CLEED

Sustainability Consultancy for Cultural Institutions

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Tour of SIMS Municipal Recycling via OpenHouseNewYork

Photo Courtesy of Marc Lins Selldorf ArchitectsSunst Park MRF_Exterior 1.ashxIt is always fascinating to find out where exactly all the metal, glass and plastic that I faithfully recycle each week goes. So last week I toured the which is the principal facility to recycle all curbside metal, glass and plastic in New York City. It is a central element of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 to develop sustainable waste management in NYC. Nestled on the waterfront at 29th St. you can’t miss the 100kW wind turbine which signals you have arrived.

20151017_154417Approximately 19,000 tons of metal, plastic and glass are collected monthly by the Department of Sanitation and Sunset Park MRF can recycle this and more! The facility is also home to the largest solar power installation in NYC. Designed by SIMS MRF was built to optimize environmental performance. It boasts a gravity-based stormwater system using landscape features, bio-swales and a retention pond. Plus the city created 3 artificial reefs for intertidal habitat for both marine and bird lifew hich helps to mitigate the effects of dredging. Lastly, it has an cheerful kid-friendly Recycling Education Center, programming, interactive exhibits and a theater. All in all an impressive facility and worth a visit, especially if you have kids.

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Tour of the Brooklyn Army Terminal via OpenhouseNewYork

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This past Saturday I toured the located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn via OpenhouseNewYork and . Usually closed to the public due to it being an industrial manufacturing building, Saturday we got to see some of the inside and it was fantastic!
BAT was designed by Cass Gilbert in 1918 and built by Turner Construction. It served as one of the largest military supply bases through WW ll, it was considered a inter-modal shipping port. At the time it had warehouses, offices,  piers, docks, rail sidings, cranes and cargo loading equipment. You can still see some of the rail tracks inside and also the atrium actually has 2 black lines built into the floor to show where the original tracks came into the building. The interior central loading space houses a couple of 5-ton traveling cranes with bays for easy movement of goods. Also,  when it was built, it was the largest reinforced concrete construction and still remains in good shape!

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Back in the late 60’s the building was decommissioned from the Army and was subsequently bought by New York City in 1981. Since 1985 BAT has been undergoing renovations in phases, presently the building is about 80% renovated. It now houses about 100 companies, including , and and employs around 3,600 people.
Lastly, worth mentioning since this is a sustainability blog. In the atrium there is a new outdoor exhibition by Isabelle Garbani called . She is one of the artists from Chashama, a group that supports communities by transforming temporarily vacant properties into spaces where artists can flourish. The art piece is a cascade of about 5,000 flowers crocheted from plastic bags. You can even contact the artist to create your own flower to add to the piece!

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