Spotlight | Green Roof Researchers Alliance
/Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues. April is Earth Month. In celebration of this important topic, throughout the month, Broadway Stages will feature and celebrate exceptional people, businesses, and organizations who have chosen to invest their time, effort, and money in our planet. We invite you to join us in recognizing what they are doing to nurture our earth and help ensure a better world and future for us all! This week we are proud to introduce you to our friends at Green Roof Researchers Alliance.
In 2017, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation asked NYC Audubon to organize a working group of green roof researchers. The Department of Economic Conservation knew green roofs improve sustainability, resilience, biodiversity, and equitable access to urban nature. The group being created was tasked with educating and informing decision-makers and the public about the benefits of green roofs and inspiring the installation of more green roofs across the city.
What resulted was the Green Roof Researchers Alliance (GRRA). Today, this group comprises more than 60 researchers, educators, and policymakers from 21 different institutions. Through the information gathered and a network of resources, the GRRA — financed by The New York Community Trust, A.P.J. O’Connor Fund, and the LuEsther T. Mertz Fund — empowers residents, developers, and business owners to transform their rooftops. And the GRRA has been making significant progress! They have established research collaborations, built a database of green roofs in New York City, and launched an annual conference, The State of Green Roofs in NYC, held during climate week. They also hold workshops and seminars throughout the year to explain green roof benefits and current green legislation.
And speaking of legislation, in 2019, the GRRA was instrumental in the passage of Local Laws 92 and 94, part of the New York City Climate Mobilization Act. These laws require new buildings or roof replacements to have green roofs and/or solar panels. Moreover, the regulations provide a new and improved green roof tax abatement that prioritizes vulnerable areas in New York City.
Another significant achievement is the online information hub, Green Roofs NYC, developed in 2018 by New School students working with the GRRA. The students saw a need to centralize the resources and research the city’s current state of green roofs. The GRRA, The New School, and the Urban Systems Lab contribute website content.
As an early adopter and supporter of green roofs, Broadway Stages has demonstrated its commitment to environmental stewardship by investing in more than 100,000 square feet of green rooftop infrastructure across our facilities in Brooklyn. Among those facilities is Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof and Community Engagement Center, a 23,000 + square foot meadow garden that serves as a thriving habitat for local plants and animals. In 2021, Newtown Creek Alliance (NCA), the primary steward of Kingsland Wildflowers, received a grant from The New York Community Trust via the GRRA, to develop a short film about green roofs.
Filmed at Kingsland Wildflowers by 7Cinema, this short film explains the importance and key benefits of green roofs to our habitat. We encourage you to watch the film, become informed, and consider what you can do to make a difference in the health of our environment and the future of our planet. Read our blog about the short film here.
Broadway Stages invites you to follow the GRRA on Instagram and Twitter. Green roofs are an excellent and practical way to Invest in Our Planet. And if you need inspiration, feel free to visit Kingsland Wildflowers and/or Eagle Street Rooftop Farm at Broadway Stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. You may just walk away with an insatiable desire to create your own garden.
