EPA Honors New York Environmental Leaders (NY)
(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that it has honored 14
individuals, organizations or businesses from New York with
Environmental Quality Awards for their achievements protecting
public health and the environment. EPA Regional Administrator
Judith Enck was joined by Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez to
present the awards to this year’s recipients at a ceremony at
EPA’s offices in Manhattan.
“These honorees work tirelessly to protect
the environment and to ensure that all of us can look forward to a
cleaner, healthier world,” said Regional Administrator Judith
Enck. “We can all be proud of what they have accomplished and
the example they have set.”
EPA presents Environmental Quality Awards
annually in conjunction with Earth Day to individuals, businesses
and organizations in EPA Region 2, which covers New Jersey, New
York, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and eight
federally-recognized Indian Nations. The awards recognize
significant contributions to improving the environment and public
health in the previous calendar year. For information about the
Environmental Quality Awards in EPA Region 2, visit http://www.epa.gov/region02/eqa/.
Attached is a list of the award
winners.
2011 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AWARD
WINNERS
Individual Citizen
Edward Taylor, The Bronx
As the president of Down East Seafood, Edward
Taylor understands the impacts of truck exhaust pollution on
community members in
The Bronx. To reduce emissions, Edward Taylor
purchased an all electric powered, zero-emissions delivery truck
for Down East Seafood’s daily business needs. The truck,
named “Big Green,” has paved the path for a carbon-free
delivery system that allows residents of New York City to receive
their goods in a clean way.
Manna Jo Greene, Beacon
As a community leader for the environment, peace
and social justice, Manna Jo Greene has been an integral part of
the ongoing and recent success of the Hudson River General Electric
PCBs removal, and the promotion and implementation of green
infrastructure practices within local communities. As the
environmental director for the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Manna
Jo actively promotes green building and landscaping practices and
to date has built a model, solar-powered sustainable living
resource center.
John Lipscomb, Ossining
John Lipscomb has been the captain of the Hudson
Riverkeeper patrol vessel R. Ian Fletcher for the last 10 years, a
platform he uses in his role as a teacher, scientist, and
environmental advocate. Mr. Lipscomb had an integral role in
establishing a Hudson River water quality sampling program in 2006
to examine the impact of sewage discharge on the river ecosystem.
Since then, the water quality partnership has expanded to include
monthly surveys of 75 sampling sites where more than 2,000 samples
have been collected, analyzed and made available to the
public.
Syd Mandelbaum
Syd Mandelbaum founded the non-profit
organization Rock and Wrap It Up! as a means to recover food for
agencies fighting poverty. The organization collects prepared but
untouched meals following rock concerts, sporting events and school
functions, and delivers them to local food banks and charitable
agencies. Since 2010, Mr. Mandelbaum has worked with the Buffalo
Sabres, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils
hockey clubs. Following the Rock and Wrap it Up! Sports Wrap!
model, over 11,000 meals have been recovered through the efforts of
these hockey teams, keeping four tons of solid waste out of
landfills and 29,333 pounds of CO2 out of the
atmosphere.
Business and Industry
Monroe Industries, Inc.,
Avon
In 2008, John and Bonnie Webster launched an
initiative to transition their cultured marble business, Monroe
Industries, Inc., into the “greenest composite shop in the
country.” They created a product called Robal Glass, a
combination of recycled post-consumer, pre-landfill glass and
soy-based and other resins that are designed to save the
environment and help architects qualify for points under the U.S.
Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy &
Environmental Design (LEED) program. Much of the waste generated at
Monroe Industries, Inc., is cast into products that are donated to
local charities, meaning that little or no material waste goes into
landfills.
Kingston Block & Masonry Supply, LLC, New
Rochelle
Kingston Block & Masonry Supply, LLC (KBMS)
is an authorized manufacturer of Pozzotive sustainable concrete
products, a new post-consumer Supplementary Cementitious Material
(SCM) derived from post-consumer recycled glass. Through the
dedication of managing partner Louis P. Grasso, Jr. KBMS has saved
over 1,250,000 tons of CO2 emissions from being released into the
atmosphere to date by replacing up to 30% of Portland cement in
their concrete mix design with Pozzotive.
