Those Recycled Pine Benches at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Yesterday we told you about the wood that the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation is salvaging from the demolition of the Cold Storage Warehouse and turning into benches for the park. Well, today we’ve got a photo of the benches themselves that have been installed already along the promenade and pathways of Pier 1; more…
Yesterday we told you about the wood that the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation is salvaging from the demolition of the Cold Storage Warehouse and turning into benches for the park. Well, today we’ve got a photo of the benches themselves that have been installed already along the promenade and pathways of Pier 1; more will be fabricated and installed at Pier 6 as well. In addition, we have learned, salvaged timbers are being used to clad the gatehouses at entrances to Pier 1 and 6. Cool beans.
Demolition, Recycling Underway at Brooklyn Bridge Park [Brownstoner]
The building was being torn down anyway. Saving the old wood was probably not expensive. In doing my own restoration, re-using old material saved me bundles. Fabrication of any new benches was going to cost. Asking for a spread sheet to compare the method used vs. brand new would truly be a waste. Park benches in other cities don’t take the wear & tear of those in NYC – aside from numbers of people, there’s a huge temperature differential sunner to winter & these benches are also subject to slightly saline spray from nearby waters. All in all, these benches are a better deal than your unreconstructed hobby horse, benson.
Minard;
One last thought.
Your post perfectly captures the elitism inherent in the preservationist movement.
All over this country, 10’s of thousand’s of park benches are built and installed each year, in localities rich and poor. Somehow, they get by with modest budgets, and make do with the choice of materials available.
But here you have a movement that, at a time when our state is teetering towards bankruptcy, claims that the only choice of materials that is “contextual” with this setting is either : a) expensive recycled wood or b) tropical wood that will destroy the rain forest.
This is a joke. A movement that has turned into a joke of an orthodoxy, that is not sustainable. Enjoy it while you can. Sooner or later, economic reality catches up.
benson,
bye!
Minard;
Are you kidding, or what? The only alternative is a tropical hardwood???? There are no composite or synthetic materials available, or does that offend your Brooklyn Heights sensitivity???
Do the precious folks of Brooklyn Heights demand that their tush only rest on “authentic” and “natural” materials???? As a result, we should spend gobs of taxpayer money to recycle wood from a cold-storage warehouse tear-down. I get it.
I have to get out of this place.
the timber is southern long-leaf yellow pine, it is impervious to moisture and bugs and is no longer available.
This was timber harvested from primordial wetlands, it just is not available any longer except as re-cycled product. The alternative would have been tropical hardwood harvested from rainforests and falsely marketed as “renewable” or “plantation grown” or whatever other fiction.
Lech;
I don’t doubt that there are circumstances where salvaged wood is a cheaper raw material for a mill than fresh-cut timber. However, my gut tells me that such is not the case here.
The building from which this wood was salvaged is a cold-storage warehouse. CSW = thick concrete walls – a bear to knock down. To impose on this costly tear-down a requirement that the wood be salvaged strikes me as a costly exercise.
My larger point, however, which I think you appreciate, is that the economics of salvaging the wood was not considered at all. Rather, what drove this was the feel-goodism of announcing to the public “Hey, we salvaged the wood!” – at the taxpayers’ expense.
Finally, I think what folks mean by “virgin” timber is wood from an “old-growth” forest. I’m in no position to say if such wood is superior, but I think that’s what folks mean by this term.
I’m so glad they used recycled pine instead of illegally logged Amazonian ipe (like the High Line did). It makes me even more excited about this park! 😀
quote:
“I would think you’d enjoy some gritty tagged, carved benches in this new sterile yuppie park.”
well i DO enjoy gritty and tagged areas, but i wouldnt actually want to see this park like that as im sure a lot of people will enjoy this park. im a moderate when it comes to criminal vs. yuppie.
*rob*
1. “Virgin timber” is basically a meaningless term. It’s a marketing ploy. If you believe there is any real significance to it, I have some flooring to sell you (logging, lumbering and flooring is a family business).
2. Recycling wood doesn’t really do anything for the environment, but it’s sometimes cheaper than buying newly milled stuff.