by: Daniel Fox
Mayor Bloomberg shakes hands with Chris Garvin, AIA, LEED AP, COTE co-chair at his Earth Day presentation of plaNYC 2030.
James Estrin/The New York Times/Redux
With a record population, a booming economy, and an aging infrastructure, Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 proposals unveiled on Earth Day constitute a comprehensive, ambitious vision for the city’s future. On par with earlier civic investments that built New York’s parks, subways, bridges, and waterworks, the Mayor’s plan represents the kind of long-range planning the city needs to prosper in the 21st century.
New York’s existing buildings are the source of 79% of our carbon dioxide emissions, and account for more than half of our energy demands, according to the Inventory of NYC Greenhouse Gas Emissions recently completed by the Mayor’s office. For the building community, the plan’s most far-reaching proposal is to upgrade the energy efficiency of large existing buildings — most of which would not meet today’s energy code — with mandates and incentives. This may include upgrades for lighting and mechanical retrofits, improvements to wall and roof insulation, and replacement of old components with high performance windows and high-efficiency condensing boilers.
As we upgrade our existing buildings, it is also critical to address new construction. The new building code that will take effect this summer includes many green improvements, but the Mayor’s plan identifies even more impressive targets for the next update. The proposals include financial incentives for buildings that exceed state energy codes and water efficiency requirements by 30% to 40%, making them some of the greenest buildings in the country. Through pilot programs, the city can play a vital role in introducing such leading-edge technologies.
By taking a comprehensive, integrated approach to intertwined issues — affordable housing, environmental justice, mass transit, environmental quality, green job creation, and climate change — Mayor Bloomberg’s plan is a bold step toward sustainable prosperity. AIA members should encourage their local and state leaders to support PlaNYC as a vision for a greener future. As important as its specific goals are, the overall benefit of the Mayor’s plan is that it creates a critical mechanism to protect the environmental and economic engine of our city for future generations.
Chris Garvin, AIA, LEED AP, is an associate at Cook+Fox Architects / Terrapin Bright Green, and co-chair of COTE.