Sustainability

Sustainability

The BPC Sustainability Plan builds on Battery Park City’s robust environmental legacy with a refreshed commitment to take and facilitate bold and effective action to enhance sustainability and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Broad stakeholder engagement and creative partnerships will be necessary to achieve our goals. We will work together with diverse user groups in the community to realize these efforts across various scales—from individual action, to actions at a single building level, to actions taking place in the neighborhood at-large. Looking beyond our neighborhood, we seek to inspire, collaborate with, and offer guidance to other urban communities, whether new or well-established, to take resolute action on environmental sustainability.

The Battery Park City Sustainability Plan is a comprehensive plan to achieve progressive sustainability targets over the next decade, and lays the groundwork for continued sustainability action after 2030. Developed in consultation with a broad range of residential, local, and governmental stakeholders, the Plan provides the framework for developing and implementing a carbon neutral Battery Park City by the middle of the century, in keeping with the mandate set forth in the New York State’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The BPC Sustainability Plan is centered on four Topic Areas: Energy, Water, Materials and Waste, and Site.

The Sustainability Implementation Plan outlines the policies, programs, partnerships, tools, and funding mechanisms that are available, or can be created, to assist in transforming the Sustainability Plan into a reality.

The BPC Climate Action Plan (CAP) calculates current greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the neighborhood, as well as projections of how those emissions would change year-by-year through 2050. The CAP provides a detailed roadmap of GHG emissions reduction strategies in the energy, transportation, and waste sectors to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

We envision a Battery Park City that will serve as an innovative model for urban climate action, where all of us who live, work, and spend time here mobilize to create a sustainable future.

–BPC Sustainability Plan Vision Statement

    • Energy

    Energy

    The Energy Topic Area addresses deep energy retrofits, building electrification, low-carbon district energy systems, renewable energy supply and storage, and GHG emissions monitoring and reporting in Battery Park City. Implementing these Strategies will significantly reduce energy demands and associated GHG emissions in Battery Park City and ensure that building systems are more efficient and healthier overall. These improvements will also deliver many co-benefits from simplified maintenance to reduced operational costs to improved air quality and controllability of systems. The best method for achieving these improvements is through collaboration across the diverse building portfolio in Battery Park City, supported by external partnerships and programs.

    Highlights:

    BPC Building Inventory Battery Park City’s Building Inventory was completed in Fall 2021 and is a key element of our Sustainability Plan. It provides a high-level cataloging of building systems and energy use across the neighborhood. The Inventory begins to identify solutions to achieve significant reductions in GHG emissions and underscores the importance of BPCA serving a facilitator role and connecting buildings with existing funding and financial programs with City, State, and utility partners. This will also help inform the ongoing development of our Climate Action Plan that will establish GHG reduction pathway targets for buildings, transportation, and waste as we chart a path toward carbon neutrality by 2050.

    SEE IT: BPC Building Inventory Presentation (February 2022)

    Resources for BPC Buildings and Residents:

    Empire Building Playbook: An Owner’s Guide to Low Carbon Retrofits The Playbook is a resource that will help you frame your building efficiency and decarbonization goals within the context of real life case studies, harness lessons learned from real estate owners who have already gone through the process, and capture the economic benefits of high performance buildings.

    NYC Accelerator provides free, personalized guidance to make cost-saving, energy-efficiency upgrades and reduce carbon emissions in New York City

    The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, known as NYSERDA, promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. NYSERDA has several programs that help you lower your home or business’s energy bills, reduce your environmental impact, and/or support clean energy and transportation in New York State.

    Con Ed Multifamily Incentive Program

    Con Edison Clean Heat Incentive Program

     

    • Materials and Waste

    Materials and Waste

    The Materials and Waste Topic Area covers sustainable consumption, sustainable building materials, waste diversion, organics collection and composting, and construction and demolition activities in Battery Park City. This provides direction on how BPC can drive sustainable behavioral change; reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill from building materials, organics, and consumer products; and ultimately promote more reuse/circular economies.

