Green Developments in the Big Green Apple

By Michael Kent, Urban Planner, New York, New York

Late last year, the sidewalk sheds surrounding the northwest corner of West 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue in New York City were lifted, revealing the new Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, the first commercial office building to attain LEED Platinum certification. Built on a massive, two-acre development site–in Midtown Manhattan, two acres is massive–the 54-story, 945-foot tall tower symbolizes New York’s tremendous potential to be a leader of sustainability. In New York, public transit is already the norm, bicycle lanes are being carved into the street grid, miles of waterfront in all five boroughs are being made publicly accessible open spaces, and zoning allows for an extraordinary amount of new–and potentially green–building.

On April 22, 2007 (Earth Day) Mayor Bloomberg launched PlaNYC, his far-reaching plan to fight global warming and create a more livable city. Courtesy of NYC Office of the Mayor.

The challenges facing green initiatives in New York are unique. The City grapples with obstacles such as an aging infrastructure and high development and construction costs. At the same time, city planners forecast continued population increase for the City, predicting a population of 9 million by 2030. This growth presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge: How does the City address the needs of nearly one million more New Yorkers, from affordable housing, to transportation, to employment, schools, and social services? The opportunity: In managing this growth, the City–its leaders in government, non-profit, and private sectors, as well as everyday citizens–can and must incorporate green building and other sustainable practices to continue to make New York a global leader in environmentally responsible urban development and a green city at large.

One Bryant Park is Bank of America’s new headquarters in NYC. It is the first LEED Platinum high rise building in NYC. The developer of this building is Durst (Durst is also the co-owner with Bank of America). Jones Lang LaSalle served as Bank of America’s representative on the building construction and also serves as manager for Bank of America’s internal space. Courtesy of Jones Lang LaSalle

In 2007, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s newly formed Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability published “PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York,” which serves as a blueprint toward improving the City’s urban environment. The plan identifies 127 different green initiatives–categorized into five separate issue areas: land, air, water, energy and transportation–to address the City’s projected growth and reinforce its status as a global city. Among its many aims, the plan seeks to create affordable and sustainable housing for the million new New Yorkers projected by the year 2030, to clean and conserve its water supply, to improve public transit and encourage alternative forms of transportation.

Since PlaNYC has been launched, New York City’s green achievements have been widespread. Rohit Aggarwala, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability (NYC), told Green Space Today, “In some ways, the Bloomberg Administration’s biggest green accomplishment to date has been making it clear that being a big city like New York is already highly sustainable and that it can be even more so. In 2007, a lot of people thought that environmentalism was inconsistent with New York City – now, I think, many New Yorkers see that it is part of what New York City is and can be. In addition, we’ve already made a lot of progress–170,000 trees planted in the last two years, 1300 hybrid vehicles introduced into the taxi fleet, 75 schoolyards opened up off-hours as playgrounds, already more than $100 million invested in energy efficiency upgrades in city buildings, new bike lanes all over the city, new pedestrian spaces, requirements for stormwater management in parking lots enacted, and a number of major transit-oriented rezonings adopted.”

In recent months, the City has embarked upon several efforts to further the goals of PlaNYC. The City is currently considering a proposal put forth by the Department of City Planning (DCP) to require bicycle parking in most new multi-family residential, commercial, and community facility buildings. DCP has also proposed amendments to the City’s waterfront zoning that would make it more inviting and open to the public. The proposal also seeks to promote greening the waterfront, allow new water-related amenities such as boat launches and anchorages, encourage a variety of landscape design, and activate waterfront spaces. Aggarwala, told Green Space Today, “Additionally, we have worked with the City Council to pass legislation to institutionalize important aspects of the plan (PlaNYC): enshrining carbon targets and annual carbon reporting into law; making the Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability a permanent part of city government; and requiring future mayors to develop and update long-term plans; and requiring the development and updating of sustainability indicators for the city.”

Bradford Perkins, FAIA, MRACIP, AICP, CEO, Perkins Eastman Courtesy of Perkins Eastman

In February 2009, the City Department of Transportation unveiled its Broadway Pilot Program, a plan to transform Broadway into a more pedestrian-and bicycle-friendly boulevard. The plan would affect nearly two miles of Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, converting auto traffic lanes into open space and bicycle lanes. The plan also calls for eliminating auto traffic altogether from the sections of Broadway that pass through Times Square and Herald Square. The City plans to incorporate these and other design changes starting in Spring 2009. Also, in October 2007, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer hosted a green building conference, where more than 400 attendees participated in breakout sessions, learned about and saw first-hand the latest green products and technologies, and listened to DCP Commissioner Amanda Burden’s keynote address on various green projects being undertaken by the City.

Meanwhile, back at 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue, One Bryant Park is setting a new high bar in sustainable design for commercial office towers. The tower, a joint venture between the Durst Organization–one of New York’s oldest private developers– and Bank of America, incorporates a myriad of green practices, including a grey water system that captures and reuses both rainwater and wastewater, high ceilings and translucent insulating glass in floor-to-ceiling windows to permit maximum daylight within the building and energy efficiency, and a heating/ventilation/air-conditioning system that allows individual floor control.

