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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/new-york-electric-co-op-apartment-building-bright-future/>
"From the outside, 420 Beekman Hill in Midtown East looks like your standard
Manhattan co-op: A 110-unit tower of white brick built in the 1960s, topping
out at 13 stories. But its familiar façade masks an innovative upgrade that’s
brought the building to the cutting edge of energy efficient technology. As one
of the first co-ops in Manhattan to fully electrify its heating and cooling
systems with heat pumps, it serves as a model for cities looking to make older
housing stock more sustainable.
Prior to electrification, the building’s system ran on gas-powered steam – one
of the least efficient methods of heating and cooling, explains Carl Thompson,
Beekman Hill’s resident manager.
With its new retrofit, the building has met its carbon emissions reduction
target 25 years ahead of the city’s carbon neutrality goal, established under
Local Law 97 (LL97). The landmark law, passed in 2019, requires buildings of
more than 25,000 square feet to reduce their carbon emissions by 40 percent
(compared to 2006 levels) by the year 2030, and 80 percent by 2050.
Beekman Hill has become a symbol of what’s possible under LL97, and an example
of how state and city grants can make large-scale energy upgrades a reality.
But subsidies are just one part of the story. The ambitious project might never
have been realized if not for a savvy architect-resident, a forward-thinking
co-op board and good timing."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
