Tuesday, March 9, 2010

TSB Tri-State Biodiesel

LOCAL COALITION SEEKING TO TACKLE AIR POLLUTION PROBLEMS ON THE UPPER EASE SIDE ANNOUNCE MARCH 3RD PRESS CONFERENCE

Council Member Jessica Lappin, and environmental group Upper Green Side partners with
Tri-State Biodiesel, local businesses to reduce emissions in some of NYC’S most polluted zips.
(NY, NY) - A Health Department report identifying the Upper East Side as home to some of theCity’s worst air shocked many New Yorkers, but not Brent Baker, CEO of Tri-state Biodiesel. “Thecommunity air survey cited the area’s boilers and hot water heaters as principal sources of pollution,”Baker said, “And I am not surprised. Start with the neighborhood’s density of large buildings that burn petroleum-based heating oil, then add high volume car and truck traffic and you get a pretty
toxic mix.” For the coalition, one solution is simple: affordable, biodiesel blended heating oil fuel at competitive prices. Several local companies, including Tri-State Biodiesel (TSB), have been providing this very product to New Yorkers for several years, offering overnight emissions reductions with no change in service or operations. Buildings that replace #2 and #4 heating oil with biodiesel not only reduce air-borne toxins by up to 90% (and green-house gases by up to 85%), but also dramatically cut the percentage of fats and grease deposited in city’s waste-water stream.

TSB’s biodiesel couldn’t be much greener, given that its main ingredient is recycled cooking oil collected from New York City restaurants - including an ever increasing number located on the Upper East Side. This newly-forged partnership includes City Council Member Jessica Lappin, Upper East Side’s environmental organization, Upper Green Side, local business owners, and residents. The group’s mission is to get the word out to UES landlords and co-op boards, including those on Mayor Bloomberg’s block, that switching to biodiesel will result in a significant improvement in local air quality. And, with the switch to biodiesel, the improvements can take place immediately.
“That Health Department report should serve as a lightening rod for community action,” says Michael Auerbach, of Upper Green Side, “and our coalition is determined to make a real impact on an area of obvious need.” He adds, “And we owe it to our kids who are currently breathing polluted air.”

The campaign will formally launch with a March 3rd with a press conference featuring local residents, business owners and elected officials, pledging to work together to improve air quality by the use of biodiesel in the UES and around the city.
Draft Copy – Not for Circulation

What: Press Conference announcing campaign for clean air using local biodiesel.
When: Wednesday, March 3RD, 2010 at 10am
Where: Absolute Piano at 1646 Park Avenue near 116th Street.
Confirmed Speakers include;
Jessica Lappin -- City Council Member for Upper East Side
Michael Auerbach -- Upper Green Side
Brent Baker – Tri-State Biodiesel
Kaoru Muramatsu – Building owner using biodiesel heating oil
Steven Salsberg -- Vice Chairman of Council on the Environment NYC
Invited Speakers include;
Jonathan Bing – State Assemblyman for Upper East Side
Daniel R. Garodnick -- City Council Member for Upper East Side
Melissa Mark-Viverito -- City Council Member for Upper East Side
James F. Gennaro – City Council Member, Chair Environmental Committee
For more information on this event contact: Tri-State Biodiesel Communications

Coordinator Yiyi
Zhang at 718-860-6600 or yiyi@tristatebiodiesel.com



About Tri-State Biodiesel (TSB):

TSB is a New York City based company that provides green jobs by recycling locally collected, used cooking oil into clean burning, high quality biodiesel fuel. TSB believes that the use of sustainablyproduced biodiesel - in combination with demand reduction measures such as mass-transit and transportation alternatives and in concert with technological advances such as diesel hybrids and light rail systems - can create an America that is both energy independent and sustainable. In 2009,
TSB was honored with the Social Venture Network's (SVN) Innovation Award for CEO Brent Baker's work in maintaining "triple bottom line" principals at the company.
For more information on the company please visit: http://www.tristatebiodiesel.com/

About Upper Green Side:
Founded in 2006, Upper Green Side is a 501 (c)(3) all-volunteer, non-profit organization promoting awareness and grassroots action on local environmental issues on the Upper East & West Sides of Manhattan such as local food, progressive transportation, energy efficiency, and waste reduction.