Federal, State, Local, or Tribal
Government or Agency
The Town of North Hempstead
The Town of North Hempstead was the first
municipality in the Nassau County area to host a pharmaceutical
disposal event. To date, the pharmaceutical collection program has
collected over 3,000 pounds of expired and unwanted
pharmaceuticals, providing a means to keep prescription and
over-the-counter drugs out of drinking water and landfills. In
October 2010, the Town of North Hempstead partnered with various
other entities to host the first pharmaceutical collection event on
school grounds, furthering its goals to keep residents and the
environment safe.
Hon. Steve Bellone, Babylon
Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone has
spearheaded a variety of sustainable policies that exemplify green,
sustainable building and land use, and community planning. In
addition to passing several local green building and smart growth
ordinances and leading inter-municipal efforts to achieve
sustainability on Long island, Steve Bellone has taken the personal
initiative to revitalize downtown Wyandanch – an often
neglected Long Island hamlet comprised largely of low-income
underserved communities, Brownfield contamination, environmental
injustice and urban plight.
Northern Westchester Energy Action
Consortium, Somers
The Northern Westchester Energy Action
Consortium (NWEAC) was formed by several neighboring municipalities
in Westchester County with the shared goal of increasing energy
efficiency throughout their respective communities. NWEAC members
work together to reduce fossil fuel use for municipal, non-profit,
commercial, and residential entities, mitigate carbon emissions and
increase energy efficiency. The Consortium shares grant writing
services, pools its resources and co-develops pilot programs that
can be expanded throughout the region.
Non-Profit Organization, Environmental or
Community Group
Housing Works Thrift Shops, Inc., New York
City
Housing Works was founded as a means to serve
the tens of thousands of homeless men, women, and children in New
York City living with HIV and AIDS. Since 1990, Housing Works has
provided health, housing and supportive services to more than
25,000 homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and
AIDS, earning the majority of their revenue through 10 thrift
stores across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Clothing and items that are
unsellable in the stores are donated or sold in bulk for reuse,
ultimately averting waste that would otherwise end up in a
landfill.
The FUND for Lake George, Lake
George
The FUND for Lake George is behind the acclaimed
publication, “Do-It-Yourself Water Quality: A
Landowner’s Guide to Property Management that Protects Lake
George.” The publication exemplifies the FUND for Lake
George’s commitment to outreach around the lake, which they
achieve through public workshops, individual meetings with
landowners, and local government outreach. These efforts have been
augmented by a media campaign, a series of Lake George fact sheets
and extensive web postings.
Tri-State Transportation Campaign, New York
City
The Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC) is
a non-profit group that works to reduce car dependency in New York,
New Jersey and Connecticut. TSTC advocates for and educates the
public about pedestrian and bicycle resources for transit oriented
development, focusing on mass transit hubs that serve major
commercial areas, as a means to reduce the number of cars on the
road and to provide a low-cost option for travel. TSTC reduces
congestion, improves air quality and creates safer communities for
people to work and live in.
Bronx River Alliance, The
Bronx
Since 2001, the Bronx River Alliance has
succeeded in transforming the Bronx River into a thriving ecosystem
and a tool for environmental education and recreation. In 2010
alone, the Bronx River Alliance worked with 1,500 students,
providing hands-on lessons in hydrological science, ecosystems and
environmental responsibility. Additionally, one of the Bronx River
Alliance’s large-scale community programs, the Bronx River
Greenway, will form a 23-mile long stretch of parkland along the
river which will ultimately facilitate environmentally sound
community recreation events such as canoe and bike
trips.
Oyster Research and Restoration
Project
In 2010, a special partnership of scientists,
non-profit groups and government agencies began the first stage of
a research effort to determine if oysters can once again flourish
in the New York Harbor. This partnership, led by the Hudson River
Foundation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NY/NJ Baykeeper, the
New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program and the Urban Assembly
New York Harbor School, has worked to develop a multi-phase plan to
address the question of where and how sustainable oyster
populations can be reintroduced in the New York Harbor and Lower
Hudson.
For more details, visit: http://www.epa.gov/region02/eqa
11-046