    Highlights: Zero Waste On Earth Day 2019, BPCA launched its Zero Waste Initiative, a waste-reduction program that includes staff education, regular reporting and review of vendor practices, and pledges from more than 100 Authority staff members to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Focusing initially on BPCA’s 75 Battery Place location, the goal is to attain Gold TRUE certification (an assessor-based program that rates how well facilities minimize waste), decrease office waste going to landfill by 90% over the next 12 months, and learn from this experience to expand Zero Waste to other BPCA owned spaces – and eventually to the community.

    The Zero Waste Advisory Committee, comprised of staff from the Authority's Programming and Operations teams, conduct regular trainings and information sessions for BPCA staff on the transition to a zero waste facility. Landfill, recycling, and composting signage was redesigned to easily covey to building occupants which items go in which bin. The Zero Waste Committee audits the facility’s waste stream regularly to gather metrics and identify other possible waste streams to reuse or recycle.

    Read more: BPCA's TRUE Zero Waste Certification

    Composting BPCA has a longstanding and growing composting program, with vegetable and fruit waste is collected from local stores, staff and residents. More than 20,000 pounds of food and plant waste were composted in 2018. BPCA’s composting numbers in 2019 exceeded even that -- with more than 35,000 pounds composted!

    On Earth Day 2019 BPCA launched the neighborhood’s first building-specific composting program at Gateway Plaza, Battery Park City’s largest residential complex. The resulting compost is used to nourish and sustain soils across Battery Park City’s parks. It is also used to help create the compost tea -- compost steeped in water -- to inoculate soils with beneficial fungi and bacteria in the spring and fall.

    Members of the public can participate in BPCA’s composting program by dropping off their food waste at two locations: - BPCA Parks Operations – 75 Battery Place - Lower Level of North Esplanade by Chambers Street and River Terrace

    Dog Waste Composting In continuing our commitment to sustainability, BPCA operates a Dog Waste Compost program at each of our three community dog runs. Our goal is to send less dog waste in its raw form to the landfill. By doing this, BPCA can prevent up to 13.5 tons of dog waste from entering the landfill and reduce methane gas released into the environment.

    Compacting Program BPCA’s community compacting program collects approximately hundreds of tons of residential waste from compactors each month. Instead of traditional garbage pickup, most of the buildings across the 92-acre site that comprise Battery Park City, have participated in a community compactor program, where garbage from 7,000 residential units from 27 different buildings is placed in wheeled carts and brought to one of the six compactors in the neighborhood.

    • Water

    Water

    The Water Topic Area addresses water conservation, water recycling systems, and resiliency and storm water management in Battery Park City. Through these Strategies, Battery Park City will strive to achieve reductions in potable water consumption, increases in recycled water use, improved stormwater management processes, and greater resilience to major storms.

    Highlights: The ongoing BPC Resiliency Projects (North/West, South, and Ball Fields & Community Center) will provide flood risk reduction to the neighborhood, and are primarily focused on the threats of flooding from storm surges and sea level rise. However, inland stormwater drainage measures are being incorporated into all resiliency projects to address flooding concerns.

    BPCA’s Marine Education Program for schools which receives praise from teachers and students alike for its hands-on approach to ecology, biology and environmental science. Close to 1,000 third through twelve grade students from the five boroughs participate in this program annually. It allows students to understand the history, geology and biodiversity of the Hudson River estuary and coastline. While the Hudson River and New York Bay were once too polluted to maintain their pre-industrial ecosystem, improvements in water quality have allowed the habitat to thrive once again. The Hudson now hosts over 150 species of fish and diverse marine life that can be experienced or observed from the Esplanade in Battery Park City Authority.

    • Site

    Site

    For many, the Battery Park City experience is defined by interactions in the public realm—in the streets and sidewalks, the parks, the Esplanade, and other open spaces. Sustainability in the neighborhood must extend to these spaces, in addition to encompassing energy, water, and materials and waste. In this Plan, Site refers to topics of broader environmental quality in Battery Park City, covering transportation/mobility, environmental health, and ecosystems and resiliency.

    Highlights: As leaders in ecological stewardship, Battery Park City’ 36 acres of open space are maintained organically. Compost and compost teas are used to return nutrients to and enrich biological activity in our soil. In their careful selection of plants, BPCA's horticulture staff values native plants and considers plant communities as a whole. Trees and shrubs are pruned in a manner that follows the plant’s natural growth patterns, and smart irrigation systems are installed to reduce excess water usage.

