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EPA Honors New York Environmental Leaders

Release Date: 04/29/2011
Contact Information: Elizabeth Myer, (212) 637-3860, [email protected]

(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 https://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.

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 pounds 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.

Non-Profit Organization / Business Partnership
Rock and Wrap it Up!
The Buffalo Sabres
The New York Islanders
The New York Rangers
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.


For more details, visit: https://www.epa.gov/region02/eqa

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