Michael Hurwitz is the Director of Greenmarket, a Program of the Council on the Environment of NYC (CENYC). Hurwitz will be speaking on the subject of “Food Miles: An Inside Look at Food from Farm (or Factory) to Table” at Green Brooklyn.. Green City on September 18th. For more information on this full day event, [...]

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Located next to the decidedly utilitarian Van Brunt Station of the Post Office on Ninth Street, a beautiful blue jewel of a building – certainly not its original color – was designed as a residence for one William B. Cronyn in 1855 and remodeled in 1895. The Blue Jewel of Ninth Street is a remarkable [...]

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On Saturday, August 16th, a “Maryland 400″ remembrance ceremony was held at the Michael A. Rawley American Legion Post, located between 8th and 9th Streets and Third & Fourth Avenues. A faded New York State historic blue and yellow sign has been hanging in front of the Post on 9th Street commemorating the “Maryland Heroes” [...]

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Here’s one of our weekly features from the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE). This week’s interview is with Green Spa NY Blog and The Spa co-owner Maria Ingardia. CUE found her through the Sustainable Business Network NYC, a network of businesses dedicated to building a vibrant, diverse and responsible local living economy in New [...]

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Few people know about Brother Islands because they are so difficult to reach. But they have a long and fascinating story that is deeply entwined with the history of New York. Situated in the East River slightly north of Riker’s Island, North and South Brother Islands were claimed in 1614 by Captain Adriaen Block [...]

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Passengers on the L train speeding through Williamsburg and Bushwick seldom stop to think about one of the most unique and little known cemeteries in New York as they pass by. But if you look out the window at Wilson Avenue before reaching Broadway Junction, there it is. Close to the train tracks, with [...]

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Back in 1968, James Hurley and pilot Joseph Haynes set out to research an old neighborhood, Weeksville, for a Pratt Neighborhood College Workshop. After consulting old maps, they decided to search for signs of the old neighborhood from the air. Flying overhead, they noticed an oddly situated lane with four run-down wooden houses set back [...]

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Few of us realize why the first Thursday in June –“Brooklyn-Queens Day”– is a holiday for the public school children of New York City. It was not always the case. Between 1959 and 2006, for instance, only children from Brooklyn and Queens enjoyed the day off. And prior to 1959, the holiday was celebrated exclusively [...]

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Here’s one of our weekly features from the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE). This week’s interiew is with Drosera owner Marielle Anzelone. CUE was introduced to her through the Sustainable Business Network NYC, which is a network of businesses dedicated to building a vibrant, diverse and responsible local living economy in New York City. [...]

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Here’s one of our weekly features from the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE). This week’s interview is with Get Fresh owner Caroll Lee. Get Fresh, which is located at 370 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, is part of the local living economy stressing organic, local foods.
Q: How did Get Fresh Get Started?
A: Get Fresh [...]

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When the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) began our Gowanus Cruises in 1997, we were initially surprised to learn that we were following in a long tradition of pleasure cruising on the Gowanus Canal! Indeed, during the 19th century, the Gowanus Bay was an extremely popular site for sailing and enjoyment well before [...]

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Here’s one of our weekly features from the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE). This week’s interiew is with Movers, Not Shakers! owner Mark Ehrhardt. CUE was introduced to him through the Sustainable Business Network NYC, which is a network of businesses dedicated to building a local living economy in New York City.
Q: Where are [...]

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Since the Center for the Urban Environment relocated to our new headquarters at 168 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues this spring, we’ve had a chance to take a closer look at the urban geography of Park Slope’s Western edge. American Legion Post 1636 at 193-95 9th Street across the street from the bus [...]

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Today, we inaugurate a new feature that we’re very happy about: interviews and reports from the Center for the Urban Environment. This feature is “Living Local Economies,” which will focus on local businesses that are green or focused on sustainability. The subject of the interview is Alexis Miesen Co-Proprietress of Blue Marble Ice Cream on [...]

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