Here is a snapshot of the sustainability issues that faced the borough and city this past December. The links were compiled by Rebeccah Welch, Senior Associate Director of Communications at the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE). To learn more about CUE, visit  www.thecue.org.

The Skyline in Recession [New Yorker]

Do McCarren Park Hawks Understand Irony of Living in Burg? [Gowanus Lounge]

Obscure Fee Pays for Efficient-Energy Projects [NY Times]

The (not-so-big) Dig [Brooklyn Paper]

Gowanus Nest Colony [Sail Brooklyn]

Urban Environmentalist NYC: Q&A on City of Water with Jasper Goldman [Gowanus Lounge]

Last Night At The ‘Gowanus Green’ Public Scoping Meeting [PMFA]

Yassky Starts Pro-Permit Parking Facebook Group [Brooklyn Heights Blog]

From Wall Street to Taxi Stand: The Recession Trickles Down [Gotham Gazette]

From ‘Crack Garden’ to Greenway [Brooklyn Eagle]

Forest City Puts New Developments on Hold [Crain’s]

Redefining Green: ‘A Sustainable Healthy Future’ [Brooklyn Eagle]

Could Gases Be Leaking Into Greenpoint? [NY Times]

Fringeville: An Alt Culture District Hits Critical Mass [NY Magazine]

Buy Local, Stay Local [Brooklyn Paper]

Retail Sales Notch Biggest Drop in 39 Years [WSJ]

Port Authority Presents Green Policies [Queens Chronicle]

New Chemical Plume Discovered Underneath Greenpoint [Greenpoint Star]

Balancing Preservation and Development [NY Times]

Advocates Scale Back Car-Free Prospect Park Push [Brooklyn Papers]

Sustainable Streets Index 2008 [Report-NYC DOT]