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New LEED-Certified Applebee's To Only Pollute Stomachs, Not Environment
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 2, 2012
Modified Dec 2, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 2, 2012
Modified Dec 2, 2012
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The only LEED Gold-certified restaurant in New York is slated to open in Harlem on December 10, but it would have been a tourist attraction even without the environmentalist cred: it's an Applebee's. According to Inhabitat, the restaurant will harvest rainwater and sunlight, use waterless urinals, boast walls of living plants and use bamboo chandeliers. However, it's unclear if the metal Pepsi-Cola signs, old gas station pumps, and cryptic black and white photos of baseball teams of unknown provenance will continue to be manufactured from toxic, nonrenewable Rockwellian nostalgia.
According to the CEO of the company that oversees more than 40 Applebee's in the region, the new design is "about being a good neighbor, both locally and globally," because polluting anything but one's temple is simply irresponsible. The Post reports that the restaurant, located on 117th Street near Pleasant Avenue, cost $4 million to build—$1 million more than usual. We've asked Midtown tourist favorite Dan's Burning Oily Rag Pile Diner & CFC Speakeasy for comment on their new eco-competition, but have yet to receive a response.
Tagged
applebee's
ecotourism
green tourism
harlem
tourists
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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