In celebration of Landscape Architecture Month the NY Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA-NY) is hosting Currents in Green Infrastructure and will be highlighting some of the most innovative sustainable projects being built and planned throughout New York City, including Brooklyn Bridge Park, Bushwick Inlet Park, and Queens Plaza. The opening reception for the exhibit is Thursday, April 4th at The Horticultural Society of New York, 148 West 37th St, 13th Floor from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Read the press release and the list of many panel discussions and lectures throughout April here.
NYC Water Board Meeting April 5th
The NYC Water Board has given public notice of a meeting on Friday, April 5, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. in Spector Hall of the Department of City Planning, 22 Reade Street, 1st Floor, New York, NY 10007
First Green Roof to be a Certified Wildlife Habitat
The Living Architecture Monitor’s spring publication has a great piece on the first green roof to be listed as Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. The system, built in Grand Rapids, Michigan, utilizes a wide variety of plant species and is designed to mimic natural habitats found in the area. It’s a great read for those who would like to push green roof designs to incorporate increasing biodiversity and creating urban ecosystems in their plans. Read it here.
Green Roof Professional (GRP) Training in New York – March 21st to 24th
Attend this suite of training courses offered by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and learn how to successfully market, design, budget, install and maintain green (vegetated) roofs. Green Roof Design 101, Green Roof Design and Installation 201, Green Roof Waterproofing and Drainage 301, and Green Roof Plants and Growing Media 401 were developed by multidisciplinary committees of industry experts, and are recommended training for individuals preparing to sit for the Green Roof Professional (GRP) accreditation.
Each course includes a 100+ page reference manual, and is approved for continuing education credits by LA CES, AIA CES, GBCI, BOMI, and RCI. Local project tours are being offered in conjunction with this event.
For more information, and to register, see http://www.cvent.com/d/xcqr45 or www.greenroofs.org/education.
City May Delay Tax Abatement Renewal
New York City’s green roof tax abatement expires this Friday – but Mayor Bloomberg has yet to publically support its timely extension. Although SWIM supports the NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s proposed improvements, SWIM is concerned that the City will repeat year-long delays that occurred last time around. In 2008, the Mayor delayed supporting the green roof tax abatement until the very end of the state’s legislative session (in late June) and local rules were not finalized until spring of the following year. In SWIM’s recent letter to the Mayor, the SWIM Green Roof Working Group calls on Mayor Bloomberg to publically support the timely extension and improvement of the green roof tax abatement, based on the DEP’s proposed improvements. Feel free to contact SWIM coordinator Rob Crauderueff at swimmablenyc@gmail.com for more information.
S.W.I.M. Trains Chinese Delegates in Green Building & Green Infrastructure
SWIM trained a delegation from the Hubei Province of China on best practices for green building and green infrastructure, on Thursday, March 28. The delegation was comprised of government officials, architects, and businessmen. A lecture of neighborhood-scale best practices was provided in the morning, and tours of different green buildings models were provided in the afternoon: Chris Benedict’s passive house, under construction in Bushwick, and Battery Park City’s LEED Platinum Visionaire, were toured.
SWIM Coordinator Rob Crauderueff & the Hubei Province Delegation