Queens

Queens

Police Academy Two: STV and Turner Lock Down Contract for LEED Silver-Hopeful College Point Police Academy

Tue

Jan

We've covered the huge and hugely ambitious LEED-hopeful police academy that broke ground in College Point, Queens back in December -- Stephen wrote about it before it broke ground, I wrote about it as it broke ground, and in the interest of actually continuing to follow a project we (as usual) dubbed "worth watching," it seemed worthy of mention to note that STV and Turner have, in a joint venture, been granted the $656 million construction contract for the facility.

Big Blue Building: Massive College Point Police Academy Set to Break Ground

Wed

Dec

by David Roth

1 comment

Even for those of us whose understanding of what police academies should be like is centered around Steve Guttenberg and The Guy Who Makes Noises, the news that NYPD's main training facility is over 40 years old is kind of alarming. This is a big city, it requires a large and well-trained police force and... well, and those are basically the most uncontroversial statements anyone could make. But while the case for a new police academy isn't appreciably more controversial, the LEED Silver Perkins + Will-designed Police Academy planned for the College Point neighborhood in Queens (covered by Stephen here) has nevertheless drawn its share of controversy, for a host of fairly reasonable reasons.

Green Market: Supermarket Signs Lease at LEED Hopeful Queens Family Courthouse Development in Jamaica

Thu

Oct

by David Roth

0 comments

Because I'm a snob, and because I think his shtick is kind of silly, I haven't read Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point." But I've used the phrase in coversation -- usually trying to pinpoint the exact moment when the New Jersey Nets lost me as a fan -- as a substitute for "the moment when something achieves critical mass." And while we're obviously still a ways away from green building in New York City having reached critical mass, there's a sense, in reading about the just-announced lease signed by King Polo supermarkets at the LEED hopeful Queens Family Courthouse development in Jamaica, Queens, that something tipping point-y is going on. Surely the existence of a LEED hopeful development in a comparatively distant Queens neighborhood that didn't previously have a supermarket, period, has to mean something, right?

Making Green from Green: Emerging Opportunities in Green Real Estate

Posted by David on September 29, 2009 - 2:10pm

Date/Time:

October 20, 2009 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Take a VIP tour of New York City’s first LEED Platinum public building, the Queens Botanical Garden Visitor and Administration Building. Hear from the designers, BKSK Architects and Weidlinger Associates, in a panel discussion about this newly-opened, award-winning structure and learn more about LEED and what green solutions could provide growth opportunities in commercial and residential real estate.

This is the first of a planned eight-part series by the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York that will address each issues of sustainability in business, finance and the world at large.

$25 CBSAC/NY members; $35 non-members. Price includes tour, panel, and networking reception with two free drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

Tags: Flushing, Queens, Parks, BKSK Architects, LEED, Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York

Add new comment

Standard Motors Building

Tishman Speyer's Gotham Center: LEED for Core & Shell in Long Island City

Tue

Oct

by Stephen Del Percio

0 comments

Currently under development by Tishman Speyer, the $316 million Gotham Center will be a 662,000-square-foot, 21-story Class A office building at the corner of Queens Plaza and 28th Street in Long Island City. Mayor Bloomberg and other officials announced the project's groundbreaking last Friday, noting that it will join a number of other green projects in the neighborhood, including the LEED Gold-certified, KPF-designed Court Square Two.

The tower was designed by architects Moed De Armas & Shannon (510 Madison Avenue, 1095 Sixth Avenue) and is pursuing a LEED Certified rating under the Core and Shell system. The project's interiors- which will ultimately be home to the New York City Health Department after the agency consolidates most of its offices in lower Manhattan- will aim for LEED Silver.

ML: First Green Hotel in Queens Proposed by Architect Gerald Caliendo

Mon

Oct

by Stephen Del Percio

1 comment

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.

White Coffee Corp. Earns LEED Rating for Long Island City HQ

Tue

Sep

by Stephen Del Percio

0 comments

The Daily News is reporting that White Coffee Corp. - a third-generation, family-owned coffee business based in Queens - has earned an unspecified level (and type) of LEED certification for its headquarters building at 18-35 38 Street in Long Island City, across the street from the Steinway Piano factory. Details about the project are slim, but did include the installation of energy-efficient lighting throughout the company's space, as well as a reorganization of truck delivery routes to conserve fuel. White is also now recycling the chaff (protective casing) of its coffee beans in cooperation with a Queens-based contractor. The company was founded back in 1939 and has 120 employees, offering over 300 varieties of organic and fair trade-certified types of coffees. We'll have more details about the project itself once they're available.

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Seeks to Green Exhibition Space in Long Island City

Thu

Sep

by Stephen Del Percio

1 comment

The P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, Queens is an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art and offers exhibition space for some of the most experimental modern art in the world, featuring over 50 different exhibitions annually, as well as various musical and performance programming. (One current exhibition features three works from Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.) P.S.1 was founded in 1971 by Alanna Heiss as the Institute for Art and Urban Resources Inc., which installed art exhibitions in various abandoned and otherwise underutilized spaces across the city. After finding a permanent home in a former Long Island City school building in 1976, P.S.1 has grown substantially, and became an affiliate of MoMA back in 2000.

JetBlue's Terminal 5 at Kennedy Airport: Green But No LEED

Thu

Aug

by Stephen Del Percio

0 comments

Despite its green design features, JetBlue's new $743 million Terminal 5 at Kennedy Airport will not be seeking a LEED rating. The project's planning and design management firm Arup has deemed certification "not possible because of the airport's existing energy infrastructure." Architect Gensler's design for T5 includes extensive daylighting and windows, and given JetBlue's commitment at the corporate level to sustainability, it's a bit curious that the project will not pursue certification from USGBC, though precise details about how JFK's electrical grid precludes a LEED application are not available. T5 will give travelers the option of walking through Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal, a modernist landmark that has been incorporated into the T5 design program.