Broadway Stages Leads the Way in Going Green

Traditional energy sources come from non-renewable resources such as coal and fossil fuels. These non-renewable resources are known to cause detrimental effects to our environment. Byproducts, such as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from burning coal and fossil fuels, are the leading causes of irreversible environmental concerns, the biggest of which is global warming.

However, in recent years, the transition to more sustainable and green sources of energy have grown popular. One of the most popular natural resources is solar energy, which relies only on the power of the sun to generate electricity. In fact, homes every day across the nation are being converted to solar homes with solar panels installed on rooftops to sustain residential energy needs.

Likewise, rather than relying heavily on traditional sources of energy, since 2010 Broadway Stages has committed to solar energy as a significant energy resource to become Brooklyn's first sound stage to be powered by solar energy. With over 50,000 square feet of solar panels installed on Kingsland sound stage rooftop, our solar energy output accounts for 30% of our energy needs. Solar rooftops as large as ours are also helping reduce up to 822,000 pounds of carbon emission in the air, which would require over 8,000 trees to absorb annually.

In conjunction with our solar commitment, Broadway Stages also participates in New York City's CoolRoofs Program, which encourages businesses to cover rooftops with white reflective paint to reduce energy consumption used to cool buildings. As a result of using two innovative green energy resources, Broadway Stages uses significantly less electrical energy from traditional sources of power than normal sound stages. Choosing to be leaders in creating green energy sound stages, Broadway Stages is changing the way green energy is being used in the film and television industry in New York. Broadway Stages is helping lead the way as one of Brooklyn's largest full-service film production companies that is going green!

Broadway Stages Goes Greener Every Day With Kingsborough Community College

Kingsborough Community College (KCC) is helping create a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future with this year's Brooklyn Science Innovation Initiative. The program challenges students to develop their own sustainable concepts while studying real-world sustainability at KCC's Urban Farm.

Learning from their five-week experience at the KCC Urban Farm, students were able to better understand and explore how their innovative ideas can help impact the way we grow food. By performing hands-on activities, KCC students were able to directly test, observe, and explore their unique ideas. The summer program helped galvanize projects that involved a combination of recycling, solar power, composting, nutrition, energy conservation, and sanitation from the drawing board to reality. This is an exciting step to get more students involved in STEM research to help bring green ideas into reality.

Gina Argento, Trustee of Kingsborough Community College and President of Broadway Stages, is excited to see Kingsborough students enthusiastic about wanting to change the way we live by creating solutions to real-world environmental issues. As a long-time supporter of KCC partners, including working with them to build their STEM lab and CXM academy, Gina looks forwards to continuing to support KCC and its students in creating a brighter and greener future together. Together with KCC, Broadway Stages cheers students and STEM research for the future!

Brooklyn Eagle Attends Broadway Stages' Kingsland Wildflowers Brooklyn Reveal

Founder of Broadway Stages and partner of the Kingsland Wildflower Project Tony Argento believes that you cannot put a price on the natural environment and strives to personally protect resources. When asked by the Brooklyn Eagle about the enormous cost for foundational engineering, soil and water bedding, and roofing, Tony says, "just look around you."

As a business owner in Greenpoint, Tony is familiar with the importance of the Newtown Creek to the Greenpoint community. While looking for ways to protect the natural integrity of the area for generations to come, Tony was more than happy to commit financial resources, roof space, and personal time to the Kingsland Wildflowers Project.

Having initially committed 22,000 square feet of space in roofing for the project, Tony has already pledged an additional 10,000 square feet for the green space to expand. The extra space adds to the area that is already inhabited by flowers, insects, and birds. More green roofing also absorbs more rainwater that benefits the Newtown Creek because "it prevents rainwater from flowing into the storm drains and overflowing the Creek." When the additional 20,000 square feet are completed, the project will more than double its environmental impact. 

Since 2015, the Kingsland Wildflowers Project brought together preservationists from Broadway Stages, Alive Structures, the NYC Audubon, and Trout in the Classroom to restore and revitalize the Newtown Creek area for Brooklynites. And only two years later, 10,000 square feet of open garden space is completed with 20,000 more square feet set to be completed in the following years to come. Stick around for more to come!

