BY BEN VERDE
The 42nd President of the
United States of America fi -
nally made the trip out to
Brooklyn on Dec. 10, when
he visited a Bedford-Stuyvesant
house of worship that
was recently retrofi tted with
new green technology funded
through the Clinton Foundation.
The church, Cornerstone
Baptist Church on Madison
Street near Lewis Avenue
received several energy effi -
ciency upgrades, which President
Bill Clinton praised as
essential in the fi ght against
climate change.
“This is a picture through
which we can see a better future,”
said Clinton.
The 102-year-old church
was outfi tted with high-tech,
but low-cost eco-friendly
technology, including effi -
cient lights and a new cooling
system, which Clinton said
proves that you don’t have
to break the bank to do your
part for Mother Earth.
“Some of the lowest cost
responses are what you see
happening in this church,
and they all buy us 10, 20, 30
years before the worst happens
for us to fi x the whole
thing.”
The retrofi t was handled by
BlocPower, an energy startup
founded by Donnel Baird
courtesy of funding provided
by the Clinton Global Initiative
University. Baird committed
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to lowering energy
costs across the country for
small businesses, churches,
and non-profi ts. Since committing
in 2013, Baird has retrofi
tted over 1,000 locations in
American cities.
In addition to the ecological
benefi ts of the new
green tech, church staff estimate
the improvements will
save them 30 to 40 percent a
year on energy bills, allowing
them to invest in other
things, such as their 18-unit
building of apartments for
seniors.
The former president has
made outfi tting old buildings
with green tech one of
his foundation’s signature
causes since he left offi ce.
The Clinton Climate Project
was heavily involved in retrofi
tting the Empire State
Building, which lead to a 38
percent reduction in energy
use for the iconic Manhattan
skyscraper.
“I really believe that the
most dangerous threat to our
civilization over the next 30
years. . . is going to be climate
change,” he said on Tuesday.
Clinton greets parishioners (above), while Donnell Baird shows the former
president a map of BlocPower initiatives (below).
Photos by Todd Maisel
The comeback kid
comes to Brooklyn
Bill Clinton visits eco-friendly Bed-Stuy holy house
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