    These careful management procedures allow for great biodiversity at Battery Park City, and with this, resiliency to different weather conditions, storm events, and climate change. Better ecosystem health for the flora and fauna results in better environmental health, a key component of the 2019 Resilience Action Plan—establishing Battery Park City as a biodiversity haven.

    Sustainability-themed programs can be found throughout Parks Programming’s active calendar of classes, programs, and events. For example, Parks Programming’s Go Fish! Event -  Battery Park City’s annual celebration of life in the Hudson Estuary and Migration Celebration. Art programs regularly use recycled materials such as plant clippings from the parks and re-purpose discarded newspapers, scrap paper, and boxes from deliveries.

    BPC Wildlife on iNaturalist Battery Park city is home to a wide range of wildlife across its 36 adres of parks and public spaces, from native insects to more than 100 species of birds. Help Battery Park City improve its natural habitat by downloading the free iNaturalist app. User-generated observations help contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. Findings are shared with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiveristy Information Facility to help scientists find and use your data. View the Battery Park City iNaturalist page

    Sustainability-themed programs can be found throughout Parks Programming’s active calendar of classes, programs, and events. In 2019, for example, Parks Programming hosted Go Fish!, Battery Park City’s annual celebration of life in the Hudson Estuary and its first Migration Celebration. Art programs regularly use recycled materials such as plant clippings from the parks and re-purpose discarded newspapers, scrap paper, and boxes from deliveries.

    • Green Guidelines / Other resources

    Green Guidelines / Other resources
    Battery Park City Authority Net-Zero 2040 Investment Portfolio Action Plan (PDF) The BPC Green Guidelines (PDF) provide detailed guidance to BPCA and to Battery Park City building owners and managers regarding the steps necessary to achieve a more sustainable Battery Park City. Community Engagement Presentations
    In July 2019, BPCA issued $76.3 million in Sustainability Bonds to fund Phase 1 of its Capital Plan, which includes development of a comprehensive resiliency infrastructure – entailing perimeter storm barriers, flood protection systems, waterproofing, and landscaping to protect its residents and assets from climate change. The proceeds will also finance projects that enhance public access to open space, accessibility and walkability, and preserve the socio-cultural attributes of Battery Park City. BPCA was selected as the Northeast Deal of the Year by Bond Buyer for its $673 million offering, of which Sustainability Bonds were a part.

    • Energy

    Energy

    The Energy Topic Area addresses deep energy retrofits, building electrification, low-carbon district energy systems, renewable energy supply and storage, and GHG emissions monitoring and reporting in Battery Park City. Implementing these Strategies will significantly reduce energy demands and associated GHG emissions in Battery Park City and ensure that building systems are more efficient and healthier overall. These improvements will also deliver many co-benefits from simplified maintenance to reduced operational costs to improved air quality and controllability of systems. The best method for achieving these improvements is through collaboration across the diverse building portfolio in Battery Park City, supported by external partnerships and programs.

    Highlights:

    BPC Building Inventory Battery Park City’s Building Inventory was completed in Fall 2021 and is a key element of our Sustainability Plan. It provides a high-level cataloging of building systems and energy use across the neighborhood. The Inventory begins to identify solutions to achieve significant reductions in GHG emissions and underscores the importance of BPCA serving a facilitator role and connecting buildings with existing funding and financial programs with City, State, and utility partners. This will also help inform the ongoing development of our Climate Action Plan that will establish GHG reduction pathway targets for buildings, transportation, and waste as we chart a path toward carbon neutrality by 2050.

    SEE IT: BPC Building Inventory Presentation (February 2022)

    Resources for BPC Buildings and Residents:

    Empire Building Playbook: An Owner’s Guide to Low Carbon Retrofits The Playbook is a resource that will help you frame your building efficiency and decarbonization goals within the context of real life case studies, harness lessons learned from real estate owners who have already gone through the process, and capture the economic benefits of high performance buildings.

