COURIER LIFE, D 12 ECEMBER 20-26, 2019
Bubba in Brooklyn
Bill Clinton visits Bed-Stuy holy house
Bill Clinton greets parishioners as an eco-friendly church in Bed-Stuy. Photo by Todd Maisel
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 ecofriendly
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 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.
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