Rendering of the 303 East 33rd Street development, New York, NY. Developed by Toll Brothers, Inc. and The Kibel Companies, and designed by Perkins Eastman, 303 East 33rd Street is the first green development in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. Scheduled for completion in November 2009, the 165,000 sf, 12-story LEED® certified building will comprise of 128 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes in a variety of layouts. The space will also offer a three-bedroom, four-bathroom triplex penthouse with a total of 1,700 sf of outdoor space. Courtesy of Perkins Eastman

Rohit Aggarwala, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability (NYC). Courtesy of NYC Office of the Mayor

Along with private developments, public spaces are enhancing New York City’s growing reputation as a green city. For more than twenty years, an abandoned elevated rail line once active with trains shipping goods to and from buildings lay dormant on Manhattan’s historically industrial West Side. As cargo trains ceased to rumble along the mile-long structure, dubbed the High Line, native flora and fauna reclaimed it. This exceptional, undisturbed green space would soon be threatened by plans for its demolition. Pressure to dismantle the High Line in the 90s and early part of this decade was met by an even stronger resistance, organized as Friends of High Line. The group succeeded in convincing the City to preserve the High Line and to convert it into a unique, elevated public open space. The High Line is on schedule to open to the general public this spring, providing much needed to green Manhattan’s historically industrial West Side.

New York’s green movement is not confined to green building and the creation and preservation of public open space. For the past two years, New York hosted the Greener Gadgets Conference, dedicated to promoting sustainability within the consumer electronics industry. On February 27, the second annual conference was held in New York. The conference, in which more than 60 companies and 20 universities participated, focused on energy technology, e-waste recycling, energy generation and efficiency, recyclable gadgets, and how “going green” works for businesses.

On May 14, 2008, Mayor Bloomberg cut the ribbon on a new playground in the South Bronx. Converting schoolyards into playgrounds that are accessible to the community is a key component of PlaNYC. One of the main goals of the plan is ensuring that all New Yorkers live within a ten minute walk of a park or playground. NYC Office of the Mayor

On April 22, 2008, Mayor Bloomberg and David Rockefeller announced their joint pledge of $10 million to the MillionTreesNYC initiative to plant trees in public spaces including New York Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments and at City schools. MillionTreesNYC is a key component of PlaNYC. The goal of MillionTreesNYC is to plant one million new trees by 2017. NYC Office of the Mayor

Rendering of the Bronx River House that will be the new home to the Bronx River Alliance, which, in cooperation with the Department of Parks & Recreation, oversees the restoration and operation of the Bronx River Greenway and the adjacent public portions of the Bronx River. Kiss + Cathcart, Architects

In addition to office space for 20 staff members, the 7,000-square-foot structure (Bronx River house) will include a 30-seat nature classroom and a 600-square-foot multi-purpose room for use by the community and local schools. Kiss + Cathcart, Architects

Envisioned as a living component of the park, the Bronx River House will have a screen wall made of galvanized steel and mesh that wraps the entire building, providing a surface for vines to grow. The seasonal vines create a favorable microclimate, evapo-transpiring more than 3,000 gallons per summer day of rainwater collected from the roof, which reduces surrounding ambient temperatures from two to as many as 15 degrees. As part of design development, the architects are exploring generating a surplus of renewable energy and harvesting rainwater for use on site for flushing toilets, washing canoes and irrigation. Kiss + Cathcart, Architects

Turner Construction’s headquarters is in NY, NY. Turner applied its construction services to the 46-story Hearst Tower. As a LEED Gold space, the Hearst Tower was the first commercial building to receive a Green Building Tax Credit. Courtesy of Turner Construction

Just as a sturdy building requires a solid foundation, so to does a movement such as the greening of New York. With the far-sighted PlaNYC, the organizing of like-minded developers, architects, and green builders, exciting new and protected spaces such as One Bryant Park (and other sustainable developments) and the High Line (respectively), and with participatory academic institutions and the public’s increasing demand for environmentalism, New York has laid a strong foundation for its assent to the forefront of the green movement.

Michael Kent can be reached via e-mail at michael.ryan.kent@gmail.com

Turner was construction manager for The Solaire, a 27-story, 363,000 sq. ft. glass-and-brick residential tower. The building contains photovoltaic cells, a gray water collection system, and an air filtering system along with other sustainable elements. Designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates SLCE, The Solaire is the first residential high-rise in the United States to attain LEED Gold certification. Courtesy of Turner Construction

Turner also provided green building services for The Visionaire, a 423,000 sq. ft. residential tower currently under construction on Site 3 in Battery Park City in NY, NY. The Visionaire will seek LEED Platinum.  The space’s architect is Cesar Pelli & Associates: SLCE Architects. Courtesy of Turner Construction