AM New York Visits Broadway Stages' Rooftop Farm

Urban farming has grown in popularity over the last decade with new farms sprouting every few months in New York City. The entire niche industry is now seeing more growth than ever before with new city regulations that allow expanded farm sizes and investor interest in scaling the urban farms into larger businesses. The spur of the urban rooftop farming movement was put forth by early pioneers that saw potential in building healthy and delicious farming alternatives right in the heart of New York.

At the forefront of urban rooftop farming was Broadway Stages' Eagle Street Rooftop Farms located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which started in 2009 with help from expert farmer Annie Novak. Almost a decade old, Rooftop Farms is considered to be NYC's iconic farming destination, ranking first in EcoWatch's list of NYC's urban farming projects.

Local newspaper AM New York stopped by this week to showcase the positive benefits of Broadway Stages and Annie Novak and their partnership in helping grow a niche community that is focused on providing fresh quality foods right in our own city.

"Now there's a positive shift from the community who want to see these spaces," Annie says. Annie reminds everyone that the produce grown at Rooftop Farms, which ranges from kale and spinach to other vegetables, source the quality ingredients served at local restaurants including Anella's, Spritzenhaus, and Marlow & Sons.

While serving restaurants in the Brooklyn area, Rooftop Farms also makes sure to include local residents to share the experience of urban farming. Rooftop Farms invites Brooklynites to come and visit the rooftop on Sundays, participating as urban farmers or as locals who are looking to purchase fresh ingredients. The farm also hosts educational workshops for students to learn about the positive environmental benefits of urban farming and offers a demonstration of how the farm grows its vegetables. Rooftop Farms is perfect for New Yorkers who want to learn about urban farming and eat fresh. Come visit us soon!

A Look Into the Kingsland Wildflowers Project During the Brooklyn Reveal

The Kingsland Wildflowers rooftop project sponsored by Broadway Stages seeks to pioneer new opportunities to preserve native wildlife and flowers species in New York City urban spaces.

The project utilizes Broadway Stages' warehouse infrastructure to support up to 22,000 square feet of soil and compost used for growing plants. The abundance of plants will act as a natural habitat for wildlife such as birds and insects. Preserving wildlife and nature is part of Broadway Stages' commitment to environmental stewardship.

Since the project began in 2015, Gina Argento, President of Broadway Stages, has committed financial resources to construct the foundation of the garden and dozens of workers to plant thousands of flowers.

Almost two years later, Broadway Stages occasionally grants members of the community a "sneak peek" into the progress of the project. During our "Brooklyn Reveal" events, Broadway Stages offers attendees the opportunity to walk about the rooftop garden and learn about the progress of the project.

Once completed, the rooftop space will also function as a public space open to residences and neighbors to enjoy recreational activity. The rooftop offers a plethora of flowers ranging from bright tickseeds to violet aster flowers. Visitors can walk on a stone path carved through the garden of flowers that emulates a walk through a flower field. Though not yet fully completed, Broadway Stages wants to assure you the project will be completed soon! So be sure to look out for the full completion of the Kingsland Wildflowers Project soon!

Broadway Stages' Rooftop Farms Featured on PX11 With President Gina Argento and Growing Chefs' Annie Novak

Broadway Stages Rooftop Farms, established in 2008, continues to be an active supporter of the green movement and helps New Yorkers eat right with high-quality fresh ingredients. Recognized as one of New York City's and Brooklyn's first urban rooftop farms, Rooftop Farms has been the world-renowned driving force behind Brooklyn's healthy eating movement and has played a pivotal role in encouraging green landscapes for the benefit of Brooklynites.

Sponsored by Gina Argento, President of Broadway Stages, Rooftop Farms was created to become a communal space for Greenpoint and Brooklyn residents to enjoy and learn the benefits of growing vegetables in a modern city environment. Gina and Broadway Stages have dedicated nearly a decade of financial support for rooftop operations to allow Brooklyn locals the opportunity to source fresh vegetables and quality ingredients right in their backyards.

