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☆ In the Fight Over N.Y.C. Sidewalks, Tree Beds Are the Smallest Frontier
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over 660,000 trees line the streets of New York City, and the beds around them take up more than 400 acres, according to a city estimate. They plant flowers, post signs to ward off dog owners, and fashion fences from broomsticks, linoleum tiles and old skateboards. In a concrete jungle where few residents have yards, the tiny parcels offer New Yorkers a rare chance to dig into the soil, connect with nature and make something beautiful grow. “The tree bed is the unsung hero of the urban forest,” said Andrea Parker, executive director of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, which has “ambassadors” in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn who watch over young trees and fill their beds with native plants. “If we’re going to build a robust tree canopy for the city, we need to be thinking about the ground and caring for the ground.”

Persons: ”, Andrea Parker Organizations: Conservancy Locations: New York City, Gowanus, Brooklyn

☆ The Hottest Buzzword in Wellness Seeps Into Real Estate
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Now the real estate industry has jumped into the game. Blue Zones runs initiatives that certify towns and cities that meet healthy lifestyle criteria, and they help others remake themselves to promote longevity. Eighty places in the United States — from Bakersfield, Calif., to Corry, Pa. — have adopted these initiatives, called Blue Zone Projects. Some developers take inspiration from Blue Zones even if they are not seeking official certification. A luxury hotel and condominium project in Miami is using the Blue Zones moniker for a medical facility on the premises that will offer plastic surgery.

Persons: hale, ”, Janelle Applequist, They’re Organizations: Zimmerman School of Advertising, Mass Communications, University of South Locations: United States, Bakersfield , Calif, Corry, Pa, Miami, Phoenix, University of South Florida

☆ A Black Woman’s Rise in Architecture Shows How Far Is Left to Go
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Kimberly Dowdell becomes president of the American Institute of Architects next month, her ascent will be noteworthy. Ms. Dowdell, an architect in a profession that is overwhelmingly white and male, is a Black woman, the first to fill the post in the group’s 166-year history. African Americans make up 13.6 percent of the U.S. population, but only 1.8 percent of licensed architects in the country are Black, according to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Fewer than a quarter of the nearly 120,000 licensed architects in the United States are women, and not even one half of 1 percent of architects are Black women. There are small signs of change: Nearly 3 percent of architects who received their license last year were Black, and 43 percent of new architects were women.

Persons: Kimberly Dowdell, Dowdell Organizations: American Institute of Architects, National Council of Locations: United States

☆ How Hudson River Park Helped Revitalize Manhattan’s West Side
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Jane Margolies | Lucía Vázquez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Twelve hundred tons of sand arrived last month in Hudson River Park, the sliver of green space on the western edge of Manhattan, and it took only a quarter-century to get there. George E. Pataki signed the law authorizing the creation of the park, he vowed it would have a beach. Now, on the 25th anniversary of the Hudson River Park Act — which turned a strip of dilapidated warehouses and rotting piers along the city’s mightiest river into a sprawling park network — West Siders will finally get to wriggle their toes in the sand. The beach is part of a larger effort to complete the park and knit together its disparate sections, which have been developed in bits and pieces over the years. The newest projects expected to open soon are Gansevoort Peninsula, a recreational area off Gansevoort Street that includes the beach as part of a $73 million overhaul, and Pier 97, a $47 million project off 57th Street that will have a big playground.

Persons: George E, Pataki, Siders Organizations: Gov Locations: Hudson River, Manhattan, Hudson

☆ Does This Brooklyn Housing Development Know the Secret to Long Life?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ever since researchers identified a handful of places around the world where people lived remarkably long, healthy lives, there have been efforts to replicate the magic recipe. The inhabitants of these Shangri-Las known as Blue Zones — where people were said to live to age 100 — shared certain customs thought to contribute to their longevity. They stayed physically active, maintained lasting friendships and ate mostly plant-based meals, among other things. But can their fountain-of-youth promise be transplanted to one of the poorest neighborhoods in one of the densest cities in the United States? That is the proposition of a 2.5-million-square-foot affordable housing development going up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York.

Persons: —, Okinawa — Locations: Okinawa, United States, Brooklyn, East New York

☆ Corporate Landscaping Lets Its Hair Down
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At its former headquarters in eastern Pennsylvania, Air Products had a neatly manicured lawn and boxwood hedges. But when the industrial gases company moved to nearby Allentown recently and erected a new office building, it tried something different. Rather than plant grass that would need constant watering, mowing and fertilizing, it turned to native plants that pretty much took care of themselves. “One plant had yellow finches all around it,” said Patrick J. Garay, vice president of strategic projects at Air Products. Apps calculate the carbon footprint of landscapes in much the same way that buildings are monitored for greenhouse gas emissions.

Persons: ”, Patrick J . Garay Organizations: Air Products Locations: Pennsylvania, Allentown

☆ 9 Ways to Stay Shaded on a Sweltering Day in New York City
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With above-average temperatures predicted for this summer, New Yorkers are bracing for a scorcher. Air conditioning, for those fortunate enough to have it, drives up electricity bills and carbon emissions, exacerbating climate change, which is what is fueling the extreme heat to begin with. Shade in New York City, it must be said, is a hot commodity. For this reason, architects, urban planners, developers and environmentalists have been working on ways to temper heat and glare. Updated awningsAlthough window awnings took a hit with the advent of air conditioning in the 20th century, they are still prevalent in neighborhoods with one- and two-family homes.

Persons: awnings, Jay LoIacono Organizations: Air, Acme Locations: New York City, Bronx

☆ Larger Screens, Heated Seats, Sushi: Theater Owners Want You Back
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Theaters are installing heated lounge chairs that fully recline or have built-in trays and buttons to summon waiters. Some auditoriums now have screens on the sides as well as at the front. One outside Fort Worth built a gangplank 22 feet above an arcade floor — walk it if you dare. Another in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., has a kitchen and lobby bar with TV screens so a customer can, say, catch the end of a ballgame before the feature starts. But they tried the Dobbs Ferry venue, part of the Look Dine-In Cinemas chain, after it opened, sharing a pizza and a salad before “80 for Brady.”“It felt like a real date night,” she said.

Persons: “, ”, Mike Polydoros, Emma Boonshoft, Brady Organizations: PaperAirplane Media, Theaters Locations: Fort Worth, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y

☆ Tiny Homes for the Formerly Homeless
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Seattle revamped its regulations governing ADUs in 2019, and since then construction has surged. Excess power generated by the rooftop solar arrays is fed into the grid and offsets the host’s utility costs — one way these houses for the homeless are giving back to the community. “When a person moves into a Block home they have been on the receiving end of things,” Mr. Hohlbein said. That’s often not a comfortable place to be. “We really wanted this home and the people living there to be able to share their knowledge of sustainability and of what homelessness is about,” he said.

☆ A Green Oasis Reopens in Midtown
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-17 | by ( Jane Margolies | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A Green Oasis Reopens in Midtown Jane Margolies 📍 Reporting from ManhattanCaitlin Ochs for The New York TimesFord, which has an endowment of $16 billion and gives away around 6 percent of that each year to advance causes like racial equity, spends $200,000 on the garden annually, said Richard Sayers, the director of property management.

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