    NYC Accelerator provides free, personalized guidance to make cost-saving, energy-efficiency upgrades and reduce carbon emissions in New York City

    The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, known as NYSERDA, promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. NYSERDA has several programs that help you lower your home or business’s energy bills, reduce your environmental impact, and/or support clean energy and transportation in New York State.

    Con Ed Multifamily Incentive Program

    Con Edison Clean Heat Incentive Program

     

    • Materials and Waste

    Materials and Waste

    The Materials and Waste Topic Area covers sustainable consumption, sustainable building materials, waste diversion, organics collection and composting, and construction and demolition activities in Battery Park City. This provides direction on how BPC can drive sustainable behavioral change; reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill from building materials, organics, and consumer products; and ultimately promote more reuse/circular economies.

    Highlights: Zero Waste On Earth Day 2019, BPCA launched its Zero Waste Initiative, a waste-reduction program that includes staff education, regular reporting and review of vendor practices, and pledges from more than 100 Authority staff members to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Focusing initially on BPCA’s 75 Battery Place location, the goal is to attain Gold TRUE certification (an assessor-based program that rates how well facilities minimize waste), decrease office waste going to landfill by 90% over the next 12 months, and learn from this experience to expand Zero Waste to other BPCA owned spaces – and eventually to the community.

    The Zero Waste Advisory Committee, comprised of staff from the Authority's Programming and Operations teams, conduct regular trainings and information sessions for BPCA staff on the transition to a zero waste facility. Landfill, recycling, and composting signage was redesigned to easily covey to building occupants which items go in which bin. The Zero Waste Committee audits the facility’s waste stream regularly to gather metrics and identify other possible waste streams to reuse or recycle.

    Read more: BPCA's TRUE Zero Waste Certification

    Composting BPCA has a longstanding and growing composting program, with vegetable and fruit waste is collected from local stores, staff and residents. More than 20,000 pounds of food and plant waste were composted in 2018. BPCA’s composting numbers in 2019 exceeded even that -- with more than 35,000 pounds composted!

    On Earth Day 2019 BPCA launched the neighborhood’s first building-specific composting program at Gateway Plaza, Battery Park City’s largest residential complex. The resulting compost is used to nourish and sustain soils across Battery Park City’s parks. It is also used to help create the compost tea -- compost steeped in water -- to inoculate soils with beneficial fungi and bacteria in the spring and fall.

    Members of the public can participate in BPCA’s composting program by dropping off their food waste at two locations: - BPCA Parks Operations – 75 Battery Place - Lower Level of North Esplanade by Chambers Street and River Terrace

    Dog Waste Composting In continuing our commitment to sustainability, BPCA operates a Dog Waste Compost program at each of our three community dog runs. Our goal is to send less dog waste in its raw form to the landfill. By doing this, BPCA can prevent up to 13.5 tons of dog waste from entering the landfill and reduce methane gas released into the environment.

    Compacting Program BPCA’s community compacting program collects approximately hundreds of tons of residential waste from compactors each month. Instead of traditional garbage pickup, most of the buildings across the 92-acre site that comprise Battery Park City, have participated in a community compactor program, where garbage from 7,000 residential units from 27 different buildings is placed in wheeled carts and brought to one of the six compactors in the neighborhood.

    • Water

    Water

    The Water Topic Area addresses water conservation, water recycling systems, and resiliency and storm water management in Battery Park City. Through these Strategies, Battery Park City will strive to achieve reductions in potable water consumption, increases in recycled water use, improved stormwater management processes, and greater resilience to major storms.

    Highlights: The ongoing BPC Resiliency Projects (North/West, South, and Ball Fields & Community Center) will provide flood risk reduction to the neighborhood, and are primarily focused on the threats of flooding from storm surges and sea level rise. However, inland stormwater drainage measures are being incorporated into all resiliency projects to address flooding concerns.

    BPCA’s Marine Education Program for schools which receives praise from teachers and students alike for its hands-on approach to ecology, biology and environmental science. Close to 1,000 third through twelve grade students from the five boroughs participate in this program annually. It allows students to understand the history, geology and biodiversity of the Hudson River estuary and coastline. While the Hudson River and New York Bay were once too polluted to maintain their pre-industrial ecosystem, improvements in water quality have allowed the habitat to thrive once again. The Hudson now hosts over 150 species of fish and diverse marine life that can be experienced or observed from the Esplanade in Battery Park City Authority.

