green - Bklyner

Oft Overlooked on Brooklyn-Queens Border, The Hole Shows Risks of Ignoring Environment

Community groups and some residents see potential to develop the area in a way that maintains its affordability, given that it is close to an express subway stop on the A train and not far from Kennedy Airport, but first, they need proper sewers, Samantha Maldonado reports.

environment

City Seeks Feedback on Plan for the Future of the Waterfront

A railing above Newtown Creek. (Image: Paul Stremple/Bklyner)The Department of City Planning (DCP) published draft goals and strategies for a new plan to manage the city’s waterfront yesterday, and has scheduled virtual public meetings to solicit feedback. The two meetings are scheduled for May 25th and 27th,

Central Brooklyn

Opinion: Brooklyn Needs Public Power

Blackout in Mill Basin, 2019. Todd Maisel/BklynerBy Nicholas Boni It’s time for Brooklyn to take its power back. Our borough’s power grid is in shambles. Blackouts are as common as summer heat waves. Utility rates are astronomical, erratic, and ever-increasing. The East River, the Gowanus Canal, and

Announcements

Seven Citi Bike Stations Coming to Bay Ridge in February

NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) staff presented plans for seven new Citi Bike stations between Bay Ridge and Sunset Park during a Community Board 10 transportation committee meeting on January 26. Map of planned Citi Bike stations in Community Board 10. By DOT, from Community Board 10 meeting on zoom.

Bay Ridge

Taking on Mugwort in Bay Ridge

By the Narrows Botanical Gardens. Photo by Salma Elazab/BklynerJames Johnson, a landscape designer and co-founder of the Narrows Botanical Garden, would love to see mugwort gone from the neighborhood. To this end, Johnson proposed the installation of a native plant garden along the Belt Parkway in Bay Ridge at

Education

Assembly Member Colton Rages Against Proposed Park at Gravesend Schoolyard

Assembly Member William ColtonAssembly Member William Colton is calling on southern Brooklyn residents to take to their cars to protest the conversion of a Gravesend schoolyard into a public park. In a strongly-worded press release sent Tuesday afternoon, Colton called on residents to join “a community motorcade” in opposition to

Central Brooklyn

Poll Finds Most Brooklyn Voters Would Trade Parking For Pedestrian and Transit Improvements

A majority of voters in Brooklyn–and across the city–would give up parking for pedestrian and public transit improvements. The protected bike lane along Flatbush Ave. Liena Zagare/BklynerThat’s according to a new poll commissioned by the safe streets advocacy group Transportation Alternatives and conducted by the Siena

environment

South Brooklyn Marine Terminal To Become A Wind Turbine Assembly and Maintenance Plant, Bringing 1,200 Jobs To Sunset Park

Elizabeth Yeampierre estimates that her team at UPROSE – the Brooklyn community-based environmental justice organization she oversees – has been advocating for the creation of green jobs along the industrial waterfront of Sunset Park for over two decades. “I found a flyer the other day at UPROSE that was dated ‘97 or

Bushwick

Cleaning Up Bushwick One Block At A Time

Since the pandemic started, and sanitation litter basket service got significantly cut, garbage issues have only gotten worse in Bushwick. Complaints about illegal dumping of trash, dirty sidewalks, missed collection, and derelict vehicles are among the top three issues Brooklyn Community Board 4 (CB4) has received the most complaints about

green

Meet the Green Agitators Who Planted Seeds for Brooklyn’s Coming Wind Turbine Assembly Hub

By Gabriel Sandoval, THE CITY. This article was originally published by THE CITY A dream long nurtured by grassroots neighborhood activists approached reality last week when Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an offshore wind turbine assembly hub in Brooklyn — part of a promised “green energy economy.” Sunset Park environmental justice advocates

parks

Renovated Bensonhurst Playground Opens To Public This Week

NYC Parks / Daniel AvilaThis winter is making us hope so hard for an early, COVID-19 free summer. Or at least one where most of us are vaccinated and can safely enjoy the breeze, and the new sprinklers at the Bensonhurst Playground. But sprinklers are not the only improvement the $7.

Central Brooklyn

Flatbush Avenue Entrances To Prospect Park Now Open

NYC Parks / Daniel AvilaWork is finished on the two new park entrances along Flatbush Avenue side of the park, NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, and Prospect Park Alliance President Sue Donoghue announced, even though a proper ribbon cutting is yet to be scheduled for sometime in 2021. Completed

community

75 Trees Planted In Prospect Park This Fall To Honor Loved Ones

Planting a commemorative tree near the Parkside + Ocean Avenue entrance, next to a tree felled by Hurricane Isaias. (Photo via Prospect Park Alliance)PROSPECT PARK – A record-breaking 75 trees were planted to honor loved ones this season in Prospect Park, raising $150,000 for sustaining the Park in the process.

