Tag: transportation

January 9, 2018

November Forum Recap: Innovations in Transportation: Mobility in Smart Cities

by Jenny Nicolas   The GreenHomeNYC November Forum held at the Hafele America showroom showcased a panel of four thought-leaders, who provided insight on the current status of New York City’s mobility and addressed innovative solutions to create a truly Smart City. The panelists discussed exciting projects and cutting edge technology that will help cities cut their dependence on fuel inefficient cars.   A Streetcar Named BQX Jonathan Gouveia, Senior Vice President of New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), spoke about the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX). The BQX is a project which would create a 16-mile waterfront streetcar from Sunset Park in Brooklyn, to Astoria in Queens, and would be able to accommodate 150 people.   Evidenced by the NYC subway map, there is a lack of N-S connections from Brooklyn to Queens. The BQX can be instrumental in the effort to move people more efficiently, while improving streetscapes, currently dominated by one-person occupied cars. This would be the first large rail transit capital project in over 60 years overseen by the city. With that magnitude, many factors must be considered including route planning, street design approach, and system accessibility features, among others. (more…)

February 3, 2017

All the News From the Green Catwalk

by Thomas Storck   GreenHomeNYC launched another year of monthly forums with the annual Green Catwalk, featuring seven speakers who discussed the latest “green” news.  From Saudi Arabia to New York City, challenges remain.  But, in New York, in particular, much is being done to overcome them. The speakers offered insight into what needs to happen in order achieve our climate goals, the progress we’ve made already, and the programs and opportunities that are in the works right now.   Development in the Desert While New York City has its own sustainability goals and initiatives, we can’t forget that the climate crisis is a global one. Duncan Prahl of IBACOS, began by taking the audience to the opposite end of the earth, to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2015, Riyadh became home to the first LEED-Platinum building in the Middle East. Designed to achieve a net-zero energy balance, it holds 28 kW of rooftop solar PV and has enough batteries to last 24 hours. After two years of serving as a high-level consultant on the project, Prahl shared his thoughts on the challenges of building to such standards in the desert: “I would never recommend doing that again… to anyone.”   (more…)

July 31, 2016

July Forum Recap: Trends in Sustainability: Government and Corporate Commitments

by Ryan Hughes   Opportunities for organizations to improve their environmental and competitive advantage by reducing their climate forum1impact are prevalent, yet not always apparent.  The GreenHomeNYC July Forum on Government and Corporate Commitments drew a diverse crowd of industry professionals, students, teachers, job seekers, city officials and the public to discuss the multitude of challenges and growing successes in corporate and governmental sustainability. From methods of integrating alternative fuels in emergency response vehicles, to rethinking and automating our transportation system, to using sustainable economic methods to rethink the way we plan for company growth, the Forum offered a front row seat for the systemic changes remapping industry and our world. (more…)

February 3, 2015

February Forum: Sustainable Transportation

A sustainable transportation system is one that is accessible, safe, environmentally-friendly, affordable, and can meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. For our February forum, we want to more closely examine initiatives, policy and efforts in and around New York City that relate to making transportation more sustainable. . This forum is free and open to the public! . Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 Time: 6:30-8:00pm Place: GE Monogram Design Center, 150 East 58th St., 10th floor, New York, NY 10155 . RSVP here! (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…)

March 10, 2013

March Forum: Green Lifestyles

At GreenHomeNYC buildings are our passion, but we also recognize that the ways to incorporate sustainably aren’t limited to the buildings you occupy. Our March forum, Green Lifestyles, will focus on simple ways you can incorporate sustainability into other aspects of your life. Our panel of speakers will be focusing on everything from transportation to green cleaning products so there’s sure to be something for everyone! We hope to see you there!   This forum is free and open to the public! Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm Place: Hafele Showroom, 25 E 26th St., Manhattan, NY 10010 Click here to RSVP!   Our speakers will include:   Bios posted as they become available.   Chrys Napolitano, Locust Point Civic Association   Chrys is a local food activist, writer, community organizer and Master Composter Candidate with the NY Compost Project. For the last 12 years, as a board member of the Locust Point Civic Association in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, she has worked to raise awareness about the environment, sustainability, energy efficiency and the effects of climate change on waterfront communities. In 2012, she co-hosted “Earth Day Our Way” which included speakers from GreenHomeNYC, the Department of Sanitation and a New York State CSA farmer. She was part of the core group that began a successful CSA, started a community composting effort and also supervised the construction of a new playground at the civic house property. In her bi-monthly column in the Bronx Times Reporter, “Food for Thought”, she discusses issues dearest to her heart: cooking with local, seasonal ingredients, organic gardening and composting. By “bringing everyone to the table” to talk about food and share meals that are delicious and nutritious, she believes that the ripple effect can be far reaching. She will discuss the changes that she and her family have made to eat better, more seasonally and sustainably while still enjoying delicious food. Erica Brabon, BPI MFBA, LEED AP O+M, Senior Consultant   Erica has specific expertise in energy efficiency in multifamily and commercial buildings. Her work at SWA focuses on energy benchmarking and auditing, health and safety in buildings, training building operators and maintenance staff in sustainable operations and energy efficiency, curriculum development, LEED certification and development and implementation of sustainable business practices. Ms. Brabon is currently working with multifamily buildings across NYC to cut energy consumption and increase building performance under NYSERDA’s Multifamily Performance Program.   Glen Nison, NYC Department of Sanitation   Glen Nison is an Outreach Specialist for the Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling in New York City’s Department of Sanitation. He has been working for the Department since recycling became mandatory in 1989. Prior to working for Sanitation, Glen was an Urban Park Ranger working mostly in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Glen works with schools, City agencies, institutions and residential buildings (from single-family homes to large complexes ) providing them with guidance on how to recycle effectively. Glen is also an avid outdoorsman, cyclist and photographer. He lives in Brooklyn Heights. (more…)