Sustainability Weekly

SUSTAINABILITY
Written By Dara Magagnoli

Fridays are for…

New Ecosystems, Carbon-Negative Building Materials, Planting Trees, and more!

by Alli DiGiacomo

Happy Friday and first week of May! May is known for its beautiful florals and blooms! This is also the 2nd month of the mandatory composting in NYC, which has been successful so far!

If you don’t know about this or don’t know where to start, I encourage you to join a virtual info session to learn more about Curbside Composting. These info sessions are open to anyone: 

Thursday, May 8 at 4:00 PM

Thursday, May 29 at 4:00 PM

Thursday, June 12 at 4:00 PM

Thursday, June 26 at 4:00 PM

P.S.- Don’t forget to submit your April miles for the CTA Spring 2024 Bike Challenge! Remember, CTA reimburses you for an annual Citibike membership.

Keep reading for sustainability news…

T H I S W E E K ’ S T O P S T O R I E S

THE OCEAN CLEANUP ANNOUNCED THEY ARE CAPABLE OF CLEANING THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH IN 5 YEARS TIME

At TED 2025, Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, took the stage with an optimistic and ambitious promise of cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just five years with the right support. In his talk, he highlighted the unfortunate reality of ocean plastic pollution, warning that if current trends continue, the amount of plastic entering the ocean could double by 2060. There are roughly 171 trillion pieces of plastic lurking in the world's oceans. Plastic caught in massive circular ocean currents accumulates in areas like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, now twice the size of Texas. Slat's team has spent over a decade building and refining technology to clean it up. After early setbacks, they developed a 2.5-kilometer-long, U-shaped barrier system that successfully collects plastic while protecting marine life. It now cleans an area the size of a football field every five seconds and recycles the plastic into products like EV accessories and Coldplay vinyl records, helping fund the cleanup.

The Ocean Cleanup isn’t stopping at the ocean. Slat’s team also targets rivers, which are the main source of ocean pollution. After attaching AI cameras to bridges around the world, they discovered just 1% of rivers are responsible for about 80% of ocean plastic pollution. Ocean Cleanup now focuses on these high-impact rivers, deploying solar-powered “interceptors” in places like Los Angeles and Guatemala City, and plan to expand to 30 more cities. Slat announced that the TED Audacious Project will fund this next big push.

ONCE THE WORLD’S LARGEST LANDFILL, A PARK IN STATEN ISLAND IS GETTING 50K FLOWERS TO ENCOURAGE BIRDS AND BEES

Freshkills Park on Staten Island, once the site of the world’s largest landfill, is continuing its transformation with the launch of the 50,000 Violet Project. The goal is to plant 50,000 native violets across the 2,200-acre grassland in the North Park over the next 2 years to attract pollinators like monarch butterflies and bees. The project is run by the Freshkills Park Alliance and supported by a grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation. It started with the removal of invasive plants and preparation of the soil. Violets are being cultivated by field biologist Catherine Molanphy and the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, while scientists study the ecological impacts and reintroduce pollinators to monitor progress. Mark Murphy, president of the Freshkills Park Alliance, communicated the project’s ecological and symbolic importance, calling the space not just beautiful, but also critical to capture carbon and for regional resilience amid climate change, and a representation of the community's healing journey. As Murphy put it, “What was once a terrible thing for Staten Island is turning into an incredible place of beauty, acceptance, and reclamation.” The park is being opened in phases and will eventually span nearly three times the size of Central Park by 2036. 

The Violet Project is also part of the broader mission to reclaim and heal a site that was once a serious public health concern. From its start in 1948 to its closure in 2001, the Fresh Kills Landfill grew to an enormous scale, at one point receiving up to 29,000 tons of trash per day. Beyond being an eyesore, the landfill raised major health alarms. Several studies have linked proximity to waste sites with elevated cancer risks, and data from 2017 to 2021 shows Staten Island had the highest rate of invasive malignant tumors in New York City, topping the list for 14 out of 23 tracked cancers.

THE LEGACY OF BERRY BENEPE, FOUNDER OF NYC’S GREENMARKETS

Barry Benepe, an urban planner who transformed NYC’s food landscape and the founder of NYC’s Greenmarket program, has passed away at the age of 96. In 1976, at a time when New York was struggling with urban decay and high crime rates, Berry started an initiative that brought fresh, locally grown produce directly from farmers to the city streets. Berry and his colleague Robert A. Lewis launched the first market at East 59th Street and Second Avenue. Despite initial doubts from farmers wary of the city, the open-air market was an immediate success. The Greenmarket eventually turned into a national farm-to-table movement, preserved thousands of acres of farmland, and revitalized urban neighborhoods — most famously Union Square, which used to be a neglected park and parking lot. 

Berry’s passion stemmed from a lifelong interest in urban livability and sustainable agriculture. He was born in Manhattan in 1928, and he split his childhood between Gramercy Square and a Maryland farm. One of his first jobs was hauling tomatoes to a price-gouging cannery, where he realized the challenges of farmers. He went on to attend Williams College, Cooper Union, and MIT, and his career evolved from architecture to urban planning. He co-founded Transportation Alternatives in 1966 after staging a protest to ban cars from Central Park on summer Sundays, which was a dream that became official in 2018.

Berry raised money from philanthropies and partnering with environmental advocate Marian Heiskell to get the Greenmarket off the ground, overcoming opposition from City Hall, local businesses, and skeptics. He led the program for 22 years, during which it grew from 1 to 20 markets citywide. By the time of his death, more than 45 Greenmarkets operated across the five boroughs. Known for his unconventional style and quiet determination, Berry was passionate about the idea of markets as social and economic lifelines, inspired by European street markets. Even in retirement, he continued this mission, helping to found a farmer’s market in Saugerties. His son Adrian, former New York City parks commissioner, recalled that his father’s legacy wasn’t in traditional parenting but in fostering a deep appreciation for design, infrastructure, and city life. Barry Benepe’s legacy will continue on through the thriving farmers’ markets that continue to nourish New Yorkers and the city's public spaces.

MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

Dara Magagnoli
Next

Sustainability Weekly