GOWANUS

From solar panels to cleaner boilers, green efforts seem to be cropping up everywhere. But are wind turbines going to be New York’s (energy-)saving grace? Two new installations – one on top of Pearson Court Square in Long island City and one in Brooklyn at 388 Bridge Street – are hoping so. The New York Times  reports that while the turbines can only power small portions of the building (for example, the common areas of Pearson Court Square), the manufacturer of the turbines is in talks with five other developers and just completed an additional installation at a Whole Foods in Gowanus.

For a recent hallway renovation at an Upper East Side co-op, the plan was to remove old wallpaper and replace worn carpeting. But in the process, remembers Marion Preston, former board treasurer of the 111-unit co-op, the previous board had ordered a huge supply of excess wallpaper and carpet. "They had extra of everything just in case, but no one ever used it or needed it," Preston says. "For our job, we had all-new material, so we obviously didn't need this anymore. I couldn't bear to just toss it out. It was still in its original packaging." So what to do?

... building blogs, renovation, landmarking and more — including, for board, the latest news on managing-agent payola and virtual meetings.