Staying up to date on the latest building codes can be a daunting task, but GreenHomeNYC is here to help!  Join us for our May forum in which we'll be focused on the new green zoning amendments and green building codes.  Our speakers will discuss what it's like working with green codes, the impact that they've had on New York City and beyond, and what's on the horizon for green building codes.  Featuring Chris Benedict, RA, Steven Lenard from the NYC Department of City Planning, and Russell Unger from Urban Green Council.

Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Time: 6:30pm to 8:00pm (please arrive early, we'll start promptly at 6:30pm)
Location: NY ACRE, 137 Varick St., 2nd floor, Manhattan NY 10013

RSVP before 4pm on Tuesday, May 15!  Use must register in advance to attend this event.

Our speakers are:

Chris Benedict

Chris Benedict is an architect in New York City. Her firm, Chris Benedict, R.A. specializes in the design of energy efficient, durable, healthy housing projects that are built for the same price as typical construction. Chris Benedict has rehabilitated eighty-one apartment buildings in New York City. Eighteen of these buildings were the first sustainable and energy efficient gut rehabilitation projects in New York City (1997). The project was awarded Environmental Project of the Year by The New York Chapter of The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) and Chris was awarded Environmental Professional of the Year in 1999 by AEE International. Chris’ ground breaking strategies for gut rehabilitation in New York City have become the basis for The City of New York’s new guidelines for construction. Four new construction residential buildings with 104 apartments designed by Chris are complete. These new buildings each use 15% of the energy of a typical building of the same size for heat and hot water, and 50% of the electricity but cost the same to build as typical residential buildings.

Steven Lenard

NESEA Liaison Steven Lenard dedicated himself to sustainability when he realized he may have been producing more pollution than he was cleaning up as a contractor to the Environmental Protection Agency. After getting a bachelor’s in political science and biology at the University of Chicago, Steven spent four years evaluating potential Superfund sites in New England. This inspired him to focus his studies toward a Master in City Planning at MIT on preventing contamination rather than cleaning it up. Steven is now a City Planner with the Department of City Planning working in the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

Russell Unger

Russell Unger is Executive Director of Urban Green Council, U.S. Green Building Council of New York and is a national leader in advocacy, education, and major initiatives for the green building movement. He has spearheaded GPRO: Green Professionals Building Skills Training; convened the Green Codes Task Force at the request of Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Quinn; and drafted and led negotiations on many environmental laws.