Interactive designer Marco Castro has recently developed an innovative idea about how to efficiently increase green space in overcrowded urban settings through an interesting new reinterpretation of the term “green vehicle”. The “Bus Roots” project is working to establish rooftop gardens atop buses in New York City and around the country so as to counteract …
The folks from GardenUp just stopped by the EcoBrooklyn Green Show House to tell us more about their great new products for gardening. They’ve created a simple vertical system based on hydroponic technology that is great for small spaces, easy-to-use and highly efficient – perfect for city living. Basically, the vertical garden towers GardenUp has …
Being a New York green contractor we consider urban farming to be an important consideration for every project. Given every building has walls and a roof it is always worth asking wither they are well suited for vertical or roof farming. Sub-Irrigation Planting Systems (SIPs) are a perfectly sustainable answer to urban farming, according to …
Sub-Irrigation Planting – the most sustainable urban gardening method? Read More »
Here is an example of a roof repair we just did. New York City has mostly flat roofs but once in a while we come across shingle slanted roofs. It is important to do shingles right because otherwise the slightest wind will blow them off again. In this case the roof was only a couple years old …
EcoBrooklyn, as a green builder is not only involved with green construction, but also with other ways of incorporating environmental issues into our work. As food awareness increases, green contracting has the potential to provide us with produce that is organic and as local as you can get. Green roofs currently serve all kinds …
This week we had CUNY students come by to the green show house. One of Eco Brooklyn’s interns Michele Fonzi, who has a degree in Landscape Architecture, showed the model of our green roof she built. Above you see the side view of the green roof installation. First there is the roof structure made out …
As a New York green roof installer I have a special affection for my own green roof. Check it out after all these summer rains. It is bursting with life. I threw a couple handfuls of Native North East wildflower seeds a couple years ago and now the roof overflows with sunflowers both big and …
The book Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls by Nigel Dunnet and Noel Kingsbury is an authoritative book and should be on the shelf of any Brooklyn green roof installer. I bought it in the hopes it would help improve the Eco Brooklyn living wall technique for Brooklyn brownstones where plants are actually growing on …
The answer is no. Here is what the Green Roof and Solar Department at the NYC DOB told me: The building code does not explicitly provide a threshold for when a green roof installation would require a permit. The department is currently developing rules to provide guidance. In the meantime, a green roof installation is …
Do You Need a Permit to Install a Green Roof in New York? Read More »
We just wrapped up a green roof job in East New York. Here is a photo essay from start to finish. We planted late in the year and the nights were already freezing. But we trusted the hardiness of sedum and so far they have shown to be very happy on the new roof. The …
