The slogan of Earth Day New York, "I am E," took over many of the ads in Times Square.

As we mentioned last week, today New York City celebrated the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day and the 3^rd anniversary of PlaNYC 2030 with a slew of speakers and musical performances in Times Square. The event drew only a small crowd, mainly school children, tourists, and corporate sponsors, but the speakers were enthusiastic in promoting greener habits and congratulating Mayor Bloomberg for being a leader in green cities.

Dennis Hayes, the national coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970, kicked off the event. “New York has become one of the greenest cities in the planet and is continuing to march forward really aggressively under a pretty green mayor,” he said. Ironically, the New York Times quoted Hayes in a story Wednesday about how Earth Day celebrations have become a commercialized marketing platform for many companies. “This ridiculous perverted marketing has cheapened the concept of what is really green. It is tragic,” Hayes told the Times.

Dennis Hayes

Other speakers included Ban Ki Moon, secretary-general of the United Nations, Tim Tompkins of the Times Square Alliance, actor Matthew Modine, who founded Bicycle for a Day, and artist/architect Maya Lin. Best known for creating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Lin joined the celebrations because of her new, multimedia work “What is Missing?” which can be viewed on MTV’s screens in Times Square.

The goal of the exhibit is to create awareness about the present extinction of species and habitat degradation and emphasize the importance of preventing deforestation. Lin, who lives and works in New York City, lauded the city’s greening efforts. “They’ve had a real strong push on public transit and making New York City walkable,” she said after her speech. “I cannot believe how they succeeded in shutting down Broadway.”

“They only just started making New York a leading green city. Since the 1970s, it’s like night and day,” she added. “People have moved back into the city.”

Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General

Lin praised the PlaNYC initiative, MillionTreesNYC, but couldn’t specify what she thought should be updated in the plan. “I haven’t looked at it in two and a half years.”

Matthew McKenna, CEO of Keep America Beautiful, said he believed New York City’s recycling plan has “room to get better.” He added, “There’s some barriers we need to get rid of. We need more [recycling bins] in public places.”

By the time Bloomberg arrived, around 1:30, much of the crowd, including most of the corporate VIPs and the groups of high school students, had left. During his five-minute speech, Mayor Bloomberg call PlaNYC the “green print for a greener, greater New York by the year 2030.”

“We’ve made a great start on translating that into a reality,” said Bloomberg. He listed MillionTreesNYC, the Green Buildings Act, new parks and bikeways, and the Times Square pedestrian plazas as positive consequences of PlaNYC. He added that PlaNYC will be updated every four years “in the spirit of Earth Day, the spirit of renewal and rebirth,” and called on the audience to help update the plan next year and help the city stay on course.

“You know, New Yorkers already do a lot of things,” said Bloomberg, “but we can do more and we can do it better. We need you to really pitch in and make this work.”

Unfortunately, the message seemed lost on many in the crowd. “I’m not really that familiar with PlaNYC, so I have no idea how it should be updated. Aren’t they supposed to know that?” said Mark Johnson, who stopped to listen to the Mayor’s speech while passing through on his way to work.

Others were more concerned with the samples being given away by vendors, feeding the idea that Earth Day has become too commercialized. “I’m on my way to the booths now,” said Maria Derino of Washington Heights. “I want free stuff!” One woman so desperately wanted a giveaway that she repeatedly asked people in the corporate VIP section if they were taking their gift bags with them.

Earth Day events continue throughout the weekend. Check back for more images, a video of New Yorkers’ thoughts on a greener city, and an analysis of of PlaNYC’s progress.

Written and reported by Jessica Dailey and Vivian Doskow.