Happy Sunday from the last day of Climate Week 2026. If you’re anything like me, Climate Week is… overwhelming, to put it mildly.
To be clear: It’s great to get the world’s climate leaders in our city every year, at the same time as the annual U.N. General Assembly. Climate Week brings some of my favorite people to my city all at the same time (Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, one of my favorite scientists, at Pioneer Works, one of my favorite Brooklyn organizations, speaking about oceans, one of my favorite topics? Who could ask for anything more?). In the face of warnings about this year’s unprecedented El Niño and general backward movement and misinformation by our federal government on all things climate, it’s refreshing to see both honesty and optimism from leaders. The takeaway for me, this year, is the same as it’s been for a few years: We have the solutions and they’re cheaper than ever — we just need the political willpower to move as quickly as we can on the scale that we need.
But it’s also a lot — more events than one human could conceivably attend without a time machine. If it has all felt like a little too much to get your head around, I’ve made it simpler. I gathered a list of some of the organizations in and around Brooklyn who presented at this year’s Climate Week and do the work to build climate resilience and action year-round. Some are just great organizations to follow; others are even better to get involved with to ensure this week’s insights are carried throughout the rest of the year.
Resilient Red Hook is a community-based committee working to create a more resilient and sustainable Red Hook, a neighborhood devastated by Hurricane Sandy.
Sure We Can is a non-profit redemption center and community hub in East Williamsburg that connects the most overlooked green workers — canners, who collect cans and bottles on the streets for redemption — to their community while building a circular economy.
Field Form is a “resilient landscape studio” focused on projects that help reimagine how New York City relates to water. At Climate Week, they released Flood Form, a platform that allows NYC’s homeowners, businesses, and institutions better understand their flood risk.
BioBAT Art Space and MESH_ARTS are both spaces working at the intersection of art and science. On Tuesday, they opened a collaborative exhibition called “Retooling,” open through October 11, which looks at how artistic practices have built tools to handle ecological crises.
BATWorks is a future climate tech incubator at the Brooklyn Army Terminal providing a home base and support to the ecosystem of climate tech start-ups in New York City.
Big Reuse, FABSCRAP, and Brooklyn Creative Reuse are all recycling and reuse centers in Brooklyn dedicated to reducing waste and building a circular economy. Both Big Reuse and FABSCRAP hosted facility tours during Climate Week.
Climate Changemakers is a nationwide advocacy network mobilizing people to get engaged in political climate action. They hosted one of their regular events — an hour-long “evening of action” — in Gowanus during Climate Week and will continue to do so every Wednesday throughout the year.
Newtown Creek Alliance is an organization dedicated to the revitalization of one of the most polluted waterways in the U.S. They regularly host walks and bike tours along the creek, as well as events at their green roof, Kingsland Wildflowers.
BK ROT is a bike-powered (aka fossil-fuel free!) compost service hauling compost and food waste around Brooklyn.
350Brooklyn is a volunteer-driven advocacy group focused on effective local climate action.
Brooklyn Solarworks designs and installs solar on residential rooftops across Brooklyn and beyond.
This list just scratches the surface of the urgent climate work being done every day in Brooklyn, during and beyond Climate Week.
Have any Climate Week insights? I’d love to hear them — you can reach me at [email protected].
– Ella Spungen, Editor, Bluedot Living Brooklyn
Climate News, In Brief
Lead in Schools: NYC announced last Thursday that it will start to do more to make sure there’s less lead in public school drinking water. At 33% of schools in Brooklyn, the level exceeded state standards.
Greening NYCHA: Some NYCHA apartments will soon have clean energy technologies — heat pumps, induction stoves, high-efficiency windows, and radiant heat panels — as part of a five-year goal to transition 20,000 apartments from fossil-fuel heating systems. The city unveiled a “model sustainability” apartment with example upgrades this week.
NYS Fights Trump Over Wind: Gov. Kathy Hochul and NY Attorney General Letitia James are suing the Trump administration over two deals that would pay energy companies $1.4 billion of taxpayer money to cancel several offshore wind projects.
Transmitter Park Project Nixed: Community Board 1 voted to reject a NYC Parks proposal to bring a 40-slip marina and restaurant to the small WNYC Transmitter Park in Greenpoint last week.
Pee in Public: It just got easier to visit Brooklyn’s parks. This week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a pilot to bring modular public bathrooms to several plazas and parks in the borough and the rest of the city.
