NYCDEP + Trash is for Tossers Tour Bright ‘n Green

Last Friday afternoon we hosted a tour of Bright ‘n Green for designers, engineers and project developers from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP). The NYCDEP works to protect public health and the environment by supplying clean drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. Currently, in conjunction with the EPA, the NYCDEP is involved in the clean up the Gowanus Canal, amongst other efforts within the NYC and greater NY area watersheds.

It was a really fantastic tour, of it they said it was, “inspirational and thought provoking”, and that they had never seen so many sustainable-based systems in one place. Lauren, who is also the gal behind zero waste blog, Trash is for Tossers, says Bright ‘n Green is “The essence of my NYC real estate dream!” – stay tuned for the Bright ‘n Green blog post from TifT publishing soon.

The inspiration went both ways! We were really impressed with their passion and knowledge for smart, efficient urban design, and their overwhelming interest in our project. Check the photos below for a little of our day, and a few shots of not yet seen new finishes and fixtures, including our bathroom vanities and the Brooklyn designed and crafted, custom elevator cab.

After we viewed and discussed Bright ‘n Green’s systems, material selections and more we took a nice tour of the Brooklyn Oceanside neighborhood of Brighton Beach, and looked at the features of the community that made its site choice beneficial to living economically, healthy and low-waste.

The traditionally Russian/Ukrainian neighborhood, in keeping with the cultural norms of cooking from fresh food, allows for a healthy diet, and people grow or still easily buy at local markets and cook regularly at home. There are so many readily available, processing-free, non-packaged, Slow Food options, including many bulk and/or locally-produced  selections. And within less than a block on Brighton Beach Avenue was a plethora of fresh food markets, bakeries and more. With all those great smells in the air we, of course, we couldn’t pass up having lunch on the beach at famous Tatiana.