NEW YORK - As New York City combats climate change, buildings aren't the only things sprouting up in the Big Apple. What's growing on - and in - an increasing number of buildings may surprise you. Growing food on the roofA roof-to-table farm on top of the Javits Center is just one example of how the city is building a greener future. Rain or shine, an isolated ecosystem takes shape under the meticulous care of Brooklyn Grange farmers.
buildingsWhile new climate-focused construction continues, projects around the city are also addressing the complicated needs of older buildings, like the hundreds of aging Housing Authority properties. is now piloting new easy-to-install window units to bring central heat and air to long-time tenants at the Woodside Houses in Queens, who never had their own temperature control.'I love it,' Regina Fred said about her Gradient model.'Your skin was so dry, and it was either too much or too cold,' added neighbor Sandra Ruffen. 'You had to be opening the windows all the time or sleep with the fan to get some air, and ever since we have this, the air is so pure. You can breathe.
is collecting shows successfully sustained temperatures with smaller consumption, helping to achieve the agency's goal to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050.'We're seeing big improvement in the amount of energy that it takes to heat one of these apartments,' said 's senior sustainability director Soibhan Watson, 'and we think it has a lot of potential for being the new solution for heating and cooling.'The Woodside complex is simultaneously seeing newly designed roofs and outer walls as well.Green ideas for brownstones and other homesHarlem-based advocacy group WE ACT For Environmental Justice hopes to show homeowners how they, too, can contribute to combat climate change.