In partnership with Gina and Broadway Stages, Annie Novak, founder of nonprofit Growing Chefs, closely maintains the operations of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm along with a dedicated team of interns and volunteers. Annie has been an invaluable member of New York's growing farming scene and shares a vision with Broadway Stages to change the way Brooklynites eat food.

Broadway Stages' Eagle Street Rooftop Farm was recently featured on New York's PX11 news channel in a segment detailing the growing popularity of urban farming. Annie and Gina gave PX11 the full story behind the partnership that established Rooftop Farms almost 10 years ago. Looking to bring quality foods to New Yorkers in a convenient growing space that provided an unparalleled level of transparency, Annie and Gina wanted to set an example and set the standard of the changing food industry in New York. Naturally, Rooftop Farms and Annie Novak have always been at the forefront of advocating for clean and naturally grown foods to replace chemically altered foods founds in most supermarkets.

Park Stewardship With Broadway Stages and Open Space Alliance!

Gina Argento, green activist and president of North Brooklyn's Broadway Stages, is celebrating with fellow North Brooklynites at the Amazon Studio to recognize the communal effort to help secure parks for the residents of Greenpoint and Willamsburg.

Partnering with Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn (OSA), Gina, on behalf of Broadway Stages, has committed financial resources for the use of park-enhancing services and park-expanding programs as part of her duty as a park steward. Gina pledges her continued support to OSA to make Brooklyn parks safe, clean, and green for community members.

Gina's contributions to OSA have only helped contribute to OSA's mission to provide park services to all Brooklyn parks within the Community District 1 area. Committed to improving park conditions and raising awareness for the need to maintain public spaces, OSA relies on community funding and support like that from Broadway Stages to effectively operate and perform its services. Gina, a known supporter of local Brooklyn businesses and community programs, thinks that Brooklynites should support one another. Broadway Stages is proud to help provide our community with clean, safe, and open parks for Brooklyn.

Gina encourages you to join her and OSA in securing Brooklyn spaces and parks for Brooklynites to use to enjoy recreational activities. Help support a community mission to maintain and create parks!

Summer Rooftop Fun With Broadway Stages' Rooftop Farm

The summer season is in full swing and so is our Rooftop Farm! Broadway Stages’ Rooftop Farm, hosted and funded by Broadway Stages president Gina Argento and founder Tony Argento, welcomes you to join our urban farm atop our Eagle Street warehouse overlooking the beautiful Manhattan cityscape.

The Rooftop Farm began with the idea to encourage New York City residents and businesses to pursue a greener New York City skyline. Since 2008, the Rooftop Farm has grown and produced thousands of pounds of fresh, safe, and delicious produce for neighborhood families and community members. Partnering with local Brooklyn restaurants, Rooftop Farms delivers quality-grade vegetables to ensure restaurants are serving the best foods they can.

Rooftop Farms is not only a prime destination to get fresh high-quality ingredients, but it is also a great place to learn about the urban farm movement and techniques to help start your own miniature urban farm. Urban farming education is provided by Rooftop Farm staff dedicated and passionate about keeping greenery in New York City. Visitors will learn about the impacts of urbanization on the natural environment and how urban farming can help diminish its effects. Come visit our Rooftop Farm today and learn how you can make a big impact on the environment and enjoy fresh, all-natural produce!

Broadway Stages President Gina Argento Supports Green Pillars

Broadway Stages President Gina Argento follows four fundamental green pillars that she always seeks to improve upon and encourages others to adopt.

Solar: The power of the sun and its virtually unlimited energy supply should not be underestimated. Solar energy is one of the most powerful resources available and has the potential to power all our energy needs if properly harnessed. Taking a step to replace traditional energy sources, Broadway Stages has been sourcing a significant portion of our energy demands directly from the sun. Sitting under direct sunlight at our Kingsland rooftops are rows and rows of large solar panels. This is part of our solar commitment dating back to 2010, which has saved Broadway Stages over 1,200,000 kilowatt hours annually from traditional sources like nuclear, coal, and gas.

