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The Upper West Side’s Calhoun School at 433 West End Avenue (at West 81st Street) was the first school in New York City to install a green roof. Its Green Roof Learning Center, which opened back in 2005, was part of a four-story, FXFOWLE-designed addition to the school’s main building. On Thursday, October 23, Calhoun is offering a free tour of the Learning Center and roof; the school estimates that the roof prevents around 26,000 gallons of water runoff per year. Representatives from FXFOWLE will also be available to discuss how the roof was designed, constructed, and maintained, as well as the Center’s vegetable garden, weather station, and worm composting facilities. The Green Schools Alliance (of which Calhoun is a member) was created by schools and requires potential members to sign a climate commitment pledge in order to join.

Even as its neighbor on the north side of West 41st Street, 11 Times Square, struggles to land its first tenant, Forest City Ratner Companies has agreed to two new leases at the New York Times Building on 8th Avenue. The deals, which were inked with the Government of Flanders and Autonomy Inc., leave just one space of approximately 6500 square feet remaining in what was the speculative office portion of the building. The Government of Flanders took 7400 square feet on the tower’s 44th floor, where it will open an office of tourism and cultural house. Automony, Inc., which is the second largest software company in Europe, will lease 5375 square feet of space on the 38th floor. CB Richard Ellis represented Forest City in both deals, with NAI Global for Flanders.

One important question growing out of the ongoing credit crisis is how it will impact green construction projects in emerging neighborhoods. Obviously this inquiry isn’t limited just to New York City, but a good example is the Knickerbocker Condominiums in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. Developed by the Hudson Companies, Inc. the 49-unit project contemplates the adaptive reuse of existing housing stock into modern loft apartments. The developer plans to seek a LEED rating for the project, and green features include LEED-standard recycled-content construction materials, a bicycle storage room, efficient building systems, and a public green roof. Over 40 percent of units at the Knickerbocker feature some sort of private outdoor space. The project is also participating in NYSERDA’s Multifamily Performance Program, which offers incentives to developers who build energy efficient options into their design programs.

We wrote about the Mercy Corps Action Center to End World Hunger earlier this year; the $5.4 million, 4000-square-foot interactive education facility is set to open this Thursday, October 16 (which is World Food Day) within community space at the Sheldrake Organization’s Riverhouse condominiums. Designed by Edwin Schlossberg’s ESI Design, the Center is seeking a LEED Platinum rating from USGBC. The Center’s mission is to both educate and inspire visitors to take action against poverty and hunger. Four “training towers” provide case studies from different countries- conflict in Afghanistan, government in Indonesia, global warming in Niger, and land use in Guatemala. Benches made from wood reclaimed from houses destroyed during Hurricane Katrina lace the Center’s interiors, while a Tina Fey-hosted video provides an overview of the Center’s offerings.

The First Avenue District School in Newark, New Jersey recently earned an Award of Merit from New York Construction magazine in connection with its “Best of ‘08″ awards program. The elementary and middle school was designed by Paulus, Sokolowski & Sartor (”PS&S”) and includes green design features that would qualify it for 31 different LEED credits, though Newark chose not to pursue formal certification (citing cost considerations). Some of those green features include daylight and occupancy sensors, passive solar design, and efficient, full spectrum lighting. Locally sourced and recycled-content materials were used during construction, while other LEED-standard features include light pollution reduction, water-efficient landscaping, low-VOC paints and sealants, and a construction waste management program. The school’s common areas- including the theater, gym, and cafeteria- are heated and cooled by a 480-foot-deep geothermal system.

Chief District Judge Martha Vazquez of United States District Court for the District of New Mexico issued an order back on Friday granting a preliminary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs in AHRI et al. v. City of Albuquerque. The injunction bars the enforcement of the city’s Energy Conservation Code, which the plaintiffs claim is preempted by federal regulation, pending the outcome of the lawsuit. I thought a portion of Vazquez’ 24-page written opinion was particularly interesting in light of much of our commentary on state- and local-level green building legislation here at gbNYC. “The city’s goals [in enacting the disputed code] are laudable,” Vazaquez wrote, “[u]nfortunately, the drafters of the code were unaware of the long-standing federal statutes governing the energy efficiency of certain HVAC and water heating products.”

I’ll be participating on a panel discussion at this year’s Greenbuild in Boston called “Blogging the Built Environment” along with folks from Jetson Green, Treehugger, Building Green TV, and the Green Workplace. The panel will be at 10AM on Thursday, November 20, so if you’ll be at Greenbuild, please plan on joining us. Even if you won’t be attending, if you’d be so kind as to take a few minutes to fill out the following survey about your interaction and attitudes towards green building and blogging (one lucky reader will win some sort of prize package) it will go a long way towards our discussion on the panel. Thank you in advance and I hope to meet many of you next month in Boston! A link to the survey is live after the jump.

A proposed Best Western hotel in East Elmhurst could become the first green hotel in Queens. The project, to be located at 112th Place and Astoria Boulevard, adjacent to the Grand Central Parkway, LaGuardia Airport, and the Mets’ new CitiField, will pursue an unspecified level of LEED certification, according to architect Gerald Caliendo (though note Mr. Caliendo’s quote about “bronze” certification in the context of recent posts here at gbNYC regarding the importance of accurately describing green projects and qualifications from a legal perspective). Community Board 3 granted the six-story, 100-unit project a zoning waiver at a recent meeting, despite local residents’ concerns about increased traffic. Details on specific green features are not available yet.

Anbau Properties and BKSK Architects have teamed up for another luxury green condominium project, this time at 124 West 23rd Street in Chelsea. As you’ll recall, BKSK designed the Upper West Side’s Harsen House (see image) for Anbau, whose 22 units sold out in just seven months and is awaiting formal LEED certification from USGBC. Despite the horrific lending climate, Bank of New York Mellon recently provided Anbau with an acquisition and construction loan for the project. The 16-story tower will offer 34 residences and 4000 square feet of ground floor retail. BKSK will implement similar green features at 124 West 23rd Street as Harsen House, and Anbau will seek an unspecified level of LEED certification for the project. Anbau paid $19 million for the project’s 55,000-square-foot footprint.

I did not attend West Coast Green last week, but was pleased to see that the conference included a panel discussion about the emerging legal risks associated with building green, titled “Packing a Parachute: Practices that Minimize Risk and Prompt Best Use of Green Features.” Some of the panelists’ remarks resonated particularly salient in light of recent posts here at gbNYC, particularly with respect to how green projects are marketed, as well as our presentation of the country’s first green building litigation. With respect to green building contracts, the panel suggested that there is no “magic green paragraph,” and stressed that documents need to be tailored for the particular circumstances of each individual green project. We noted the same in the context of the Shaw Development v. Southern Builders case, pointing out that “the critical lesson from the lawsuit is that there is no one-size-fits-all form agreement for a green construction project,” particularly in the current regulatory climate where mandates and incentives vary in every jurisdiction.