    • Site

    Site

    For many, the Battery Park City experience is defined by interactions in the public realm—in the streets and sidewalks, the parks, the Esplanade, and other open spaces. Sustainability in the neighborhood must extend to these spaces, in addition to encompassing energy, water, and materials and waste. In this Plan, Site refers to topics of broader environmental quality in Battery Park City, covering transportation/mobility, environmental health, and ecosystems and resiliency.

    Highlights: As leaders in ecological stewardship, Battery Park City’ 36 acres of open space are maintained organically. Compost and compost teas are used to return nutrients to and enrich biological activity in our soil. In their careful selection of plants, BPCA's horticulture staff values native plants and considers plant communities as a whole. Trees and shrubs are pruned in a manner that follows the plant’s natural growth patterns, and smart irrigation systems are installed to reduce excess water usage.

    These careful management procedures allow for great biodiversity at Battery Park City, and with this, resiliency to different weather conditions, storm events, and climate change. Better ecosystem health for the flora and fauna results in better environmental health, a key component of the 2019 Resilience Action Plan—establishing Battery Park City as a biodiversity haven.

    Sustainability-themed programs can be found throughout Parks Programming’s active calendar of classes, programs, and events. For example, Parks Programming’s Go Fish! Event -  Battery Park City’s annual celebration of life in the Hudson Estuary and Migration Celebration. Art programs regularly use recycled materials such as plant clippings from the parks and re-purpose discarded newspapers, scrap paper, and boxes from deliveries.

    BPC Wildlife on iNaturalist Battery Park city is home to a wide range of wildlife across its 36 adres of parks and public spaces, from native insects to more than 100 species of birds. Help Battery Park City improve its natural habitat by downloading the free iNaturalist app. User-generated observations help contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. Findings are shared with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiveristy Information Facility to help scientists find and use your data. View the Battery Park City iNaturalist page

    Sustainability-themed programs can be found throughout Parks Programming’s active calendar of classes, programs, and events. In 2019, for example, Parks Programming hosted Go Fish!, Battery Park City’s annual celebration of life in the Hudson Estuary and its first Migration Celebration. Art programs regularly use recycled materials such as plant clippings from the parks and re-purpose discarded newspapers, scrap paper, and boxes from deliveries.

    • Green Guidelines / Other resources

    Green Guidelines / Other resources
    Battery Park City Authority Net-Zero 2040 Investment Portfolio Action Plan (PDF) The BPC Green Guidelines (PDF) provide detailed guidance to BPCA and to Battery Park City building owners and managers regarding the steps necessary to achieve a more sustainable Battery Park City. Community Engagement Presentations
    In July 2019, BPCA issued $76.3 million in Sustainability Bonds to fund Phase 1 of its Capital Plan, which includes development of a comprehensive resiliency infrastructure – entailing perimeter storm barriers, flood protection systems, waterproofing, and landscaping to protect its residents and assets from climate change. The proceeds will also finance projects that enhance public access to open space, accessibility and walkability, and preserve the socio-cultural attributes of Battery Park City. BPCA was selected as the Northeast Deal of the Year by Bond Buyer for its $673 million offering, of which Sustainability Bonds were a part.

    • Energy

    Energy

    The Energy Topic Area addresses deep energy retrofits, building electrification, low-carbon district energy systems, renewable energy supply and storage, and GHG emissions monitoring and reporting in Battery Park City. Implementing these Strategies will significantly reduce energy demands and associated GHG emissions in Battery Park City and ensure that building systems are more efficient and healthier overall. These improvements will also deliver many co-benefits from simplified maintenance to reduced operational costs to improved air quality and controllability of systems. The best method for achieving these improvements is through collaboration across the diverse building portfolio in Battery Park City, supported by external partnerships and programs.

