Borough Wide
Congrats to the winners of the 32nd annual Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition. The winning entries were on display at the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library last month.
Raymond Chen, a third-grader at PS 164 in Kensington, presented “I love to read.” He said, “I read a lot! I’ve got a huge pile of books in my room and I read them all. My favorite part of my book is where I’m playing video games and I’m about to lose, so I try to read a book to get over the fact that I’m losing. This really happened to me!”
Budding book binders from PS 77K in Prospect Heights, Anthony Hilaire (Grade 6) and Angelo Ottaviano (Grade 7), shared the honors. Anthony said: “The octopus was our inspiration because it has eight arms and shoots ink. I drew all of the animals for the book using color pencils because some of them are so colorful. I can also draw all of the details better with color pencils. Angelo and I decided to include a window on each page so readers could be watching each sea creature as if they were on a submarine.”
Founded by Ezra Jack Keats, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation fosters children’s love of reading and creative expression by supporting arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries.
Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch [10 Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, (718) 230–2100].
CROWN HEIGHTS
Bright Idea
Fifty lumens for the State University of New York at Downstate Medical Center on its innovative initiative to provide a new, clean-energy power source that will reduce the strain on Brooklyn’s power grid and help to reduce air pollution in the borough. Through a partnership with Bloom Energy and Con Edison, a significant portion of the campus’ energy needs will be met through a 1.8-megawatt fuel cell system that will produce clean energy at zero cost to taxpayers. The carbon reduction of this project is the equivalent to removing 714 cars from the road.
“SUNY Downstate is a critical partner for Brooklyn, and this initiative will not only reduce our burden on the local energy grid but also reduce our carbon footprint in the borough,” said Chancellor Kristina Johnson, PhD.
“SUNY Downstate has a commitment to our patients and students, as well as to the entire community we serve, and we are committed to ensuring that our institution helps make Brooklyn a healthier place to live, work, and raise a family,” said Dr. Wayne J. Riley, president.
The fuel cell system provided by Bloom Energy comes at zero cost to taxpayers or SUNY Downstate.
Bloom’s energy servers convert natural gas to electricity through a highly efficient, non-combustion process and operates 24-7 without any intermittency.
The fuel cell unit will provide 45 percent of Downstate’s base electrical load, including two-thirds of the electricity needs of the hospital, which operates 24 hours a day.
State University of New York, at Downstate Medical Center [450 Clarkson Ave. in Crown Heights, (718) 270–1000].
