CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Riverhouse; Battery Park City resident Leonardo DiCaprio; Visionaire.
1. IT WAS CREATED THROUGH RECYCLING
The word “landfill” usually conjures up images of rotting garbage as far as the eye can see, but Battery Park City doesn’t stink (we swear!). The 92-acre waterfront parcel—which abuts the Financial District along the Hudson River—was created partly from soil dug up during the construction of the World Trade Center in the early sixties. It took years for politicians to figure out what to do with the place, but development eventually kicked in and now much has grown from this patch of recycled dirt.
2. THE BOSSES HAVE A CONSCIENCE
Everything built in BPC must be approved by the Battery Park City Authority, the public agency that was created to manage the community’s development. Part of the authority’s mission is to stress environmental responsibility, and all projects must meet strict guidelines regarding adaptable and sustainable design. Rights to develop Battery Park City’s last two vacant residential plots weren’t awarded until 2006, so the authority isn’t shy about taking its time getting things right.
3. IT’S GREEN—LITERALLY
The shapers of Battery Park City knew they had to separate the neighborhood from the skyscrapers and swarms of stockbrokers the area is known for if they wanted to get people to live Downtown. They worked into the master plan a requirement that at least 30 percent of Battery Park City be devoted to public open space, so now parks, lawns, ball fields, and a riverfront esplanade cover nearly 35 acres of BPC.
4. HOLLYWOOD’S MOST FAMOUS ECO AMBASSADOR CALLS IT HOME
Leonardo DiCaprio, long an advocate for environmental causes, recently paid $3.6 million for a water-facing condo in the new Riverhouse building. DiCaprio was even spotted riding his bike to the sales office of the David Rockwell designed building, which counts a wastewater treatment system and rotating rooftop solar panels among its eco-friendly amenities. Tyra Banks is another high-profile Riverhouse buyer.
5. BUILDERS GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY
The country’s first green high-rise apartment building, the Solaire, was completed in BPC in 2003—well before most people had heard Al Gore’s inconvenient truths. The Verdesian, a 26-story luxury rental building, is 40 percent more energy-efficient than required by code and was the first residential high-rise to be certified LEED Platinum, the highest rating handed out by the US Green Building Council. A curvy new 33-story condo tower called the Visionaire is also aiming for LEED Platinum status and bills itself as America’s greenest development. Even the bankers are getting in on the fun: Goldman Sachs is finishing up its 43-story glass-and-steel headquarters—and shooting for LEED Gold certification—on the eastern fringes of the neighborhood.
6. EATING HEALTHY HELPS MORE THAN JUST YOUR WAISTLINE
Union Square may have the city’s most famous greenmarket, but what Battery Park City lacks in name recognition it makes up for in volume. There are five farmer’s markets just a short walk from the neighborhood, including three that operate yearround. Greenmarket farmers use sustainable practices and are often certified organic; best of all, they’re local, so buying from them helps cut down on the absurd amounts of fossil fuels burned to move those edibles long distances.
