History

You can trace the history of Solar One all the way back to the 1960s and the efforts of the local community centered around Stuyvesant Town to create more open space along the East River. The site of Stuyvesant Cove Park was long used as part of New York City’s “working waterfront,” starting in the 19^th century when the area was known as “Gastown” due to the numerous Manufactured Gas Plants covering the area.  The Park now sits on land that was formerly occupied by the East 21stStreet manufactured gas plant (MGP), which is currently part of Peter Cooper Village. Now home to New York City’s only all-native species park and first standalone solar-powered building, we are working hard to create a greener City through education, outreach and the arts.  Here’s how it all happened.

Community Environmental Center

Community Environmental Center (CEC) was started in 1994 by Richard Cherry, who created it out of the ashes of the New York Urban Coalition, where he had worked for many years.  The Urban Coalition had broken into the world of Weatherization and energy efficiency and Rick decided that was the area where he would focus his new organization.  CEC began doing Weatherization work in low-income buildings in Brooklyn and Queens and that remains the focus of their work today.  Over the years, CEC has branched out into other areas, based on Rick’s vision and interests in things like education, green building and deconstruction. Today, CEC employs well over 100 people dedicated to increasing energy performance, reducing waste and promoting clean, renewable energy and sustainable environmental policies.

CEC’s current programs include the Weatherization Assistance Program, Energy Efficiency Services as a contractor for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Advanced Green Building Services such as energy modeling and LEED consulting, Solar Thermal installations, job training and more.  CEC also spawned Solar One and Build It Green (more on them in a minute).

Stuyvesant Cove Park Is Born

During the 1980s, New York City began to make plans for a large residential complex called “Riverwalk” to be constructed on the site east of the FDR Drive, extending out on platforms over the East River.  The sheer size of the development (no unlike the existing Waterside towers) would have further changed the tenor of the neighborhood, increasing density, blocking views and removing an opportunity to connect people with the waterfront.

Many in the community decided they did not want such a large development being added to an already densely populated neighborhood. What they wanted was more open space and unfettered access to the waterfront.  Despite its less-than-ideal conditions, people were already using the East River waterfront and the “beach” near 20^th Street for recreational purposes. A group called Citizens United Against Riverwalk spring up to battle the city and the developers.  After many years, they won and the development plans were quashed. What to do next?

The Community Board & ULURP

The community began to work on plans for what they wanted the space to become. Eventually they settled on plans for a Park. These plans passed through the Community Board and then were subjected to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).  ULURP was established by the City to standardized a procedure whereby applications affecting land use would be publicly reviewed.  Plans were drawn up and submitted to the Department of City Planning then to Community Board 6 (CB6) for public scrutiny. CB6 made recommendations and passed the project along for approvals by the Borough President, the City Planning Commission, the City Council and the Mayor. With the project approved, that left the simple (hah!) matter of how to fund construction and the ongoing operation of the site.

NYC Economic Development Corporation

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) was the owner of the parcel of land.  They took the plans and began planning for the transformation of the site. With help from many in the community, funding for construction was cobbled together from a variety of federal, state and city sources. This was accomplished in part due to the site’s position along a proposed East River Bikeway that was to be part of the larger Greenway circumnavigating all of Manhattan. EDC solicited design proposals and selected Donna Walcavage Associates as the landscape architects for the park, now known as Stuyvesant Cove Park after the section of the East River adjacent to the site.  Several options were considered, including some that would have brought the park out into the water, utilizing the “beach” that existed thanks to illegally dumped concrete that conspired to trap sand brought in by the shifting tides.

However, there was little funding available for park maintenance. The community had proposed having an “anchor tenant” who would take on the responsibility of maintaining the Park in exchange for a low-cost lease on part of the space at the north end. Possibilities included a restaurant before settling on an Environmental Learning Center.

Building the Park and Selecting a Tenant

Health and safety concerns dictated that the final design of the park stop at the bulkhead (the structure separating land from water). But there was still some uprooting to do.  As part of the site’s transformation, the City decided to move Marginal Street from under the FDR closer to Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, making it a northward extension of Avenue C. The space under the drive became a parking lot, providing a bit of a buffer between traffic and the Park.

Construction of the site and Stuyvesant Cove Park began between 1999 and 2000. In 2000, EDC put out a Request For Proposals looking for organizations who would be interested in running the Environmental Learning Center and maintaining the Park.  CEC was one of the groups who responded and in 2001 they were selected as the winners, with Kiss + Cathcart as the architects for the larger Center (the nascent Solar 2) to come.  CEC’s prize was a swath of blacktop directly north of the Park with a 30-year lease for just $1 per year.  EDC agreed to contribute up to $100,000 per year in matching funds for the upkeep of the Park, money that came in part from the revenue generated from the parking lots on the Skyport pier and under the FDR Drive.

