Celebrating Earth Day

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Earth Day is an opportunity to reflect on the many ways we can protect our planet and its wildlife. Individual New Yorkers do that in several ways, such as recycling, utilizing public transportation, or cutting down on food and water waste. Here at DDC, we have instilled a respect for our natural environment in each project we design and build.

When it comes to creating or renovating buildings for public use, our goal is to make them sustainable through low energy consumption, the use of recycled material, and natural lighting and ventilation. When tasked with building or rehabilitating critical infrastructure, we prioritize sustainability and the protection of natural habitats.

Below you can read more about some of our sustainable Public Buildings and Infrastructure projects.

Marlboro Agricultural Education Center

The Marlboro Agricultural Education Center, which broke ground in Summer 2024, aims to empower the youth of Gravesend, Brooklyn and its surrounding neighborhoods. The finished structure will feature a rooftop greenhouse for raising fish and plants as well as labs and classrooms to be used for education.

The Center will be used to teach community members various methods of sustainable food production and provide more greenspace for visitors to enjoy. The Center’s environmental education goals will be complimented by the sustainable nature of the building.

Expected to meet LEED Gold standards, the Center will be made from durable materials that will ensure the structure needs minimal maintenance. The building will utilize natural lighting, especially in the greenhouse growing areas, which will minimize energy consumption. The greenhouse will be used for sustainable food production, increasing access to healthy food for the surrounding community.

Starlight Park

The City’s parks are crucial to the health and wellbeing of not only New Yorkers, but also native plants and animals that make their homes there. The award-winning expansion of Starlight Park, which opened to the public in Spring 2023, was one of DDC’s many projects aimed at adding more greenspace across New York City.

DDC expanded Starlight Park by converting 2.7 acres of paved, industrial property to greenspace. While expanding the area, two new bridges were built across the rivers, which now link together many of Starlight Park’s existing structures and amenities, such as ball fields, playgrounds, and the community education facility. DDC worked to revitalize the area’s shoreline, planting 140 trees and nearly 12,000 shrubs in the process. 50,000 tons of soil was removed and replaced to promote ecological health in the newly restored land.

The effort to expand Starlight Park closed a gap in the Bronx River Greenway, which is a significant milestone in the continued effort to ensure that every New Yorker has access to parks and greenspace. The conversion of industrial space into park land also aligns with the citywide goal of fostering healthy habitats for our wildlife.

Queens Garage and Community Space

The Queens Garage and Community Space, DDC’s first project in Queens to utilize the Design-Build method, was completed in July 2024. This award-winning project received LEED Gold certification for environmental sustainability while the parking area received Parksmart certification for high performance and sustainability.

The building, which added much needed parking and community event space to the Kew Gardens neighborhood, includes a variety of sustainability features. There is on-site stormwater retention to prevent runoff, as well as high efficiency lighting and solar panels to reduce energy use. Additionally, the garage offers electric vehicle charging stations and 63 bike racks.

Like many DDC projects, the Queens Garage and Community Space features a green roof. By partially covering the roof in vegetation, it helps to avoid rainwater runoff while simultaneously creating a habitat for wildlife to flourish. Check out our Green Roofs page to learn more.

New Creek Bluebelt

Preventing flooding and mitigating the damage caused by flooding are priorities for the City, and infrastructure projects across the five boroughs reflect that. The New Creek Bluebelt, which is part of the City’s Bluebelt Program, effectively reduces flooding in the Mid-Island section of Staten Island while also helping native wildlife thrive.

Bluebelts are built by restoring natural drainage system, such as stream and wetlands, so that they can gather runoff and filter it naturally. In the case of the New Creek Bluebelt, it collects water from a 2,249-acre area, filters it, and then discharges into the New York Bay.

An important component in the construction of a Bluebelt is the addition of natural flora. For example, during the New Creek Bluebelt’s 2023 expansion, over 800 native shrubs, 400 trees, and 85,000 wildflowers were added. These added plants help the system deal with stormwater, provide a habitat for animal life to excel, and beautify the surrounding area.

NYPD 40th Precinct Station House

Opened in Fall 2024, the NYPD 40th Precinct Station House in the Bronx is the first station house to include a community room. The station house has already shown to be a benefit to both the NYPD and the community they serve, as seen in the video below.

Designed to meet LEED Gold standards, the station house prioritizes sustainability. Along with a planted green roof, the building uses 33 percent less water than similar buildings and 10 percent less energy than similar precinct buildings. It features a green roof, and new trees and shrubs were planted on the block where the station house is located.

While building the structure, local and recycled materials were used when available, and the air conditioning system avoids the use of hazardous refrigerants. The 40th Precinct Station House, along with similar DDC projects like the 116th Precinct in Brooklyn, have set the standard for sustainable public buildings.

Idlewild Park

When the City needs to make critical improvements to our infrastructure, such as expanding the sewer system, DDC ensures there is as little disruption as possible to wildlife near the project. DDC is making that effort at Idlewild Park in Southeast Queens, where the installation of a triple barrel storm sewer will help to reduce flooding.

Located near John F. Kennedy Airport, Idlewild Park provides crucial greenspace for nearby residents as well as local wildlife. Part of the project’s scope involves revitalizing the park’s tidal wetlands through the addition of native plants such as smooth cordgrass and salt meadows cordgrass. A healthier wetlands area can serve its natural function of filtering water and providing a habitat for the many aquatic and terrestrial species that live there.

The storm sewer’s installation has been carefully planned to minimize any disturbances to the natural environment. Once the work is complete, DDC will ensure that any disrupted vegetation is reintroduced, and that the area’s topography is returned to its original state.

Newtown Creek Nature Walk

Completed in Summer 2021, the expanded Newtown Creek Nature Walk in Greenpoint, Brooklyn repurposed what was once industrial land and shoreline adjacent to the Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility. Created by environmental artist George Trakas, the Nature Walk is a self-guided tour that allows visitors to learn more about the history of the East River, Greenpoint, and our planet.

The Nature Walk’s expansion added new access points as well as seating, bicycle racks, rain gardens and water fountains. Landscaping efforts included the addition of trees, shrubs and grasses as well as five tree fossils estimated to be over 380 million years old.

Along the walk visitors can read etchings that depict the evolutionary history of earth, see navigational star constellations depicted using solar-powered lights, and find a water fountain carved into a 3.4-billion-year-old rock.