New York City Council Pushes Green Infrastructure At New Developments

July 18, 2018

Bill would mandate rooftops be outfitted with gardens, solar panels or wind turbines

By Joe Anuta

The City Council plans to introduce a bill Wednesday mandating green roofs on certain new developments. Expect push-back from the real estate industry.

The legislation, sponsored by Brooklyn Councilmen Rafael Espinal Jr. and Stephen Levin, would require 100% of the rooftops on newly built or substantially renovated commercial or industrial buildings to be outfitted with some combination of green space, solar panels and wind turbines. The aim of the legislation is to save energy because  buildings are responsible for three-quarters of carbon emission in the city.

"We have to look at the infrastructure improvements we can make here to ensure we're doing our part in reducing our carbon footprint and cooling our city down," Espinal told The New York Times.

But increasing construction costs and commandeering rooftop space that is increasingly used for amenities to lure commercial tenants are sure to provoke a confrontation with the development community.

The council has considered a number of bills recently that relate to urban wind power, which is far from the most viable way to make the city greener. Reducing consumption would have a much bigger impact, and wind power is most effective when harnessed at offshore farms.