Nature: Contributing back to the natural environment by growing more plants is the most direct way to embrace the green revolution. Planting vegetables or garden greens is crucial in reducing carbon emissions surrounding the metro area. As the top consumers of carbon dioxide, plants directly replace carbon in the air with breathable oxygen. Concerned about air quality and carbon levels, Gina has supported the urban farm revolution since 2008 by creating Rooftop Farms. In operation for almost a decade now, Rooftop Farms has served the Brooklyn community by providing fresh organic vegetables on the edge of Greenpoint while replenishing oxygen in the air.

Water: Water is the one of the most limited and important resources in the world. Learning how to efficiently and effectively utilize water to maximize its output is a challenge that needs to be solved. To help protect the water supply and promote conservation, Gina is teaming up with NY Sun Works to sponsor innovative hydroponic technology education for the next generation. Teaching students to use only a fraction of traditional farming methods, hydroponic technology maximizes water resources by reducing water for crop production by up to 90% compared to conventional farming.

Wildlife: Essential to the preservation of the natural ecosystem, wildlife populations are indicative of the quality of New York City landscapes. However, urbanization threatens to destroy and hinder growth of our native bird species. Hoping to protect New York City wildlife, Gina has partnered with the New York City Audubon to jointly improve and prioritize the safety of New York wildlife. The integrity of wildlife is necessary to the revitalization and conservation of local landscapes across the five boroughs.

Gina Argento, President of Broadway Stages, Joins NYSunWorks at its Annual Youth Conference

Broadway Stages President Gina Argento envisions a future of green education and sustainable energy in New York City. Inspired to promote the exploration of green energy options, Gina has aligned with NY Sun Works (NYSW), an organization that focuses its mission on sustainable energy and environmental stewardship.

The sixth annual Youth Conference held by NYSW highlights students' scientific achievements through self-conducted scientific research. The conference encourages students from grades five through 12 to participate in green energy research and share their findings with their peers across New York City and New Jersey. The conference empowers students to inspire one another to take action for a greener planet by expressing the need for renewable energy and resources.

The Youth Conference acts as a platform for climate change advisers such as Anthony Annett from the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. Helping endorse future environmentally friendly solutions, Anthony offers intimate knowledge on climate change and renewable energy.

As a sponsor the NYSW Youth Conference, Gina wants to inspire young minds to think about the wellbeing of our planet. By learning the fundamental scientific principles related to sustainable research, students can develop ecological habits that will positively affect their surrounding environments.

Broadway Stages President Gina Argento: Green Energy Is Now!

Paving the way for the future as Brooklyn's first solar full-service production company, Broadway Stages embraces the future of green and environmentally friendly energy resources. Leading Broadway Stages' green vision is President and CEO Gina Argento.

Supporting the future of renewable energy resources, Broadway Stages has made a tremendous commitment to solar energy since 2010 atop our Kingsland production film warehouses. Generating 1,200,000 kWh annually, our solar panels have saved us over 7,000,000 kWh of energy to date!

In addition to using solar energy, Broadway Stages is a proud participant of NYC's Cool Roofs program. As one of the first sound stages to take action, Broadway Stages paves our roofs in white paint specially designed to maximize sunlight reflection and reduce heat absorption. Our participation in the program has helped save additional energy resources by sustaining a lower ambient temperature inside our warehouse stages.

Broadway Stages Rooftop Farm Summer Preview!

Broadway Stages' rooftop farm is getting ready for the summer weather to get into full swing! Back in 2008 our rooftop farm helped introduce the urban farming movement in New York City by being one of the first and few urban farms. The farm was created under the guidance of President Gina Argento and Tony Argento to serve Brooklynites.

Almost a decade later, the Eagle Street Farm still operates and continues to provide Brooklynites with amazing quality ingredients within their own neighborhood. The farm produces a wide selection of vegetables, and we recently introduced our very own chickens and bunnies! The rooftop farm also includes bees to create New York City honey and help maintain a healthy bee population.

The rooftop farm is being prepared for this summer season to continue our local grown foods and for Brooklynites to come visit us. Get ready to join us on and enjoy a beautiful view of the city skyline! Take beautiful photos at our prime location and learn about urban farming.