Adams launches push for green buildings in Queens
/
(Left to right) City Councilmember Lynn Schulman, Rep. Grace Meng, Mayor Eric Adams, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and City Councilmember James Gennaro in Forest Hills celebrating the launch of a new city initiative urging decarbonization. Photo via Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By Rachel Vick
Mayor Eric Adams visited a co-op in Forest Hills on Friday to celebrate Earth Day with the launch of a new campaign to promote clean energy swaps in buildings.
Building Action NYC is the latest in the city’s efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and promote stakeholders to take advantage of the available resources to electrify their buildings.
“This is what it's all about when we talk about how do we move forward with decarbonization of buildings — often what's left out are small co-ops and condominiums,” Adams said. “We're not going to be sidetracked [or] derailed.”
The initiative will work to educate New Yorkers on the need for decarbonization, its benefits to buildings, residents and the health of the city, the mayor said.
Buildings are the largest emitters of carbon dioxide, representing 70 percent of the city’s total emissions.
Kizzy Charles-Guzman, executive director, Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice, emphasized the need to continue “on the path to a healthier, more equitable and sustainable” city.
Local Law 97 requires big buildings to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as part of Climate Leadership Community Protection Act net neutrality goals.
Officials emphasized the available resources, including the NYC Accelerator— a free program that helps owners understand options and connect with funding to transition away from fossil fuel.
Fairview, in Forest Hills, is one of the 9,000 buildings that has taken advantage of the program, installing solar panels and easing their reliance on fossil fuels while cutting their bills.
“Ensuring that our buildings don’t contribute to our climate challenges isn’t just about reducing their carbon emissions,” Charles-Guzman said. “It’s about cleaning the air that we breathe, making our city more livable, reducing pollutants in our neighborhoods, creating green jobs for New Yorkers, and making the spaces where we live, work, and play healthier and more resilient.”
“The risks our city faces are not in the distant future, they are impacting our communities here and now today, and not all are impacted equally,” Charles-Guzman added. “We want to make sure we can reach those that stand to benefit the most.”
Queens is home to the most solar panel installations, according to Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, celebrating thousands newly installed at LaGuardia Airport.
He underscored the borough’s vulnerability to climate change-related weather events outside the apartment building where a resident died during Hurricane Ida flooding and ahead of the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy.
“Everyday we’re reminded of the damage we’ve inflicted on the only home our species knows,” he said. “These communities are still picking up the pieces.”
