events calendar for details & venues!

1. January 21: Showcase: Green Building Materials Catwalk
2. February 18: Green Building 101
3. March 18: DIY: Take your building’s energy pulse
4. April 15: Showcase: Bronx Green Building
5. May 20: Policy Roundtable
6. June 17: Showcase: Green Philly
7. July 15: Greening the Code: Status Check!
8. August 19: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Retrofit
9. September 16: Showcase: BIG Green Projects
10. October 21: Green Jobs / Green Careers
11. November 18: Showcase: International Green Building

We just got word from Brooklynite Gennaro Brooks-Church that he’s got a giant truckload of once-loved R-9 Polyiso rigid foam board insulation for sale. As Gennaro puts it,

So I need about 3600 square feet. I bought 12,500 square feet of insulation!!!! I couldn’t help it! I got a good deal and I really feel the greenest thing is for me to pay one big truck to bring the stuff to Brooklyn and redistribute it to others instead of everyone getting small trucks (which as it turns out isn’t cost effective anyway).

Contact Gennaro via his blog at http://ecobrooklyn.com/insulation-arrived/.

Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation is hiring an Economic & Environmental Planner with the Bronx Initiative for Energy and the Environment.  It’s a great opportunity to gain experience in planning and economic development in NYC, as well as good exposure to government. (more…)

Hello everyone! Today I’m making note of some activity in the City Council and the Mayor’s office from this past year (that have nothing to do with term limits!), as well as a few City-authored, green building related reports. Rumblings of green legislation supporting the implementation of PlaNYC are omnipresent at the city these days. Three pieces of legislation so far include a measure to require disclosure of energy and water performance to renters or buyers, a “NYC Climate Protection Act”, and setting additional green building standards for City capital projects. (more…)

Today I’m looking at this past year’s notable green home related bills from the state legislature - all of which are financial incentive programs that New Yorkers should be aware of.  The legislature reconvenes in ‘09, and the possibility of a November transfer of power in the State Senate to Democratic control should be noted (Not as an endorsement of one political party over another, but rather as recognition that the only bills that pass in New York are sponsored by members of each house’s majority party).  A Democratic Legislature and Governor may ease the passage of more green legislation in ‘09. (more…)

Hello Everyone! My name is Adam Szlachetka. I’ll be blogging on regulatory and legislative issues that impact green building in New York City, interesting issues related to green home design in the City, and other related topics. Just to get started, there were a few notable items from this summer (more…)

Steven Winter Associates, Inc., a building energy firm with a huge presence in NYC (and a long-time supporter of GreenHomeNYC), is looking for an Administrative Assistant in their New York office to support 20+ building geeks and green consultants working on commercial/residential sustainable design consulting, LEED certification and residential/multifamily energy analysis. The position requires a Bachelor’s degree or at least five years of work experience. Contact SWA’s Human Resources department (hrnyc@swinter.com) and let them know GreenHomeNYC sent ya!

Download the SWA Job Posting