Tag: conservation

July 26, 2017

July Forum Recap: Spotlight on Parks – Bigger and Better

By Sunitha Sarveswaran   One of the classic New York City tourist destinations is Central Park, a landmark of innovation in landscape architecture and engineering. However, most tourists and maybe a few residents may not be aware of other equally inspiring parks located in New York City. During the GreenhomeNYC July Forum, Eloise Hirsh, President of the Freshkills Park Alliance, and Noreen Doyle, Executive Vice President of Hudson River Park Trust, spoke about two large revitalization projects in New York City that are transforming abandoned infrastructure into natural havens for communities. Hirsh and Doyle spoke about the history of these parks, detailing the journey, challenges, and upcoming projects.   A Transformative Park to Inspire the World

Fresh Kills Landfill. Image: DSNY Photo Archive

Eloise Hirsh and her seven-member team have worked with limited resources and tough environmental challenges to reshape the terrain and public image of Freshkills in Staten Island. Formerly the world’s largest landfill during its time of operation, Fresh Kills was an eye sore and a spot of heartache in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The sight that most people recall when hearing the name Fresh Kills is the image to the right. However, in 2001, the Municipal Arts Society of New York went to then Mayor Rudy Giuliani with a brighter image. With approval from the Mayor and a draft plan from James Corner Field Operations, a team was assembled in 2006 with Hirsh at the helm. (more…)

August 19, 2013

The Green Spotlight on BE NYC: Dan Rieber

  Countdown to BE NYC! With onlyPicture 3 days until October 16th, GreenHomeNYC is shining the spotlight on the experts who will be making BE NYC  conference an exceptional industry event!   One of the professionals participating in the conference is Dan Rieber.   
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Dan inspecting a steam boiler

Dan Rieber is the Weatherization Director at NMIC (Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation) as well as a frequent speaker at GreenHomeNYC forums. He has a BA from SUNY Stony Brook. Over the past 20 years Dan has given numerous presentations on various weatherization topics at the National Affordable Comfort conferences (ACI), National Multi Family Buildings conferences, National Weatherization Training conferences, Regional Weatherization Program conferences, NESEA, and GreenHomeNYC.   Dan will  be speaking about “Steam Heat: Tech Tips for Successful Operation” as part of the Multifamily track at BuildingEnergy NYC.   What is weatherization and why is it important for residential buildings? How does it affect the resident’s quality of life? Weatherization, in our Northeast climate, is mostly about keeping your building as efficient as possible during the heating season. This means making sure your walls are insulated (if they can be), insulating the roof, insulating pipes (heating and DHW), air sealing wherever you can, tuning your heating system to maximize its efficiency or replacing it for a more efficient unit. Repairing windows for drafts and replacing them if necessary. Being sure that you are making domestic hot water in as efficient a manner as possible can have a big impact on your energy bill. Domestic hot water is made all year round and can use more energy than heating in some buildings. Energy efficient lighting is an important part of the energy efficiency equation too, but has less of an impact on the heating side. Mechanical ventilation is another item to be looked at. Over ventilating can have an effect on heating use and the resident’s comfort. Resident quality of life is a big issue if people are cold in their homes. Seniors and young children are most susceptible to colder temperatures. On the flip side if people are overheated then the building is wasting money on fuel going up the chimney and there are health issues related to poor indoor air quality in this case. This leads to open windows in the winter time as well. (more…)

July 23, 2009

Free water conservation kit from NYC DEP

NYC DEP's Water Conservation Kit

Contents of the free Home Water Conservation Kit

Did you know that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection will send you a free home water conservation kit packed with water conservation goodies from Niagra Conservation? All you have to do is download a request form, fill it out, and mail, fax, or email it back to DEP. Couldn’t be any easier. We requested a kit a few weeks ago and here’s what we liked and didn’t like about it. Read on after the jump! (more…)