Environmental Valuation & Cost-Benefit News

A plan to promote energy efficiency, clean air and lower energy costs in the East Village has hit delays that organizers fear has cost New York City a trendsetting model for community-based solutions to environmental problems and high energy prices. But a resolution to the delays may be in the offing.

A new template for retrofitting old buildings called “Greening a Block” would work with landlords, tenants and community groups to replace inefficient appliances and light fixtures, install insulation and better-sealed windows, and create jobs while reducing the environmental impact of existing city residences. The designers of Greening a Block say the project could be replicated in as many as 6,000 blocks around New York City that have a mix of five- and six-story walk-up residences and commercial property.

What makes Greening a Block different from other models of community-based environmental programs ...is that designers hope to make improving the environment something building owners and tenants have to choose not to do.....

But four years after implementation of the program was first envisioned for parts of the East Village, residents, building owners and business owners are still missing out on the program's promised benefits. ...

The original proposal for Greening a Block promised a decrease in local air pollution as well as lower energy costs. According to the original feasibility study, building owners would net a savings of $7,200 per year on heat, hot water and electric bills. Apartment tenants could expect savings of $210 per year; for small business owners it would be $1,390 per year. Small particulate matter, produced by burning fossil fuels in energy production linked to asthma and other severe respiratory problems, was predicted to decrease.

The Greening a Block program grew out of a 2002 settlement between Community Board 3 and Con Edison over the controversial expansion of the 14th Street power station in 2000. In the settlement, the community gave up the right to sue Con Ed, and the utility agreed to give $3.75 million to CB3 and local environmental groups to lessen the effects of increased power generation on the Lower East Side.
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By Evan Weinberger

FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=3522
City Limits Weekly www.CityLimits.org
#631; March 17, 2008