Tag: the-new-york-harbor-school

March 31, 2015

Billion Oyster Pavilion Coming to Governor’s Island

FIGMENT, a non-for-profit organization dedicated to interactive art experiences, in partnership with the AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee and the Structural Engineering Association of New York have selected BanG studio’s Billion Oyster Pavilion as the winner of this year’s “City of Dreams” Pavilion international design competition. What makes this pavilion exceptional is its forward look towards restoring the waterways of the very city it shall be built in. BOP_Design By partnering with the New York Harbor School, a unique vocational school located directly on Governor’s Island, BanG’s pavilion has been designed such that all its materials can be reused by the school’s reef restoration classes to repopulate the oysters around the island. (more…)

October 1, 2013

The Green Spotlight: Jordan Bonomo

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAJordan Bonomo is a Multifamily Energy Auditor at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC), a long time GreenHomenNYC volunteer, head of the Green Building Tours,  and a  Student in Columbia University’s Sustainability Management graduate program   GreenHomeNYC’s blog mentions that your interest in the environment was sparked while working on a climate change campaign for MASSPIRG.  Please recount this experience as well as others that have contributed to your interest in the environment and sustainable building. After college I was living in Boston for the summer.  MASSPIRG, the state public interest research group there, was working on a climate change campaign to get Massachusetts to ratify the RGGI Bill.  The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a carbon cap-and-trade system for the Northeast states.  I helped fundraise for that where I learned about the issue and the politics involved.  It was also the summer that the Al Gore Movie, An Inconvenient Truth, came out.  It was a very hot topic at the time.  The initiative eventually went through in Massachusetts . Living in New York City, obviously there are a lot of buildings.  I know that buildings are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the city and a lot of the city’s energy use is from buildings.  I thought that would be a great starting point for focusing on being more efficient and more sustainable.   Please describe how you became involved in GreenHomeNYC. I randomly googled green buildings in NYC and came across GreenHomeNYC.  I shot them an email and went to meetings and met other people that were interested in the topics.  I didn’t know anything about it at all at the time but I started volunteering so that I would learn.  One of my first assignments was to make informational note cards that we would post on the website.  I did one about passive houses.  I researched passive houses, passive lighting, and passive heating systems.  This was a good way to learn about one aspect of green building and now it’s a pretty hot topic everywhere.  It was cool, a good way to get my feet wet. (more…)

May 28, 2013

Ever thought that there might be life in the East River?

Image 9This year the Lower East Side Ecology Center will open its office and learning center at the East River Park Fireboat House.   The site will contain an aquarium connected to the river to prove that “there are actually things living in the East River.” Through initiatives such as environmental education programs, greening, and composting, The Lower East Side Ecology Center works to promote a more sustainable New York City.   As part of GreenHomeNYC’s SustaiNYC Spring tours, Daniel Tainow, Education Director, led a tour of three sites affiliated with LESEC. On top of the Fireboat House is a Xero Flor Green Roof, made up of squares of sedum for insulation, absorption of rainwater, as well as other benefits of a green roof. “We will cut holes in the tower in order to install a spiral staircase that will make the green roof more accessible. This will also encourage passive air movement throughout the tower.” In the past the tower was used to hang hoses to dry after use. Solar ivy (tiny solar panels designed to mimic the appearance of ivy) will be hung to generate solar energy.   (more…)