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For press or media inquiries, please contact Jack Jablkowski at jaclyn@bignyc.org or 718-777-0132 x29
ASTORIA CENTER
3-17 26th Ave. Queens, NY
718-777-0132
astoria@bignyc.org
GOWANUS CENTER
69 9th St. Brooklyn, NY
718-725-8925
gowanus@bignyc.org
Open Everyday!
Mon-Fri 10am-6pm
& Sat-Sun 10am-5pm
In 2012 BIG!NYC:
* Diverted 1,200 tons of reuseable building materials from the landfill
* Donated over 57 tons of lumber to community & school gardens. That's 1,200 raised garden beds in NYC!
* Gave away $58,780 worth of materials to local organizations.
BIG!NYC Calendar:
5/19 MAKESHIFT DIY Chair Workshop & Exhibition @ BIG!NYC Gowanus (5-8pm). Free Party with Krrb & Alabama Chanin!
5/21 BIG!Compost Volunteer Orientation @ LIC (6:30-8pm). RSVP to compost@bignyc.org
5/28 BIG!Workshops: Know Your Tools: Women & Trans Tool 101 @ BIG!NYC Gowanus (6:30-8pm)
6/8 BIG!Workshops: Scaffolding Lumber Benches with Spark Workshops @ BIG!NYC Gowanus (11:30am-1:30pm)
6/15,22,29 BIG!Workshops: Make Your Own Folding Stool with Mr. Fox @ BIG!NYC Gowanus (3 sessions; 12:30-2pm)
Build It Green! Staff
 Justin is the founder and Director of Build It Green. He's overseen its development from the beginning, having managed the 2 deconstruction projects for the Durst Organization that generated the materials required to launch BIG!NYC. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x23 |
 Forrest is our Donations Coordinator and Event Planner, and has been with BIG!NYC since its inception. He initially helped unload trucks at our temporary warehouse and put together our first shelves in the dark & subzero conditions. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x22 |
 Dylan is our Warehouse Manager, though he’s also our jack-of-all-trades, having done basically every job imaginable. He oversees the Astoria warehouse; builds anything we need, quickly; and pretty much does anything else you can think of at Build It Green. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x21 |
 Karen discovered Build It Green!NYC in 2007 while leading bicycle tours that showcased Western Queens waterfront parks as part of her job as Catalyst Coordinator for Partnerships for Parks. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-725-8925 |
 Max spearheads the Deconstruction program at Build It Green, and is our most fashionable staff member. The recurring scene of perfectly good building materials crushed at the bottom of a dumpster led him here, and he’s never looked back. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x26 |
 Ellis is our Adaptable Resource Technician, specializing in everything. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ellis recently graduated from Bard College with a “hybrid degree” in Creative Writing and Literature. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x27 |
 Jack joined Build It Green!NYC in June after working for our sister non-profit, Solar One. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x29 |
 Harvey is our Vocational Counselor, handling affairs in our ongoing partnership with the Consortium for Worker Education (CWE), among other things. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-725-8925 |
 Jordi rotates rocking with his band and rolling in the BIG!NYC pick-up truck. Jordi’s name is Jordi because he is a half Spaniard. He enjoys learning to play new instruments. Back in the old days before the BIG juggernaut got rolling, Jordi used to pick up donations in his van. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x22 |
 Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Mike is the second full time hire on our Deconstruction team. After receiving a degree in English Literature from Colby College in Maine in 2002, Mike taught English and traveled in South America for a year. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x22 |
 Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, Steve landed at Build It Green through Bard College’s BPI Program. While at Bard (like everyone else around here!), he received an Associate Liberal Arts degree, specializing in history. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x21 |
 After many years in the construction business, John combined his passion for reuse and his skill as a contractor to become our newest Deconstructionist at BIG!NYC. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x26 |
 Yona interned this summer at Build It Green, and we liked him so much we hired ‘em! Born in Israel, raised in Brooklyn, Yona recently completed a Political Science and Philosophy degree from McGill University in Montreal. This is his first autumn out of school since he was 4 years old. Wow. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x21 |
 Cate is the driving force behind Build It Green. Originally from Pensacola, Florida, she recently graduated from the Massachusetts College for Art in Boston, specializing in Sculpture and Filmmaking. Cate’s very prolific. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x22 |
 Vinnie has by far the most warehousing experience of anyone at Build It Green. From the paint room to windows, nobody knows the warehouse like Vinnie. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-725-8925 |
 Robert was born in the Bronx, New York and raised in Sunrise, Florida. He attended Full Sail University for Recording Arts to pursue his passion for Hiphop and art. After some time there he decided college wasn't for him. He then moved back to New York to be with family and to find work. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x21 |
 Returned from New Orleans, this natural-born hoarder is eager to wring every last drop of "usable" from would-be discarded materials. He once biked 100 miles in 100 degrees with no brakes and one pedal, and has crossed state lines with a hamster, a toad and a box turtle. Email:
Phone Extension: |
 Born spade in hand in a cave facing the raging Aegan Sea, Stephanos was put on this earth to compost. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x103 |
 Our latest multitasking master-composter to join the BIG!NYC ranks is Louise Bruce. Back in 2010, Louise founded Compost for Brooklyn while also a member of NYC's Department of Parks and Recreation's Green Apple Corps, where she became a certified master composter. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x104 |
 Chris was born on the West coast of the United States, but has managed to spend most of his life living in the South East. After studying Painting and Sculpture, Chris made his way up North to New York City where he currently resides in Queens. Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x104 |
 Lila is lovely! Bio coming soon! Email:
Phone Extension: 718-784-1444 |
 Matt is the fix-it guru of Build It Green! NYC. If we have any mechanical problems in the warehouse, we know who to call. Matt works on a seasonal basis for BIG!NYC, in between leading South American housing construction projects for Habitat For Humanity and Global village. Email:
Phone Extension: |
 Lucy is Justin's feisty Jack Russell. She works hard to keep mice and small children in line at Build It Green! NYC, and can often be seen in her native habitat, the paint room, chasing anything that moves. Her favorite pastimes are eating, sleeping, and tearing apart stuffed animals. Email:
Phone Extension: |
 Nate is the IT God here at BIG!NYC. He has a degree in Music from Boston University and is currently studying physics and calculus towards a second degree in engineering. Nate loves building, and working on just about any projects he can get his hands on. Email:
Phone Extension: |
 Felipe is awesome. More to come! Email Felipe at felipe@bignyc.org Email:
Phone Extension: 718-725-8925 |
 Leanne is the only other member of BIG’s Western Queens Compost Initiative… the “brains behind the operation”, as Stephanos puts it. And it shows in her background. With a BA in Public Policy from SUNY Albany in 2004, Leanne has already done more than her share to make more people suffer less. Email:
Phone Extension: 104 |
 Alan is also a graduate from Bard College, with a Literature Degree in 2009. He really likes Herman Melville, so much so that he wrote his undergraduate thesis on him! Email:
Phone Extension: 718-777-0132 x21 |