The Park was largely completed by the end of 2001 and CEC hired Jeff Tucker as the first park manager in early 2002 to begin managing the maintenance and upkeep of the Park. Jeff helped the Park flourish in those critical first few years and established s volunteer program that successfully utilizes the community to keep things looking great.

NYSERDA Steps Up

Calling on his connections at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Rick was able to secure a $745,000, 3-year grant to fund the development of the Environmental Learning Center on the site adjacent to the East River.  This money would cover the erection of a temporary facility from which CEC could maintain the park and run programs. This support was the key element that allowed CEC to devote the necessary resources to creating a robust set of programs that would educate and engage the community to build a base of support that would allow for the necessary growth to make the project self-sustaining in the future.

Building Solar 1

With a need to have a base of operations on site before the planned Learning Center could be built, CEC had the good fortune of having an interim solution at the ready. Kiss + Cathcart had previously set up a small solar-powered building for an Earth Day celebration in Battery Park City in 2000.  That building – constructed from a Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) system – had been dismantled and was sitting in a warehouse waiting for another chance to be put to work. That chance came when CEC got the go head from the Department of Buildings to install the building on the lease site at the north end of the Park.  The SIPs system was very efficient and the building even came with a 3.5 kW array of solar panels, making it a valuable teaching tool for our focus on environmental education.

Beginning in late 2002, contractors began constructing the 500 ft.² building – possibly the smallest in Manhattan, but also the only stand-alone solar-powered building in the city – thus its designation as Solar 1 upon completion. A foundation was put in place to anchor the building against the winds coming off the East River.

The raw space was fit out with a bathroom, sink and cabinets, as well as a loft space above where the inverter and batteries for the solar system were placed. A ramp was installed to ensure handicapped access. The south side had stairs up to the sliding doors until 2004, when a stage was installed after Build It Green recycled one from a Fashion Week and donated it for use in our programs. Due to the size of the solar array, no heating or cooling system was installed at first.

Grand Opening

On June 6, 2003 CEC and the community hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Park to celebrate the success of the community’s efforts and to honor those who had made it possible. Guests and speakers included Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, State Senators Roy Goodman and Thomas Duane, State Assemblyman Steve Sanders, City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz and community leaders Joy Garland, Sandy Simmons and Marty Barrett. A beautiful day greeted the attendees and press covering the event and Solar 1 made its public debut, humming along on a supremely sunny day.

CEC Stuyvesant Cove, Inc.

With the park built and the Solar 1 Center up and running, the time was right to create the new organization that would take on the responsibility to running the project and begin working towards the building of Solar 2. Taking its name from the parent organization and the Park it was created to manage, CEC Stuyvesant Cove, Inc. (CECSC) was born in 2003.

First Steps

Even before the building was in place, CEC had established a presence in the Park with the maintenance effort and some early outreach to the community in the form of interns selling beverages and talking to people about energy as well as some small lectures and forays into the arts.  In 2003, these programs became more formal with John Garvie (one of the early interns) coming on to provide classes and educational opportunities and Tamar Rogoff curating arts performances.  The local community was also given the chance to program activities such as workshops, dance lessons and more. Though this was a new enterprise, we quickly made inroads by working with local schools, creating partnerships, and filling a void in the community for public space and events. By the spring of 2004, hundreds of students were already making their way to Solar 1 for classes on energy and the urban environment. We were also presenting experimental dance performances in the Park.

Chris Collins Comes Aboard

The new organization needed a new leader, so CEC began soliciting resumes for an Executive Director for CECSC.  Dozens of qualified applicants lined up for the chance, and after an exhaustive process, Chris Collins was chosen.  Chris had a background as a lawyer, but had spent many years as a Project Manager for tech companies in the Bay Area. He was originally from New York and played a significant role in the founding of the Gay Center in Greenwich Village during the 1980s. That combination of experience proved to be the right mix for an organization that needed to grow to be successful. Chris came on board in September of 2004 and set about finding ways to expand the impact and funding base of the organization.

Solar One Emerges

The name “CEC Stuyvesant Cove, Inc.” proved to be more than a little confusing to a lot of people. If you didn’t know what CEC meant or where Stuyvesant Cove was, you wouldn’t have any idea what the organization did.  So Chris decided to engage the staff in some branding exercises to come up with an improved name to use. Staff spent some time brainstorming and discussing possibilities with a team from LaPlaca Cohen before adapting the “Solar 1” name from the building and adjusting it slightly to “Solar One.” Along with the name came a new logo with the now familiar S¹ mark and sunburst.