Read the rest of World’s Largest LEGO Model – a Massive Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter – Unveiled in NYC testing

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Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons has his sights set on tackling food deserts in New York City by bringing quality food to low-income neighborhoods. Simmons has teamed up with Hajj Hasaun Muhammad and his partner Luanna Williams to launch “Quality Access Grocery,” which will provide underserved communities with access to fresh food at affordable prices. Their ambitious plan to roll out these stores in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods will hopefully keep moms with strollers, little old ladies and other people looking for healthy produce from having to travel miles to find it.

Read the rest of Russell Simmons Wants to Open Quality Access Groceries to Combat Food Deserts in NYC testing

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Post tags: diabetes nyc, East Harlem, food access, food deserts, food justice, Green cart initiative, new york city food deserts, obesity nyc, quality access grocery store, russell simmons, south bronx, trader joes, whole foods market nyc

NYC is stepping up its commitment to reducing kids’ exposure to pollutants by implementing a “Stop Idling” campaign at some of the city’s most trafficked schools. Commissioner Carter Strickland of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced the new plan to crack down on idling buses and cars in school areas known to have the highest asthma rates. Drivers found parked with their engines on for more than one minute will be warned, but if they’re caught a second time they’ll be slapped with a $350 fine.

Read the rest of NYC’s “Stop Idling” Campaign Cracks Down on Drivers at Schools with Highest Asthma Rates testing

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Post tags: air quality, asthma new york, asthma rates new york, Bloomberg PlaNYC, Carter Strickland, department of education, department of environmental protection, health commissioner Thomas Farley, idling, idling nyc, mayor bloomberg, planyc, School bus nyc, stop idling campaign

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Post tags: antonin forneau, digital water art display, green art, grohe, led activated by water, LED Art, new york design week, water art, water light graffiti, water light graffiti wall

Read the rest of School of Visual Arts Offering Co-Working Desks to Work from This Summer testing

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Post tags: chelsea co-working, co working, co-working desk, desk rental, eco design, green design, green office, manhattan co-working, office rental, products of design, school of visual arts, shared office, summer desks, sustainable design, SVA

Yesterday, the New York State Senate approved a bill encouraging the building of more green homes in the state. Initially ntroduced by Senator Mark Grisianti in 2012, the bill would allow local municipalities to authorize a 35 percent tax exemption on environmentally friendly real property for 20 years. Through this legislation, Grisianti hopes to incentivize builders to make the investment in green homes, which may be initially more costly.


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Post tags: energy star certified homes, environmentally friendly homes, green homes, leed building ny, leed homes, national home builders association, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, ny green homes, senator mark grisanti

The black Hadron Lamp is so electrifying that a jellyfish looking for a date might easily be fooled. The brainchild of designer Joe Doucet, the floor lamp is a translucent membrane filled with thin electroluminescent wire. The young NYC-based designer, who currently holds more than 40 patents for his designs and inventions, presented the Hadron during New York Design Week.

Read the rest of Joe Doucet’s Electrifying Hadron Lamp Contains 20 Meters of Electroluminescent Wire testing

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Post tags: electroluminescent design, electroluminescent lamp, electroluminescent wire, Hadron lamp Joe Doucet, Joe Doucet, lamp design, lighting design, New York Design Week 2013, nyc design events, NYC designers, Wanted Design 2013

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Post tags: ARTLANTIC, Atlantic City Alliance, Atlantic City redevelopment, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, eco design, green design, Ilya and EMilia Kabakov, Jedediah Morfit, John Roloff, Kiki Smith, Lance Fung, Peter Hutchinson, RObert Barry, Robert Lach, sustainable design

With only seven months before he makes his final departure from his post as mayor, there is speculation that Mayor Bloomberg wants to end his term by building barriers along they NYC waterfront to protect against future storms. A number of sources say that the mayor will propose the installation of several removable steel panels in key flood-prone areas, including a permanent barricade at Newtown Creek, a toxic waterway that sits between Brooklyn and Queens. The verdict is still out about whether the mayor’s possible plans will actually be effective and worth the price tag to prevent major damage to the city during hurricanes to come.

Read the rest of Can Mayor Bloomberg’s Steel Panels Save New York From Flooding During the Next Super Storm? testing

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Read the rest of Clever 425 sq. ft. Manhattan Micro-Loft Stacks Upwards for More Space testing

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Post tags: built in furniture, eco design, green architecture, green building, green design, green renovation, Manhattan, micro apartment, micro condo, micro loft, pied-à-terre, renovation, small space living, specht harpman, specht harpman architects, sustainable architecture, sustainable building, sustainable design, tiny apartment, tiny home, upper west side

Enduring a brutally hot summer in New York City may end up killing you. A new study released this week says thanks to global warming and the “urban island” effect, NYC mortality rates due to warming temperatures are likely to increase by 20 percent by 2020 and as much as 90 percent by the 2080s. The report, released this week in the Nature Climate Change journal, was conducted by a team of researchers at Columbia University’s Earth Institute in collaboration with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Read the rest of Climate Change-Related Deaths Are on the Rise in NYC, Says New Report testing

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Post tags: central park, climate change, columbia university, donate air conditioner, earth institute, global warming, global warming death, heat related deaths nyc, nature climate change, nyc green house gas emissions, nyc green roofs, nyc heat wave, nyc summers, planyc

Image via Airbnb Facebook

Airbnb has proven to be an invaluable resource for visitors to New York City, but a court ruling is now flipping the short-term apartment rental service on its head. An NYC judge recently found that a local resident who rented out his condominium through Airbnb violated the city’s hotel law and fined him $2,400. A 2011 law makes it illegal for any New Yorker to rent out their apartment for less than 29 days, and despite Airbnb coming to the host’s aid, officials won’t budge. The decision is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of the approximately 30,000 New Yorkers signed up as hosts on Airbnb and other folks looking to make a few extra bucks by renting out their city dwellings.

