Rooftop ceremony at PS 58, by Brian Abate

On Dec. 10, City officials, students, and teachers met with the press on the roof of P.S. 58 at 330 Smith St. for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the installation of solar panels, part of a city wide initiative..

“At DCAS [Department of Citywide Administrative Services,] part of our mission is to help the City push toward major emissions reductions and usher in innovative climate initiatives,” said  Louis Molina, Commissioner of DCAS. “Today I’m proud and excited to announce the completion of New York City’s largest solar array project to date, an $85 million investment in clean and renewable energy. These installations will dramatically reduce energy costs, improve air quality, and lower each school’s carbon footprint.”

The total number of schools with solar panels is now up to 104 creating  a  potential of 22.5 megawatts of electricity.

“We’re very proud to say that at P.S. 58 and throughout the city, our solar installations are a part of how our students are learning,” said Emma Vadehra, another City functionary. “Solar work is critical as is other climate work. Our schools are the backbones of communities not just because we’re teaching kids to read, not just because we’re educating the climate leaders of the future, but also because we’re ahead of the curve in composting.”

The roof was a fitting location for the ribbon-cutting ceremony as one of PS 58’s clubs is the Green Team. They meet regularly with a focus on environmental sustainability, and members of the Green Team also spoke during the ceremony as did Principla Katie Dello Stritto.

“We are a proud zero-waste school and we are proud winners of the Super Recyclers Award,” Dello Stritto said. “Our Green Team is made up of students who work year after year to encourage sustainability, not only inside our school but outside of our school and in the community at large. Never has there been a group of students more excited to be on a rooftop and talk about solar energy.”

In 2016 P.S. 58 won a Super Recycling Award as they went from not having a systemic recycling program in 2014 to recycling almost 75 percent of the school’s waste in 2016. They did so by using signage throughout the building and by having students become recycling captains. The school serves as an example of how significant changes to become more sustainable can be made in a short amount of time. Now, New York City is looking to do the same on a larger scale with the addition of solar panels on top of school buildings.

At P.S. 58, members of the Green Team are looking to make a difference both for the school and the community.

“Schools are big buildings,” said Felix, a fifth grader at P.S. 58 and a member of the Green Team. “They can sustain hundreds, sometimes thousands of people. I’m in a school with over 750 students and 100 staff members. My school is a big place. If we can show other people that solar panels can sustain entire school buildings, then people will realize that they too can use solar panels for buildings like homes, restaurants, hospitals, and places that can save lives. Kids can learn about renewable energy, shape their future, and make it a better one.”

“I enjoy being on Green Team a lot,” said Annabelle, who is also a fifth grader at 58. “It makes you feel good, knowing you change people’s perspectives on trash and recycling. One thing I enjoy doing on Green Team is making posters. We made some to tell people about how important it is to put trash in the right bin and that one person can make a big impact.”

While New York City is making progress, students believe there is more that can be done and more that should have been done already.

“I feel like adults could have done way more because they’ve been around for way longer than us,” said Felix. “Sometimes I feel like adults just say, ‘Oh, yeah, climate change,’ and then they just dismiss it, and they don’t really think about it. I feel like that’s a big problem because adults can make a difference. They just don’t think about it. I think that if more kids learn about it, when they become adults then they can actually do something about it.”

The press event was staged by the NY Office of Energy and Sustainability to create awareness of the solar energy program and resulted in a story not only here but in the NY Daily News.