Our mission: Build a healthy, sustainable community and environment not only for our own wellbeing, but for generations to come. UGS is a sponsor of area electronic recycling, two local Greenmarkets, and determined advocate for cleaner buildings and transportation.

For more information on Upper Green Side’s efforts to make New York a greener place, please visit
http://www.uppergreenside.org.

Absolute Piano is a minority owned business and building owner that is using biodiesel heating oil supplied by Tri-State Biodiesel.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Biz summit brings green thinkers to Queens

By Jeremy Walsh
Thursday, February 25, 2010

Eco-friendly technology and policies are making their way into Queens and the rest of the city, but legal conundrums are hot on their heels, experts told entrepreneurs at the second annual Queens Green Business Summit last week.

Speaking to a small group at Queens College Friday, attorney Charlotte Biblow of the law firm Farrel Fritz warned that the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s brownfield clean-up program, which offers tax incentives to developers who remediate polluted sites, has been slow inducting properties into the program.

Partly in response to this, the mayor’s office is creating a local brownfield cleanup organization which is gearing up to allot $30 million in grants to property remediators over the next three years.

Mark McIntyre, an attorney for the mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, said the city hopes to streamline the application process compared with the state’s process.

Another major reason for creating the new agency is the state’s refusal to grant any brownfield clean-up incentives for property with “historic fill,” a term used to describe the construction waste and coal ash comprising the ground beneath many of the buildings in the city.

They also hope to create a vacant property database to help developers better understand what is available.

City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) is also pushing to hasten the implementation of green technology, sponsoring a Council bill that would create an interagency board to review and approve them for developers in one swoop.

Catherine Barton of the Pinwheel Group hailed Gennaro’s initiative, posing a scenario in which the Forest Hills Tennis Club might want to install a wind turbine on its roof.

“The amount of paperwork and testing is so onerous that the tennis club is discouraged even though they know that in three years they’ll be self-sufficient and have paid back their investment,” she said.

But Manhattan entrepreneur and event founder Steven Salsberg had a few words of criticism about blindly following the lure of green jobs and technology, claiming there were more than two dozen nonprofit groups being given grants to train people to install photovoltaic solar panels, which have never been popular on the East Coast. “You’re not going to get a job installing PV anytime soon,” he said.


Barton also announced the Doe Fund will soon start collecting restaurant grease from the five boroughs, creating as many as 1,300 jobs in the next year and freeing up space in Dumpsters that saves small businesses money.

Long Island attorney Joseph Harbeson pointed out that the LEED Certification standard for so-called “green buildings” has exploded in popularity over the last five years, but noted its rapid growth has caused numerous headaches when a massive construction project fails to win certification and existing laws fail to identify a single responsible party among a small army of subcontractors.

“All of the complexity is going to lead to a lot of work for lawyers,” he said.

Save The Date!!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Major Jewish Philanthropist Explores Chabad's Russian Roots

When Guma Aguiar, a 32 year-old American billionare, gave 13 year-old Arpyom Rusanov of Kharkov, Ukraine, a gift of tefillin last week, he pointed to an ironic revision in the century-old storyline of Jewish history. Read More....

Steps smalls businesses can make to take advantage of green market opportunities

Steven Salsberg speaks with the SBDC (Small Business Development Center) of Laguardia College. Check out the tips Steven advices on taking advantage of green market opportunities:

Ask the Expert with Steven Salsberg

Friday, December 4, 2009

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Essex County Green Business Breakfast Summit

Ecoventions USA and Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District host the Essex County Green Business Breakfast Summit on October 22, 2009. Take a moment to view the opening remarks.


Monday, October 19, 2009

Best Wishes Alliah Sheta!

After outstanding work at the Salsberg Group of Companies, where she successfully launched Ecoventions USA and set new standards for local expos on Corporate Social Responsibility , Green Business & MWBE Business opportunities, Alliah Sheta is now taking a new position with the RSPA in Charlotte, NC as their new Events Manager.

We all wish her the best of luck!