Carroll Street Station Image, Taken From Brooklyn Theory
Through the sweltering heat, the female members of the Living City Brooklyn team embarked on a journey to 22 2nd Street in Carroll Gardens. When we approached the brownstone the construction and NY Department of Buildings signage that was plastered on the front door made us realize we were in the right place. We received a warm greeting from the Eco Brooklyn team and were given a top to bottom house tour. Gennaro Brooks-Church described his motivation for green building, and provided step-by-step detail on the construction process. He even elaborated on inventions that he made specifically for this house such as a personalized graywater system, green roof, and natural swimming pool. The use of glass on the staircase leading up to the green roof, on the patio, as well as on the third floor allowed for sunlight to pour through the entire house. One small downfall was that Javier, the sweet-hearted dog that stays in the house (and one of the interns), was petrified of stepping on the clear, shiny surface.
The view from the green roof was absolutely amazing! We were able to see the sunflowers and herbs that have grown there as well as the bees that have just recently been moved in. The roof might have been my favorite part of the tour because you completely identified with what Genarro and his team are trying to accomplish. Looking around at the Verrazano Bridge with a glimpse of Manhattan from the other direction I was completely taken to a small Garden of Eden on the roof of a Brooklyn brownstone.
Eco Brooklyn is by far the most innovative and ground breaking green building company in NY. They keep pushing the envelope, forever striving to make NY a greener place. My hat goes off to them. I have had the pleasure to have them do some work for me a couple years ago when they redid my roof and turned it into a green oasis. Pretty much everything they used was salvaged.