Biz orders green wall

Biz orders green wall

You know all about the green roof – a blanket of vegetation engineered to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter, to grow fruit and flowers, to capture storm-water run off, to reduce air pollution and to lure animals back to the city.

You know all about the green roof; the Bronx County Courthouse boasts one, after all. What about the green wall?

“We installed a green wall at [Sims] Metal Management a month ago,” Sustainable South Bronx executive director Miquela Craytor said.

The green wall in question consists of vines set to a grid of steel wires. When the vines grow, it will perform like a green roof. That is, it will keep Hunts Point cool in the summer and warm in the winter, reduce run off, clean the air and soften the industrial landscape.

Sims Metal Management, the world’s largest metal and electronics recycler, operates on four continents. A publicly traded firm, it operates two facilities in Hunts Point. Each boasts a green wall.

“Rather than settle for a brick wall, we wanted to add to the neighborhood,” Sims spokesman Daniel Strechay said.

SSB and The Point EDC installed one green wall, planted trees and painted a mural for Sims on Bay Avenue. The Gaia Institute, a City Island non-profit, installed a second green wall for Sims on Edgewater Road.

SSB launched a for-profit green tech firm in 2008, SmartRoofs LLC. It has completed six green projects to date. The Bay Avenue green wall cost Sims $100,000.

“The green wall [on Bay Avenue] is exciting,” Craytor said. “It sets the tone for business in Hunts Point.”