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Program Partners Sustainability Top Story 

Earth Week Commemorated with Events Across NYCHA

Vincent Echavaria

NYCHA is celebrating the spirit of Earth Week in a variety of ways, with residents, employees, volunteers, and community partners doing their part to help the environment and encourage a sustainable future.   

From green events and activities to speeches on environmentally friendly programs, such efforts support the mission of NYCHA’s Sustainability Agenda, a roadmap for creating safer and healthier homes for residents across the city.   

Here are some of the Earth Week commemorations throughout NYCHA: 

On April 20, Edwin Mendez, NYCHA’s Acting Deputy Director of Energy and Sustainability, highlighted the Authority’s decarbonization efforts in a speech at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law’s Public Health Law Center.  

The event was held while an effort is underway to build consensus around a petition asking the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to adopt a number of regulatory changes that would encourage decarbonization and electrification in federally assisted housing. In the Bronx, the 1471 Watson Avenue development is slated to become NYCHA’s first building to completely electrify all energy uses, such as heating and cooling, domestic hot water, and cooking. 

Also on April 20, a celebration was held at Central Park’s Wollman Rink to recognize the nonprofit Green City Force’s (GCF) service as NYCHA’s Civilian Climate Corps. Siobhan Watson, NYCHA’s Deputy Director of Energy and Sustainability, was among the speakers who touted the work of GCF, which trains NYCHA youth for green jobs and operates five urban farms across the Authority.  

Others in attendance included keynote speaker Rohit “Rit” Aggarwala, New York City’s Chief Climate Officer and Commissioner of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, as well as Tamara Greenfield of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety. Attendees met with GCF Corps members and alumni and enjoyed plant-based food and drinks.  

NYCHA Chair and Chief Executive Officer Greg Russ participated in the Advanced Energy Group’s (AEG) Stakeholder Challenge for the second quarter at NeueHouse Madison Square on April 21.  

Chair Russ was one of four speakers presenting solutions for achieving New York City’s carbon and equity goals over the next 12 months in regards to buildings and construction. Other speakers included Christina Ho, Vice President of District Steam at Con Edison; Anthony Fiore, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Decarbonization Officer of the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services; and Sarah Salati, the New York Power Authority’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.  

Chair Russ proposed the challenge of passing the Public Housing Preservation Trust this legislative session, which can secure the billions of dollars in funding necessary to address the capital needs of NYCHA’s portfolio. As part of the event’s challenge, attendees voted on which speaker articulated the most urgent obstacle, and Chair Russ’ proposal was selected to be the focus of the day’s roundtable discussions with attendees.  

It was a hands-on effort on Earth Day April 22, when groups of NYCHA employees volunteered to help the Farms at NYCHA sites at Forest Houses in the Bronx and Bay View Houses in Brooklyn prepare for the upcoming farming season.   

NYCHA employees pulled weeds, raked, picked up trash, and made compost, all in the name of sustainability. Staff members from departments such as the Capital Projects Division and Health Initiatives assisted Green City Force members at the farming locations, which expand healthy food access and promote sustainable communities.    

The Earth Day celebrations continue on April 23, when NYCHA will join GCF at all five Farms at NYCHA sites, designated as Eco-Hubs to reflect their commitment to sustainability and health initiatives.  

Participants will welcome spring at the farms, where they can also enjoy refreshments, plantings, and giveaways.   

Next week, NYCHA is partnering with Green City Force for week-long training for NYCHA residents to help conduct this year’s tree inventory on NYCHA campuses. In-field training is scheduled to begin with Project Manager Richard Miller on April 28, and the tree inventory work will begin the following day at Grant Houses in Manhattan. 

With the inventory, residents will document a segment of the Authority’s tree canopy to study the benefits that its trees provide in relation to energy savings, cooling, and stormwater retention, as well as to determine potential climate-related threats the trees may face.  

During a tree inventory in 2020, crews inspected more than 3,000 trees of varying species across 18 NYCHA developments in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.

Carrying on the Earth Week commemorative activities, the nonprofit Inner City Green Team will host a recycling celebration at Wagner Houses in Manhattan on April 30. To support recycling efforts at the development, the green team will provide door-to-door service, collecting cardboard/paper recycling materials. Members of NYCHA’s Sustainability team will assist at the event, which will also collect textiles and electronic waste recycling.