Arts & Culture

Amboy Neighborhood Garden Reopens With Music, Art, And High Hopes For The Future

Charles Joyner’s guiding principles for reopening the Amboy Neighborhood Garden in Brownsville are simple. “All you need is hands, effort, and a desire to want to help the community,” he says. The work of Joyner, Tammy Hall, and a few dozen other volunteers culminated in the Amboy Neighborhood Garden

Announcements

The Green New & Improved Greenpoint Library & Environmental Education Center Is Open

Greenpoint Library. (Photo via Brooklyn Public Library)GREENPOINT – The new Greenpoint Library, which is also the Environmental Education Center, opened its doors today after the original library was demolished three years ago. The library, located at 107 Norman Ave, was closed in 2017 to make way for a $15 million

community

Two PLG Residents Pick Up the Slack After City Suspends Compost Programs

Volunteers for Nurture BK collect compost. Courtesy of Nurture BK.For Brooklyn’s robust composting community, the city’s decision in April to suspend curbside compost pickup, and temporarily close Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites, due to COVID-19-related budget cuts was deeply disheartening. For the last five years, those aiming to

community

Fall Gardening: The Ryder Street Rockets are Brightening The Neighborhood, Will Stuart Street Slimers Be Next?

MARINE PARK – The Ryder Street Rockets, part of the Marine Park Community Association’s Gardening Club, met last Saturday, September 19 to plant new flower pots along the sidewalks of Quentin Road, a commercial street near their Ryder Street homes. Brigid McGrath, 10, and Mateo Besada, 10, work together to

community

Drunk People, Urination & Broken Bottles At Corporal Wiltshire Square

Litter occupies the small public square. (Photo via concerned neighbor/Bklyner)MADISON – Corporal Wiltshire Square is a small public square located at Avenue P and Ocean Parkway, right on Kings Highway. When the weather is cold, the park is nearly empty. But when it’s good outside, it is often

Central Brooklyn

City Of Water Day – Celebrating Island Living Across NYC

This Saturday, September 12, we celebrate our waterfront. The event is organized by Waterfront Alliance who has been working for 13 years to connect communities to and advocate for resilient, revitalized, and accessible coastline for all. Out of the 500 some miles of waterfront across the city, Brooklyn is home

Business

“I don’t want any New Yorker to leave.” Scott Stringer Formally Enters Race for Mayor.

Campaign photo.Brooklyn showed up for Manhattan neighbor and current City Comptroller Scott Stringer as he formally announced his run for the Mayor in the 2021 local elections yesterday. State Senators Julia Salazar and Brian Kavanagh, as well as Assemblyman Robert Carroll endorsed him and were there to speak to

Borough Park

Mosquitoes To Be Sprayed In Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Prospect Heights Sept. 3

Brooklyn is getting the second adulticide treatment this summer, this time focusing on Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and areas around Greenwood Cemetery, per map below. The Health Department (DOH) will be dispatching trucks that will spray DeltaGard® and/or Anvil® in order to kill mosquitoes and the associated risk of

Development

Rep. Carolyn Maloney on Post Office, PPP Loans, Environment and Serving Brooklyn – A Conversation

Rep. Carolyn Maloney led a rally at Foley Square last year calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Todd Maisel/BklynerWhen we caught up with North Brooklyn Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney on Tuesday, August 18, she was in high spirits. We talked about all things Brooklyn, from post office and

community

Reimagining a New York Icon: Winners Announced for Brooklyn Bridge Redesign Competition

‘Do Look Down’ by Shannon Hui, Kwans Kim, and Yujin Kim. Courtesy of Van Alen Institute.Two winners have been announced for the Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge Competition, hosted by design nonprofit, Van Alen Institute. The winner in the professional category is titled Brooklyn Bridge Forest, submitted by Pilot Projects Design

brownsville

Seeds in the Middle Brings Fresh Produce Programs to Food Insecure Areas of Brooklyn

Signs at the Brownsville Market. Photo courtesy of Seeds in the Middle.On Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville, there are five fast food restaurants in a small stretch. Lifetime neighborhood resident Nora Rodríguez Cortez says that there are far fewer supermarkets, only around three, and that at the bodegas fresh produce

Announcements

For Some Peace and Quiet, Escape To Governors Island

Governors Island in 2019 © Julienne SchaerGovernors Island, all 172 acres of it, will open again to the public for ‘passive recreation’ on Wednesday, July 15 with a daily ferry service from lower Manhattan. Brooklyn residents will be able to take a direct ferry from Red Hook’s Atlantic Basin rather