Sustainable Crafting: The Brooklyn Public Library recently announced a new craft library, allowing Brooklynites to share materials for printmaking, fiber arts, book- and button-making — cheaper and more sustainable!
Tree Plan Disrupts Feng Shui: Chinese American community members in Bensonhurst have objected to plans by NYC Parks to place new tree wells directly in front of their doors, which Councilmember Susan Zhuang said would disrupt feng shui and disrespect a 5,000-year-old cultural practice.
IBX Renderings: Plans for the long-promised Interborough Express, a light-rail connection between Brooklyn and Queens, moved forward recently as Gov. Hochul released new renderings of accessible IBX stations.
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Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza rings with the sound of Rhiannon Giddens and Resistance Revival Chorus' "Freedom Highway" as 40 life-size buffalo puppets paw the ground. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
A herd of 40 life-size buffalo puppets, followed by thousands of entranced spectators, paraded through Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, and Brooklyn Bridge Park last Saturday.
It was easy to believe the buffalo were alive, even though the colored thread holding their burlap bodies together was visible. The magnificent creatures lumbered, stomped, and pawed, at times lunging toward the crowds. Handlers appeared to hold them back, shouting commands in Arabic and Xhosa, a Bantu language.
“Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi” was part public art spectacle and part spiritual journey. The event reflected on the historical mass slaughter of millions of buffalo, animals central to many Native American communities and their ways of life, and celebrated the buffalo's recent return from near extinction as part of an Indigenous-led movement.
“These animals are coming back in big numbers after they were driven to near extermination, and driving them to extermination was a political act. Telling that story is crucial in today's America,” said the artist behind the parade, Amir Nizar Zuabi.
For some, fall is all about the spooky stuff. For others, it’s the season of soft blankets, glowing candles, and making home feel a little warmer. Whichever camp you fall into, you’ll enjoy these thoughtful picks that bring a little autumn atmosphere home.
Friendsheep’s colorful wool décor adds an easy dose of autumn charm. Handmade in Nepal by Fair Trade artisans, the brand’s cheerful coasters, garlands, and dryer balls bring seasonal color and personality to everyday spaces — no plastic pumpkins required. ($15+)
Sackcloth & Ashes makes cozy blankets designed for chilly nights, afternoons on the couch, and curling up on crisp fall weekends. For every blanket purchased, the company donates one blanket to a homeless shelter in the state where the blanket is delivered, so every order makes a positive impact in your own community. ($120+)
Made in Wisconsin, Northern Forge’s handmade steel Halloween decorations are built to last year after year. We’ve just increased our assortment and now have even more spooky solar-powered light pillars and yard stakes, in addition to a wider variety of customizable home address signs. Shipping is free. ($35+)
Dear Dot,
The cost of my utilities is steadily going up. What can I do to reduce what it’s costing?
– Nina
Dear Nina,
Living lighter on the planet shouldn’t be a matter of spending more money. That’s not to say that electric vehicles and solar panels and clothing made from natural fibers aren’t all positive things — they are! It’s rather to say that they are not the only way to address climate change. A far better solution is to look at where we can cut back.
Just as we can get our vehicles to consume less fuel simply by leaving them in the driveway (and instead walking/biking/rollerblading/busing/carpooling/the list goes on), we can consume less energy in our homes by taking some very simple steps.
Got a question for Dot? Write her at [email protected].
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BLUEDOT LIVING KITCHEN
This perfectly pink hummus is more than just a pretty dip. It is a bowl of waste-busting deliciousness, great for using up leftover cooked beets. Just dice them up and add them to your food processor along with everything else! Find all kinds of beets at the farmers market, and check out our October Greenmarket Guide for tips on what seasonal produce to look out for next month.
BROOKLYN WILDLIFE WATCH
Yellow-rumped warbler. Photo by Trac Vu on Unsplash.
Biologists Stephanie Szarmach and David Toews have been studying the journeys of migratory songbirds like the yellow-rumped warbler by loading birds up with tiny geolocator “backpacks” filled with sensors.
Learn how the scientists know where to recapture the birds to collect the backpack data and what we now know about where these birds spend the winter, thanks to their research.
The Bluedot Brooklyn newsletter is edited by Ella Spungen. If you have any questions, suggestions, ideas, or want to tell us what you’re doing, email [email protected].
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