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New York City's Green Initiatives

ENERGY CONSERVATION
by Daniel P. Kray, Editor
September 27, 2009

The suddenly rather forward looking New York City Council recently passed an initiative to require shop owners to close their exterior doors when the AC is running, rather than letting ice cold air pour out onto the streets. Simple, obvious, enormously effective, and yet how many others have made the same requirement?

GREEN ROOFS
by Daniel P. Kray, Editor
April 8, 2009
updated July 3, 2009

Mayor Bloomberg promoted and Governor Paterson approved a tax incentive plan to promote the use of cost-saving and environmentally friendly green roofs in the city, to reduce by about a third the cost of their installation. The plan is a one-year (2012) pilot program that offers a $4.50 property tax reduction on every square foot of green roofing installed, so long as more than half of a roof meets green design guidelines. New York is following other cities along this path, and Chicago and Toronto in particular have demonstrated the long-term savings green roofs present in reducing cooling and heating costs, as well as a reduction in the urban heat island effect. Storm runoff is reduced as well, relieving municipal sewer systems that otherwise tend to dump sewage into local ecosystems without treatment when large storms come around.

Generally trend-setting Brooklyn, even without the incentives, is already among the top 5 North American cities for green roofing, with companies like Red Hook Brewing leading the way.

PLASTIC BAGS
by Daniel P. Kray, Editor
April 8, 2009
updated July 3, 2009

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg continues to push toward leading the world's large cities by proposing a 5-cent fee on plastic bags. New York requires that such a move be approved by the State Legislature, and Albany has been dragging its feet behind NYC's overall environmental lead, but fans of the measure are hopeful.

TRAFFIC
by Daniel P. Kray, Editor
April 8, 2009
updated July 3, 2009

They're going to close Times Square. To traffic, that is, leaving that whole Technicolor kingdom behind for enjoyment by the millions of pedestrians that up to now have been squeezed like ill-treated sardines onto the square's sidewalks. Mayor Bloomberg presented a plan to make seven blocks of famous but grid-wrecking Broadway entirely off-limits to traffic at Times and Herald Squares. Other blocks on Broadway will accept traffic, but a bike lane and public promenade will steal space away from smog-belching vehicles.

This follows successful efforts in summer 2008 to close off seven miles of NYC streets, including the Brooklyn Bridge, for pedestrians to enjoy a clean-aired stroll, rollerblade, bike, or stroll through food, shopping, and entertainment set up for the events over several very popular weekends.

The city's environmental plan also considers congestion pricing similar to what has been done in London. In New York, the plan is to levy an $8 toll on cars and $21 on trucks that travel south of 86th Street in Manhattan.

TRANSPORTATION
by Daniel P. Kray, Editor
April 8, 2009
updated July 3, 2009

According to an update on the PlaNYC website, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission, "unanimously passed regulations requiring all yellow taxicabs coming into service as of October 1, 2008 to achieve a city mileage rating of 25 miles per gallon (mpg), with the exception of accessible taxicabs. The regulation also states that as of October 2009, all new taxicabs must have a minimum city rating of 30mpg. The City now has over 800 hybrid-electric taxicabs on the road, and they have performed exceptionally well during the three inspections they receive annually. Their pass rate is 85% compared to 54% for the Crown Victorias. The regulations will save vehicle owners between $4,000 and $11,000 per year in gasoline costs, which could lead to an industry-wide savings of up to $140 million per year. By 2012, when the regulation is fully phased in, it will reduce the City's greenhouse gas emissions by 296,000 tons annually, or by 0.5% of emissions citywide."

URBAN REFORESTATION
by Daniel P. Kray, Editor
April 8, 2009
updated July 3, 2009

Who would have thought the grey alleys of the five boroughs would lead us out into the green streets of tomorrow? Somehow, New York City is doing it, innovating and renovating its way to its own dreams of a Big Green Apple. Mayor Bloomberg set an eager pace on Earth Day 2007 with a 127-point PlaNYC that would, among other things, reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2030.

Part of PlaNYC was a pledge to plant one million new trees in the city within 10 years, efforts that would go a long way toward reforesting the city parks and cleaning the city's sub-par air. Those big, outstretching arms of a mature tree's canopy offer shade to the pedestrian beneath, but more lastingly they help to cool off entire over-heating cities through the plant's transpiration.

Bette Midler helped to plant the first of the legion of trees planned for the Million Trees NYC Initiative. By 2017, the city plans to reforest about 2,000 acres of existing parkland in places like the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park.

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