Read the rest of Airbnb Rentals Deemed Illegal in NYC by Judge testing

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During his final months in office, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has his sights set on getting the concrete jungle to boost its recycling. Despite the Mayor’s past efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and get New York residents to start thinking more “green”, the city’s residential recycling has declined from 20 percent to 15 percent over the past 12 years. The news may be dismal but a change is a coming. The administration is serious about moving the city’s solid waste programs into a new direction and helping New Yorkers clean up their act. Here’s a look at key initiatives the city is rolling out to set solid waste reduction back on track.

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Post tags: electronic waste, landfills, mayor michael bloomberg, National Resources Defense Council, New York city Department of Sanitation, new york city mayors office, new york city recycling, new york city recycling programs, new york city schools recycling, NYC landfills, nyc recycling center, nyc recycling plant, recycle bank, recycling, Ron Gonen, solid waste reduction, Sunset Park

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Post tags: bubble chandelier, eco design, eco lighting, green design, green lighting, helping the homeless, ICFF, nyc design, product design, recycled bottle lamp, recycled lighting, souda, sure we can, sustainable design

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Post tags: botanical gardens New York, eco design, green design, Landmarked buildings New York, Snug Harbor, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, sustainable design

While relaxing on a rooftop garden doesn’t usually conjure up images of a murder scene, the Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s terrace has combined the two very opposite ideas with its new “blood-splattered” exhibit by Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi. The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi is a bold response to global violence and the artist’s yearning for peace in the advent of war and man-made disasters. In order to achieve the gruesome effect, Qureshi splattered red acrylic paint into patterns of foliage, feathers and wings across the 8,000-square-foot canvas. Visitors to the garden are invited to understand the parallels between the difficult topics of life, death and disaster as they walk across the installation, which will be on exhibit until November 3rd.

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Post tags: east village, East Village History, east village mosaic man, eco art, eco design, green art, green design, Jim Power, Legendary Mosaic Trail, lower east side mosaics, mosaic, street art, sustainable design

This past weekend, SL Green Realty Corp., New York Restoration Project and the Urban Air Foundation hosted “Re-Green NYC”, a day of tree-planting on Randall’s Island in coordination with Randall’s Island Park Alliance. SL Green tenants and employees joined in on the tree-planting action to commemorate Earth Day 2013 and VIP attendees included Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, NYC Parks Commissioner Veronica White, Jay Black, SL Green Director of Sustainability, Geoffrey Glick, SVP of External Affairs at NYRP, and Stephen Rizzo of the Urban Air Foundation.

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This Thursday, May 23rd, Inhabitat’s Architecture Editor Bridgette Meinhold will be speaking at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University about sustainable housing and environmental challenges. Bridgette Meinhold is the author of Urgent Architecture: 40 Sustainable Housing Solutions for a Changing World and will discuss housing options in the context of natural disasters, climate change and how we can prepare our housing stock for upcoming challenges. Meinhold will also be joined by Jonah Reynolds, who is a world-renowned Earthship builder and educator and will also be speaking at the free event. The talks will take place on Thursday, May 23th, starting at 6:00pm at The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University.

+ RSVP for Bridgette Meinhold’s Academy of Natural Sciences Lecture

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Post tags: eco art, eco design, green design, MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, rain art, Rain Room, rain room at moma, Random International, sustainable design, water recycling art installation

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Post tags: 58 Joralemon Street, brooklyn architecture, fake brownstone, fake townhouse, hidden subway, mta brownstone, mta house, Mysterious Brooklyn Heights Brownstone, ny architecture, secret brooklyn, secret house, secret nyc, secret subway, subway architecture

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Post tags: Axor, axor faucets, Axor Starck Organic, eco design, green design, green faucet, green faucets, Hansgrohe, Philippe Starck, philippe starck faucets, sustainable design, sustainable faucet, water saving, Water-Saving Faucets

Read the rest of 6 Perfect Picnic Spots to Visit in NYC testing

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Looking for something fun to do this summer in NYC? How about a free ferry ride that also supports a neighborhood that was knocked off its feet after Hurricane Sandy? Mayor Bloomberg joined other city officials this week to announce the launch of a free Red Hook Summer Ferry that will operate on weekends throughout the summer season. The newly expanded service spells good news for Red Hook businesses hoping to see an increase in foot traffic, and it provides a way for them to continue recovering after last October’s superstorm. The ferry will kick off Memorial Day weekend at Pier 11 in Manhattan and will give people another reason (besides just going to IKEA) to visit Red Hook.

Read the rest of Expanded Free Ferry Service to Red Hook Kicks Off Memorial Day Weekend! testing

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Post tags: east river, East River Ferry, ferry service nyc, Hurricane Sandy, ikea, ikea brooklyn, labor day, mayor bloomberg, memorial day, nyc ferry, pier 11, Red Hook, van brunt street