A special V i l lage r supplement , Pages 19 -2 2
Making the district greener and cleaner
Take a look around Union Square Park at the fi rst
signs of spring. Trees are budding, the Greenmarket
is fi lled with daffodils. Local employees,
residents, families and visitors are out
in force to take advantage of this beautiful
green space in the heart of Manhattan
complete with benches, bistro tables, a
playground and dog run.
It’s the start of the park’s high season,
when thousands of visitors a day come
to enjoy a pause in their schedule, connect
with friends, pick up fresh bread
at the Greenmarket and participate in
the close to 200 scheduled events on
tap through the fall.
This welcoming locale doesn’t just
happen by chance. It’s the result of
round-the-clock work by the Union
Square Partnership Business Improvement
District team and their neighborhood
partners who strive to keep the
district looking its best year-round.
Visitors leave behind more than
178,000 bags of trash in the area each
year. The Partnership has made reducing
this waste a top priority and its efforts
are attracting interest from other
organizations.
“We are proud to be investing in a
more sustainable future through our
waste initiatives and as part of our
overall efforts to advocate and improve
the Union Square-14th St. district,”
said Jennifer E. Falk, USP’s executive
director.
Last spring, USP spearheaded a pioneering
study with Columbia University’s
Earth Institute and Sustainability
Management Program to dig into
its garbage and determine its makeup.
A team of graduate students combed
through 600 pounds of neighborhood
trash and concluded that an impressive
84 percent or more could be diverted
from landfi lls through separation of
recyclable, compostable and recoverable
waste.
The fi ndings led USP to take action.
With support from evian and Danone
North America, USP engaged IDEO, a
global design fi rm, to design a prototype
for a new waste-collection system,
plus a consumer-awareness campaign.
Last fall, IDEO staffers asked people
in Union Square Park what would
motivate and help them to dispose of
trash properly — be it a coffee cup,
food packaging, newspaper or water
bottle — so that it could be recycled
or composted.
The survey’s takeaways included the
need for simple instructions, multiple
languages and design that refl ects the
area. Based on IDEO’s fi ndings, USP
plans to pilot a new public waste-col-
In March, the 14th Street Y honored Jennifer Falk, the Union Square
Partnership’s executive director, center, and the Partnership with its
Community Builder Award. Joining Falk in accepting the award were,
from left, William Abramson, of Buchbinder & Warren, and Lynne
Brown, N.Y.U. senior vice president and the BID’s president and board
co-chairperson. Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, executive director of the
14th Street Y, is at far right.
lection system and education campaign
in Union Square Park.
USP is working closely with the local
business community to help companies
reduce waste and improve sustainability
practices. In October, USP hosted its
fi rst-ever Zero Waste Forum, featuring
sustainability experts from across New
York City, who shared their insights on
how to reduce waste in offi ces, institutions
and food establishments; how to
comply with New York City’s recycling
and organic waste regulations; and how
to engage customers, staff and vendors
with the efforts. USP has also issued a
“Zero Waste Resource Guide” for businesses
and organizations.
To help reduce food and packaging
waste from the neighborhood’s fl ourishing
food scene, USP is working closely
with several local businesses, including
Breads Bakery, Dig Inn, Think Coffee,
Pret a Manger and Union Square Hospitality
Group, to come up with solutions
that can be used by others.
“Union Square Partnership’s Zero
Waste forum and waste audits are
helping us live up to our values by taking
better care of our environment,”
said Ben Turndorf, digital marketing
manager for Union Square Hospitality
Group. “We’re grateful for USP’s
support in our continued efforts to be
a conscientious and contributing member
of our community.”
In Union Square Park, new wastereduction
efforts are already underway.
more traditional lot for tots, which USP oversees and maintains.
“The core mission of any BID is to keep the
district clean and safe, and the Union Square
Partnership’s Clean Team and operations
managers have done a phenomenal job
COURTESY UNION SQUARE PARTNERSHIP
For the fi rst time, USP implemented a
Zero Waste strategy at its 23rd annual
Harvest in the Square, one of New York
City’s most celebrated culinary events
and fundraisers. Guests were given a
compostable fork at the door and asked
to reuse it, and all paper products and
containers were compostable. These
strategies helped to meet the city’s
standards for a zero-waste event by diverting
90 percent of the event’s trash
from landfi ll. The 2018 event raised
$430,000, up from $367,000 in 2017.
Year-round, USP works day in and
day out with community members to
maintain this urban oasis and the 14th
St. neighborhood. The BID’s 22-member
Clean Team sweeps sidewalks,
power-washes high-traffi c corners,
paints street furniture and removes
graffi ti. During the winter season, team
members salt and clear sidewalks, bus
stops, catch basins and areas around
fi re hydrants to keep the streets clear
and safe.
In warmer months, the Clean Team
sets up the park’s signature bistro tables,
chairs and umbrellas on the park’s west
side, the center lawn, the West Plaza,
at the 138-year-old James Fountain and
throughout the Broadway pedestrian
plaza. As neighborhood parents know
very well and visitors with kids quickly
discover, Union Square Park boasts a
large playground complete with a shiny
steel dome, checkerboard rubber fl oor
mats, and three spinning rides, plus a
improving this area over the last several
decades,” said William Abramson, director
of sales and leasing at Buchbinder
& Warren Realty Group LLC. “Our
board and community are fortunate
to have Operations Manager McLawrence
Glynn and Director of Operations
Tom DiRusso leading the charge
and implementing a host of fi eld projects
to benefi t the neighborhood.”
On the park’s west side, USP unveiled
a new seating area with moveable
bistro tables, chairs and the
Partnership’s signature teal-colored
umbrellas, which were added last
summer in response to feedback from
community members.
USP has also upgraded the park’s irrigation
system, and worked with the
New York City Department of Parks
and Recreation to add new landscaping,
including more than 100 planters.
USP’s work in the community is getting
noticed. In March, at its annual
gala, the 14th Street Y honored USP
and Executive Director Falk, with its
inaugural Community Builder Award.
The award “recognizes champions
who go above and beyond to cultivate
and strengthen their communities and,
in turn, inspire others — individuals,
organizations and local businesses —
to do the same,” according to the 14th
Street Y.
“The 14th Street Y could not think
of a better recipient for our fi rst Community
Builder Award than the Union
Square Partnership and Jennifer Falk,”
said Jordan Brackett, associate executive
director for advancement and planning.
“The Union Square Partnership
has led the way in reinvigorating one
of the most important public spaces in
this city and has helped transform our
neighborhood. I am proud to serve on
USP’s board along with so many individuals
who are so dedicated to our
community. Jennifer is a visionary and
transformative leader who is taking
Union Square Partnership to impressive
heights.”
“We were incredibly humbled by
this recognition from one of our community’s
most valued anchors,” said
Falk. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished
and are working diligently
with our expanding network of neighborhood
partners to keep up the momentum.”
Schneps Media TVG May 2, 2019 19