courtesy of midtownlunch.com

New York City is known for many things, but arguably nothing more important than its pizza.  Now, in the wake of the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day and the 3^rd anniversary of PlaNYC, the city has opened its first “green” pizzeria.

Pizza by Cer Te opened its doors on Earth Day to satisfy New Yorkers and the eco-conscious as the first of its kind to hit Gotham City.  The space is LEED-certified and makes its pies from locally grown ingredients served in recyclable boxes with biodegradable utensils.  And get this…all food will be delivered by foot or hybrid truck!

Among the other initiatives, rainwater will be collected in special gutters to be reused and the heat from the ovens will be recycled.

Owner and chef, Edward Sylvia, told Crain’s New York Business that though a lot of money is put out to create the space, he expects to save money on energy and expenses.

Pizza by Cer Te is located on E. 56^th St. between Park and Lexington Avenues.

If you stop to try a slice, leave a comment to let us know if the pizza is as delicious as it is eco-friendly.

On Earth Day, April 22, 2010, PlaNYC turned three. Mayor Michael Bloomberg celebrated the birthday of his wide-sweeping plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2030 with festivities in Times Square. Pepsi was there to show off its new recycling machines. Office Depot made an appearance to display its double-flush toilets and hand out gift bags. We stopped in at two of the more PlaNYC-related booths: the Parks’ Department table to talk about the MillionTrees NYC initiative, and the booth for Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group that promotes low-impact modes of getting around town.

We brought back the following reports for you, which touch on some of the more successful elements of PlaNYC, and some that might need improvement. Continue Reading

Cool rooftop to decrease the city's carbon footpring and lower energy consumption. Photo courtesy: cresscorp.com

New Yorkers are constantly trying to find ways to save money.  What would you say if you could save money, live comfortably, and help save the environment?  If it sounds too good to be true, its not.

The NYC Service, NYC Department of Buildings and Community Enviornmental Center have joined together in an effort to promote and facilitate the application of cool, reflective surfaces to New York City’s rooftops.

The goal is to coat 1 million square feet of rooftop this year to make “NYC healthier, cleaner, cooler and more cost effective.”

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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. Continue Reading

The city is on its way to developing a new recycle program that is expected to divert more than 8 thousand tons of plastic every year away from landfills and incinerators. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other city officials have proposed improvements to legislation surrounding the way NYC disposes of its waste.

“With the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day less than two weeks away, this is the perfect time to be looking at ways to make our city even greener,” said Speaker Quinn.

The original program, enacted in 1989, has not been altered since its conception. Known as Local Law 19, it was one of the first of its kind in the U.S. It required that all recyclables be collected from every residential and commercial building across the City of New York.

For New Yorkers, recycling has become a bigger issue since the closure of Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island in 2002. We spend more than $300 million each year to dispose of our waste outside of the city, using more money and increasing our carbon emissions. Continue Reading

Here are just a few items that popped up in yesterday’s news:

The New York City Parks Department is getting in on a growing trend–green roofs.

The city yesterday broke ground on Staten Island’s Brookfield Avenue landfill, a former garbage dump the city plans to transform into a 132-acre public park.

Speaking of public space, the city is also looking to expand it’s public plaza program, though not everyone is so enthused, the Post reports.

The MillionTreesNYC tree counter--300,000+ planted to date.

*Last week marked a serious live-blog-athon here on Explain the Plan. We covered green homes, Brooklyn’s Greenway, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Real Estate & Development (RED) Committee’s “Meet The Experts on Energy” event and a video on hydroponics (now now people, we don’t mean that kind of green. This isn’t California).

*Rohit Aggarwala, the lead author of PlaNYC 2030 and director of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability is leaving city hall for greener pastures—California’s, that is, Streetsblog reported.

*Aggarwala made the announcement just two days after Deputy Mayor Edward Skylar, a key supporter of PlaNYC and Bloomberg’s point man agencies like the NYPD and the FDNY, announced he was taking a job at CitiGroup. Skylar was, media reports say, one of the most influential deputy mayors in addition to the youngest. Looks like City Hall has some shoes to fill… What does these migrations mean for PlaNYC? We’ll keep you posted.

*Well, here’s what the folks at Streetsblog would have it mean, if their April Fools Post came true—cheaper housing, more walkable streets, and a day when “bean counters designing this city are over.” A little April 1 snark for those who are so inclined.

*Electric cars are back in the news—will they help pave the road to lower carbon emissions for New York City?

*European bank BNP Paribas announced has become the lead sponsor for MillionTressNYC initiative, the public-private partnership with New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and non-profit New York Restoration Project to bring a million new trees to New York by 2030. The PlaNYC initiative has thus far planted over 300,000 trees, according to the mini-slot machine counter on the initiative’s website.

Steven Shooman (right), a homeowner in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn got some information about energy efficiency from a ConEd representative. Photo by Alana Casanova-Burgess

Whew, I’ve got quite a huge backup here at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Real Estate & Development (RED) Committee’s “Meet The Experts on Energy” event at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall. There’s a lot of info forthcoming about how to get energy efficiency grants for your businesses and homes… as well as video clips from event organizers and on the presentation from Brooklyn Bowl, a LEED-certified business in Williamsburg.

Now Up: (1:59 p.m.) : Andrew Giancola and Dan Orr talking about The Silhouette, a residential building in Brooklyn. Andrew is talking about his family’s history of residential buildings in Brooklyn. (It feels great to have connectivity in here, I’ll try to get the rest of the material from the last few hours up here as soon as possible).

2:02 p.m.: “The condensation is going to form on the outside of the building, instead of on the inside of the wall.” Andrew details how the insulation system at The Silhouette doesn’t allow mold to grow inside the wall. Architects on the project: Caleb Frawford – Annie Coggan. The condo is the first LEED Platinum and Energy Star certified  low-rise building in New York, and is located in South Park Slope.

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We will be live-blogging from the Green from the Inside Out presentation in Harlem today. It is hosted by GreenHomeNYC. Follow us on Twitter @ExplainThePlan or join us here at 6 p.m. to learn about recycling, reducing energy costs and rooftop solar applications.

Be sure to tweet your questions with the hashtag #GreenHomeNYC