NYC Public Housing Getting Greener

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the largest public housing authority in the country, will have help updating its buildings for energy efficiency through a new partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). 

The Housing Authority, which has been working to install more efficient lighting, will be able to retrofit its 2,691 residential buildings and more than 180,000 apartments with efficient lighting, heating and hot water systems purchased at reduced rates through the consortium created by the CCI.

A Housing Authority task force will develop a multi-year energy strategic plan with a timeline and milestones for implementation. CCI will help NYCHA structure agreements with energy service companies, banks, product suppliers and green building organizations to enable retrofits to be completed efficiently, quickly and inexpensively.

On-demand hot water systems will replace aging hot water tanks, and an automated, remote-monitoring system for heating will allow for greater efficiency in managing the Housing Authority’s 210 central heating plants.

The City of New York has also committed to support the joint program with NYCHA, in an effort to advance the Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 vision for greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

"The New York City Housing Authority is home to more than 408,000 low and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs. These energy saving measures will help the Authority save money, and the environmental impact of these measures will result in cleaner, healthier air for the residents living in public housing," said Mayor Bloomberg. 

He continued, "These environmentally-friendly enhancements will help us do our part to put the brakes on global warming and they will also help us build a greener, greater New York."

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which regulates the procurement and funding of energy efficient products and services by NYCHA has granted NYCHA with a waiver that enables them to take advantage of the benefits of CCI’s Energy Efficient Building Retrofit program.

Through the partnership the Housing Authority will be able to step up the replacement of incandescent bulbs in households and inefficient fluorescents in public spaces to meet its goal of reducing overall electricity use by 15%.

The partnership was announced last Friday at the Eastchester Community Center in the Bronx by Mayor Bloomberg, former President Bill Clinton, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

Clinton said, "This is a step in the right direction in the fight against climate change that will reduce New York City’s carbon footprint, while saving money for taxpayers and residents at the same time."