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We know Brooklynites are getting tired of everybody invading their home, but with all the place has to offer, you can't really blame people for wanting to move there. Take Barcade for example. The Williamsburg hangout features not only a huge selection of micro brews, but also a bunch of old school arcade games to fulfill all your 8-bit desires. Not only that, but the whole joint is powered......read more
We love us a good flea market, and not only because of all the cool objects and their stories, but also because thrifting is a sustainable way to buy things. Call it conscious consumption. In this episode of Brooklyn Informed, we pay a visit to one of our favorite shopping spots, the Brooklyn Flea, which The New York Times calls "One of the great urban experiences in New York." With its......read more
Andrew Casner, Brooklyn resident and urban gardener, is also an artist. But his workspace isn’t splattered with paint and brushes. Instead, it’s covered in dirt. In this episode of SHFT‘s Brooklyn Informed series, Andrew takes us through his non-traditional artistic process, which involves placing a canvas under a compost pile, then uncovering it a month later to......read more
Brooklyn Informed, our new web series, profiles real people pursuing the practice of sustainability in BK, a breeding ground for greening activity. The series jumps off with an episode on water, going deep with artist Mary Jordan and entrepreneur Sean Meenan on their respective water conservation projects in the borough. ...read more
The murky depths of Brooklyn's highly polluted Gowanus Canal conceal the remains of its industrial past. Now, having recently been listed on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund National Priorities List, it looks to a clean future ahead. The best part? Restoring the canal will be paid for by polluters, not taxpayers....read more
Food doesn't get any more local than when you can plant, pick, cook, and eat it all within a space of about five feet. That's the exactly the situation that building manager Peter Malerba finds himself in. The longtime Brooklyn resident takes advantage of having open access to a vast rooftop by growing a variety of organic delights every summer. But like a good Brooklynite, Malerba......read more
In the summer, surfers and sun-seekers descend on Rockaway, Queens to enjoy the best waves and beaches NYC has to offer. Opened two years ago, Rockaway Taco gives New Yorkers another reason to ride the A train to the end of the line. In this episode of BK Informed, we talk sustainability with Andrew Field, who explains Rockaway's Beach 96 movement — the name given to the growing green......read more
New York's Macro-Sea invades underused urban spaces and reenergizes them with creative projects and happenings. Like Glassphemy!, a 20x30-foot "visceral and psychological recycling center" erected in a pre-gentrified lot on the Gowanus Canal. In a violently fun take on recycling, participants were invited in the structure to smash empty beer bottles against the bulletproof glass. The shattered......read more
Brooklyn's Big Sue, LLC is a veteran of New York City's sustainable building scene. In this episode of Brooklyn Informed, we talk to Big Sue partner Susan Boyle about one of the company's cooler projects: a Prospect Heights brewery icehouse they bought in 2004 and converted into a six-unit residential building. The structure is an excellent portrait of sustainable construction, with two green......read more
The way we see it, growing food in cities is a great way to address some of the social, environmental, and health problems faced by urbanites. Derek Denckla agrees. The Brooklyn-based green visionary helped launch the Farm City project (named after Novella Carpenter's excellent book on adventures in city farming) to explore and promote the practice of urban agriculture. Our intrepid Brooklyn......read more