    Highlights:

    BPC Building Inventory Battery Park City’s Building Inventory was completed in Fall 2021 and is a key element of our Sustainability Plan. It provides a high-level cataloging of building systems and energy use across the neighborhood. The Inventory begins to identify solutions to achieve significant reductions in GHG emissions and underscores the importance of BPCA serving a facilitator role and connecting buildings with existing funding and financial programs with City, State, and utility partners. This will also help inform the ongoing development of our Climate Action Plan that will establish GHG reduction pathway targets for buildings, transportation, and waste as we chart a path toward carbon neutrality by 2050.

    SEE IT: BPC Building Inventory Presentation (February 2022)

    Resources for BPC Buildings and Residents:

    Empire Building Playbook: An Owner’s Guide to Low Carbon Retrofits The Playbook is a resource that will help you frame your building efficiency and decarbonization goals within the context of real life case studies, harness lessons learned from real estate owners who have already gone through the process, and capture the economic benefits of high performance buildings.

    NYC Accelerator provides free, personalized guidance to make cost-saving, energy-efficiency upgrades and reduce carbon emissions in New York City

    The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, known as NYSERDA, promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. NYSERDA has several programs that help you lower your home or business’s energy bills, reduce your environmental impact, and/or support clean energy and transportation in New York State.

    Con Ed Multifamily Incentive Program

    Con Edison Clean Heat Incentive Program

     

    • Materials and Waste

    Materials and Waste

    The Materials and Waste Topic Area covers sustainable consumption, sustainable building materials, waste diversion, organics collection and composting, and construction and demolition activities in Battery Park City. This provides direction on how BPC can drive sustainable behavioral change; reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill from building materials, organics, and consumer products; and ultimately promote more reuse/circular economies.

    Highlights: Zero Waste On Earth Day 2019, BPCA launched its Zero Waste Initiative, a waste-reduction program that includes staff education, regular reporting and review of vendor practices, and pledges from more than 100 Authority staff members to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Focusing initially on BPCA’s 75 Battery Place location, the goal is to attain Gold TRUE certification (an assessor-based program that rates how well facilities minimize waste), decrease office waste going to landfill by 90% over the next 12 months, and learn from this experience to expand Zero Waste to other BPCA owned spaces – and eventually to the community.

    The Zero Waste Advisory Committee, comprised of staff from the Authority's Programming and Operations teams, conduct regular trainings and information sessions for BPCA staff on the transition to a zero waste facility. Landfill, recycling, and composting signage was redesigned to easily covey to building occupants which items go in which bin. The Zero Waste Committee audits the facility’s waste stream regularly to gather metrics and identify other possible waste streams to reuse or recycle.

    Read more: BPCA's TRUE Zero Waste Certification

    Composting BPCA has a longstanding and growing composting program, with vegetable and fruit waste is collected from local stores, staff and residents. More than 20,000 pounds of food and plant waste were composted in 2018. BPCA’s composting numbers in 2019 exceeded even that -- with more than 35,000 pounds composted!

    On Earth Day 2019 BPCA launched the neighborhood’s first building-specific composting program at Gateway Plaza, Battery Park City’s largest residential complex. The resulting compost is used to nourish and sustain soils across Battery Park City’s parks. It is also used to help create the compost tea -- compost steeped in water -- to inoculate soils with beneficial fungi and bacteria in the spring and fall.

    Members of the public can participate in BPCA’s composting program by dropping off their food waste at two locations: - BPCA Parks Operations – 75 Battery Place - Lower Level of North Esplanade by Chambers Street and River Terrace

    Dog Waste Composting In continuing our commitment to sustainability, BPCA operates a Dog Waste Compost program at each of our three community dog runs. Our goal is to send less dog waste in its raw form to the landfill. By doing this, BPCA can prevent up to 13.5 tons of dog waste from entering the landfill and reduce methane gas released into the environment.

    Compacting Program BPCA’s community compacting program collects approximately hundreds of tons of residential waste from compactors each month. Instead of traditional garbage pickup, most of the buildings across the 92-acre site that comprise Battery Park City, have participated in a community compactor program, where garbage from 7,000 residential units from 27 different buildings is placed in wheeled carts and brought to one of the six compactors in the neighborhood.

    • Water

    Water

    The Water Topic Area addresses water conservation, water recycling systems, and resiliency and storm water management in Battery Park City. Through these Strategies, Battery Park City will strive to achieve reductions in potable water consumption, increases in recycled water use, improved stormwater management processes, and greater resilience to major storms.

