Green Upgrade
New York rehabs 5,000 affordable apartments. Although new apartments frequently incorporate energy-efficient features, it can be costly and difficult to improve older buildings’ energy performance. Such an effort becomes even harder when the buildings are located in often-overlooked neighborhoods and home to low-income residents.
But the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority want to change that.
The three-phase program, which will be funded by $7 million from the state energy agency, aims to help put energy-efficient lighting, boilers, windows, insulation, refrigerators, ventilators, and energy monitoring systems in 5,000 affordable apartments in the city.
So far, under a pilot program, Bronx-based KDA Realty has upgraded 101 units. “If it works correctly, we are supposed to save $1,000 [annually] per unit in heating and electrical costs,” says Elsie Ortiz, principal of KDA, which will also manage the units. “The tenants will save $200 a year. Once everything is said and done, we hope it helps us with our operating expenses.”
The New York energy agency will provide $3.5 million to cover all of the incremental, energy-related costs in 2,000 apartments in the first phase of the program. In the second phase, the state will spend approximately $2.1 million to cover 80 percent of the costs in 1,500 apartments. In the final phase, it will provide $1.6 million to cover 60 percent of the costs for 1,500 units. —Les Shaver