Green Options » broadway

NYC Giving Times Square to Pedestrians

Becky Striepe — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:00:39 +0000

New York City barricaded Broadway around Times and Herald Squares on Sunday night, turning stretches of Broadway into pedestrian plazas.

[Times Square Billboards. Creative Commons photo by Matt Mendoza]

With pedestrian traffic in Times Square up over 200% from 1980, the area was as riddled with people jams as it was with traffic jams. City officials think that re-routing auto traffic to Sixth and Seventh Avenues will open the area up, ease air pollution, and help businesses.

Broadway’s Bright Lights Go Green

mcmilker — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:27:42 +0000

The Environmental Leader reports that new green initiatives are changing the Great White Way.

The Broadway theater community has outlined a series of goals as part of a new environmental initiative. “Broadway Goes Green” hopes to reduce Broadway’s carbon footprint, adopt environmentally sustainable practices and promote environmental awareness in the creation and presentation of Broadway shows.

The new Broadway Goes Green website serves as a repository for all of the green initiatives undertaken by the theatre community in New York City. These include little things that we have recommended on our site, like replacing disposable mugs and turning off lights and big things like replacing the marquee lights that mark the top spots in the theatre district and encouraging purchase of carbon offsets for touring companies.

The initiative was announced with typical theatrics says The New York Times, by

And so it came to pass that Marcie Dodd, the current Elphaba in the Broadway production of “Wicked,” in full costume and green makeup, introduced Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to a crowd at the Eugene O’Neill Theater on Tuesday. The occasion was the official commencement of Broadway Goes Green, a partnership between the city and Broadway that is meant to shrink the Shrek-size carbon footprint of the Great White Way.

Going Green on Broadway

Becky Striepe — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:00:17 +0000

[Image credit: David at Flickr under a Creative Commons license]

The lights are still bright, but thanks to theater owners and The Broadway League teaming up with the NRDC and the city, the lights are also LEDs and compact fluorescents on Broadway.

On Tuesday, the cast of Wicked and Mayor Bloomberg announced the roll out of Broadway Goes Green. Along with replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs and CFLs, theaters are taking steps like using eco-friendly detergent to wash their costumes and icing performers’ sore muscles with bags of frozen peas rather than chemical ice packs.