    Highlights: The ongoing BPC Resiliency Projects (North/West, South, and Ball Fields & Community Center) will provide flood risk reduction to the neighborhood, and are primarily focused on the threats of flooding from storm surges and sea level rise. However, inland stormwater drainage measures are being incorporated into all resiliency projects to address flooding concerns.

    BPCA’s Marine Education Program for schools which receives praise from teachers and students alike for its hands-on approach to ecology, biology and environmental science. Close to 1,000 third through twelve grade students from the five boroughs participate in this program annually. It allows students to understand the history, geology and biodiversity of the Hudson River estuary and coastline. While the Hudson River and New York Bay were once too polluted to maintain their pre-industrial ecosystem, improvements in water quality have allowed the habitat to thrive once again. The Hudson now hosts over 150 species of fish and diverse marine life that can be experienced or observed from the Esplanade in Battery Park City Authority.

    • Site

    Site

    For many, the Battery Park City experience is defined by interactions in the public realm—in the streets and sidewalks, the parks, the Esplanade, and other open spaces. Sustainability in the neighborhood must extend to these spaces, in addition to encompassing energy, water, and materials and waste. In this Plan, Site refers to topics of broader environmental quality in Battery Park City, covering transportation/mobility, environmental health, and ecosystems and resiliency.

    Highlights: As leaders in ecological stewardship, Battery Park City’ 36 acres of open space are maintained organically. Compost and compost teas are used to return nutrients to and enrich biological activity in our soil. In their careful selection of plants, BPCA's horticulture staff values native plants and considers plant communities as a whole. Trees and shrubs are pruned in a manner that follows the plant’s natural growth patterns, and smart irrigation systems are installed to reduce excess water usage.

    These careful management procedures allow for great biodiversity at Battery Park City, and with this, resiliency to different weather conditions, storm events, and climate change. Better ecosystem health for the flora and fauna results in better environmental health, a key component of the 2019 Resilience Action Plan—establishing Battery Park City as a biodiversity haven.

    Sustainability-themed programs can be found throughout Parks Programming’s active calendar of classes, programs, and events. For example, Parks Programming’s Go Fish! Event -  Battery Park City’s annual celebration of life in the Hudson Estuary and Migration Celebration. Art programs regularly use recycled materials such as plant clippings from the parks and re-purpose discarded newspapers, scrap paper, and boxes from deliveries.

    BPC Wildlife on iNaturalist Battery Park city is home to a wide range of wildlife across its 36 adres of parks and public spaces, from native insects to more than 100 species of birds. Help Battery Park City improve its natural habitat by downloading the free iNaturalist app. User-generated observations help contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. Findings are shared with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiveristy Information Facility to help scientists find and use your data. View the Battery Park City iNaturalist page

    Sustainability-themed programs can be found throughout Parks Programming’s active calendar of classes, programs, and events. In 2019, for example, Parks Programming hosted Go Fish!, Battery Park City’s annual celebration of life in the Hudson Estuary and its first Migration Celebration. Art programs regularly use recycled materials such as plant clippings from the parks and re-purpose discarded newspapers, scrap paper, and boxes from deliveries.

    • Green Guidelines / Other resources

    Green Guidelines / Other resources
    Battery Park City Authority Net-Zero 2040 Investment Portfolio Action Plan (PDF) The BPC Green Guidelines (PDF) provide detailed guidance to BPCA and to Battery Park City building owners and managers regarding the steps necessary to achieve a more sustainable Battery Park City. Community Engagement Presentations
    In July 2019, BPCA issued $76.3 million in Sustainability Bonds to fund Phase 1 of its Capital Plan, which includes development of a comprehensive resiliency infrastructure – entailing perimeter storm barriers, flood protection systems, waterproofing, and landscaping to protect its residents and assets from climate change. The proceeds will also finance projects that enhance public access to open space, accessibility and walkability, and preserve the socio-cultural attributes of Battery Park City. BPCA was selected as the Northeast Deal of the Year by Bond Buyer for its $673 million offering, of which Sustainability Bonds were a part.
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