Brooklyn Gets NYC's First Wind Turbines

Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials opened up the nation's first multi-story green industrial facility at the Brooklyn Navy Yard yesterday. The Perry Avenue Building, which underwent a $25 million renovation, features the city's first wind turbines mounted on a roof; remember when Bloomberg broached the idea of harnessing wind power last year?

The 89,000 square-foot structure has rooftop solar panels, and along with the turbines, they will provide power to about 10% of the building. The city's press release also states the Perry Avenue Building has "reflective roofing and pavement to reduce surface temperatures, the use of recycled rain water in toilets, recycled building materials, high-efficiency lighting fixtures, natural ventilation systems and special accommodation for bicyclists and low-emission vehicles."

Surround Art, the art services company who is leasing the building from the city, will lease space to artists, is paying a little bit of a premium for having a green home—Surround Art CEO Mick Murray told The Local "he was paying $20 per square foot in the new building — nearly triple his $6-a-foot rent in his other Navy Yard space, about double the $11-a-foot going rate for his kind of industrial space and 15 percent above the rate for new industrial space." Murray said it was worth it, "It makes a really big statement to our industry."

The city also announced plans for other projects at the Navy Yard, including the Duggal Greenhouse, which involves turning a one-story 30,000 square-foot building into "a 60,000-square-foot LEED Platinum certified facility that will be used to manufacture eco-friendly products and will become a laboratory for new sustainable products," and ultimately hopes that 1,700 jobs will be created.