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Fort Lee Awarded Bronze Certification by Sustainable New Jersey

Fort Lee recognized for participating in, and promoting, programs to reduce its carbon footprint.

Fort Lee has been awarded Bronze level certification by Sustainable Jersey as a result of the on-going efforts of the environmental and beautification committee to promote, and participate in, 'green' programs since registering Fort Lee as a sustainable community in 2011.  

Launched in 2009, Sustainable Jersey seeks to help recognize those municipalities that strive to reduce their carbon footprint.

When the borough was first registered in 2011, Council president and liasion to the environmental committee, Ila Kasofsky, told Patch, "One of the goals of the committee is developing a plan to become certified.”

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Kasofsky said that under the program, municipalities in New Jersey that want to go green, save money and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term must perform certain actions in order to gain certification and qualify for certain sustainable small grant programs. 

Developed as a partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities and the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey, Sustainable Jersey is intended to provide municipalities a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable sustainability solutions.

Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sustainable Jersey identifies concrete actions that municipalities can take to become "certified" and be considered leaders as sustainable communities, provides guidance and tools to enable communities to make progress on each action, provides access to grants and identifies existing and new funding opportunities for municipalities to make progress toward such actions, according to its website.

According to its website, municipalities are certified at either a bronze or silver level based on the variety of actions they have successfully completed and the total number of points they have been awarded. Bronze certification means a municipality has made a commitment to sustainability and succeeded in implementing significant first steps. A silver level certification means a municipality has made significant progress in a number of categories toward sustainability and is a statewide and national leader. 

"I am thrilled and excited and so proud to have Fort Lee awarded this prestigious distinction," Kasofsky said. "I can't believe that we accomplished this in an town more urban than suburban in so short a period of time," she added.

Actions such as offering a farmers' market to the community, shade tree protection, recycling and other initiatives provide a community with points toward certification. Click here to see a list of all actions.

Kasofsky said that the environmental and beautification committee will be showing a 'green' film, Ingredients, at the Jack Alter Community Center on Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m.  Ingredients highlights the roots of the movement to support locally grown food.

The committee will also have a "green table" at the June 2 Fort Lee Arts & Musical Festival to be held on Main Street.

 

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