Park Avenue serves as model for green product offerings

Park Avenue Building and Roofing Supplies, LLC (Park Avenue) is a family-owned business that has grown from a small hardware store to two full service facilities with a network of supply yards, offices and stores. The company serves a wide variety of specialty contractors in the painting, flooring, roofing and restoration industries throughout the tri-state area, as well as local homeowners, construction firms, and a wide variety of specialty contractors. Park Avenue has provided goods and services to projects at J.F.K. Airport, Battery Park City, NYC School Construction Authority and AOL Time Warner among others. Most recently, the company has won contracts supplying Goldman Sachs and the Jet Blue Terminal. In addition to being a certified MBE company, Park Avenue Building & Roofing Supplies takes pride in its commitment to maintaining a sustainable environment, demonstrated by its host of green materials and supplies. The Park Avenue team participated in voluntary educational training and testing on state-of-the-art green building techniques and green product choices in lumber and building materials. Following this training, the company was granted certified Green Dealer status. "We're very pleased to have achieved the Certified Green Dealer designation," said Raymond Rivera, Park Avenue's vice president. "Investing in this training reflects our commitment to helping our customers make good choices for the environment, and doing our part to recommend more eco-friendly products. We also want to help educate our clients about 'best practices' in building techniques so that their building projects are both energy-efficient and make the best use of our resources." As a leader in green construction, many of Park Avenue's products feature environmental certification and energy conservation logos such as GreenGuard, Energy Star and SmartWood. Some of the company's environmentally friendly offerings include USG mold and mildew resistant drywall as well as Guardian fiberglass insulation which reduces indoor air contamination and promotes a better indoor environment. Additional green products include: * Benjamin Moore Eco Spec, Aura and new Natura "No VOC" line * SmartWood Certified Forestry lumber and plywood in fire-treated and untreated varieties, both of which are FSC approved * Laticete waterproofing and grout products containing the GreenGuard and Energy Star seals * Recycled gypsum and steel products * Energy Star-rated windows * A line of expanding foam insulation * CFL light bulbs. Robert Groeninger is chief executive officer of Park Avenue Building & Roofing Supplies, LLC, Brooklyn, N.Y.