NYC Residential Buildings "Go Green"

Landlords and supers of NYC residential buildings are being trained to "go green."
The mayor joined real estate industry leaders yesterday to launch an eco-friendly buildings program to reduce energy waste, operating costs and harm to the environment.
The training program for landlords, supers and building managers will encourage energy efficient practices, including sealing up cracks that allow air to escape, finding and fixing leaky faucets and installing more efficient lighting controls.
"Building supers could save New Yorkers an estimated $230 million every year. If every single one of our large residential buildings took these small steps and received just a 10-percent energy saving, the greenhouse gas reductions would be phenomenal. It would be like taking 150,000 vehicles off the road," said the mayor.

About 1,000 supers and managers are expected to take part in the program.
Click here to receive apartment listings in new green developments. Write "green" in the comment section.

"NYC Cool Roofs"

Mayor Bloomberg and former Vice President and founder of the Alliance for Climate Protection Al Gore launched a NYC service initiative, “NYC Cool Roofs,” a volunteer program to coat the rooftops of participating buildings with reflective, white coating to reduce cooling costs, energy usage and greenhouse emissions.
Cool Roofs can reduce roof temperatures by 60 degres and indoor temperatures by 10 to 20 degrees. "NYC Cool Roofs" program mobilizes volunteers to coat building rooftops.

The program will help the city achieve PlaNYC goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

The City’s new building code, enacted by the Bloomberg Administration in 2008, requires most new roofs built in New York City to have 75 percent of the roof area covered with reflective, white coating or to be ENERGY STAR® rated as highly reflective.

New Yorkers interested in giving back by working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can become an NYC Cool Roofs volunteer by visiting www.nyc.gov or calling 311. Building owners and homeowners that wish to reduce their own energy costs and reduce their own carbon footprint, can also visit www.nyc.gov or call 311 to learn how to coat their own roof with reflective, white coating.

Read the press release

New York Offering First-Time Homebuyer Tax credit

New York will offer a federal income tax credit to first-time home buyers. First-time buyers will be eligible to claim a credit equal to 20 percent of their annual mortgage interest costs through the New York State Mortgage Credit Certificate.

The tax credit starting in September is meant to encourage home sales. The goal of the credit is to extend and improve the federal government's $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit which expires on November 30th.

Construction Update: The Georgica: Upper East Side

The Georgica is located at 305 East 85 Street, between First and Second Avenue on the Upper East Side.

The 22 story glass tower built in an L-shape has 58 residences, with 1, 2, 3 and 4 Bedrooms. The apartments feature 9'-14' ceilings, herring-bone oak floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and many have terraces and fireplaces.

Amenities in the pet friendly condo building include common roof deck, fitness room, childrens playroom, full time concierge. Floors contain from two to four residences. The roofdeck has an outdoor kitchen.

Current available units range from a 1298 square foot 1 Bedroom 2 bath unit for $1,665,000 to a 2713 square foot 4 bedroom 4.5 bath home for $4,650,000.

To receive current listings at The Georgica or any new developments in Manhattan click here.

NY Harbor Day - September 13th

NY Harbor Day

First-Ever Harbor Day Will Honor 400th Anniversary of Henry Hudson's Arrival and Celebrate City's Revitalized Waterfront and Continued Friendship with the Dutch.

Festivities span six major waterfront sites—The Battery, Battery Park City, Hudson River Park, Governors Island, Brooklyn Bridge Park and Snug Harbor—all linked by free rental bikes and hop-on/hop-off boat service.

At each site, food, drink, entertainment and activities will commemorate this special moment in New York City history. Highlights include: a flotilla of modern and historic Dutch and American yachts and sailing vessels, an oyster festival, Harmony on the Hudson (a children's music festival), children's bike clinics at Brooklyn Bridge Plaza, the Brooklyn Flea under the Manhattan Bridge Archway, kayaking, paddleboating and much more. Check nycgo.com/harborday for times and updates.

Tribute in Light - Remembering 9/11

The "Tribute in Light" will return for one night as a tribute to all those who were lost on September 11th as well as those who worked so hard to get our City through its greatest trial. The lights will be on for one night on September 11, 2009, beginning at sunset and fading away at dawn on September 12th.

Tribute in Light

9/11/2009, 7:10 pm - 6:30 am

West and Morris Streets in Lower Manhattan, Manhattan

23 New NYC School Buildings Open

23 new school buildings with more than 13,000 seats will open at the start of the 2009-10 school year Sept. 9th. This new construction, along with the 18 new buildings opened last year, represents the most-ever new classroom seats to come on line in a two-year period since the School Construction Authority was created in 1988.

Between 2002 and 2012, the Department of Education is on track to construct more than 110,000 new school seats across the City, with more than 82,000 seats already completed. These seats will reduce pockets of overcrowding, and will ensure that students have the opportunity to learn in modern facilities fully equipped to prepare them for success.

The School Construction Authority’s implementation of the City’s largest-ever Capital Plan earned the agency the title of New York Construction magazine’s “Owner of the Year” for 2009, a prestigious designation awarded to the region’s best builder.

Since 2002, the City has:

• Reduced pockets of overcrowding in every borough
• Constructed more than 82,000 new school seats
• Reduced the price per square foot for construction by the equivalent of 28 percent (adjusted for inflation)
• Implemented aggressive “green” building standards to ensure new school buildings are environmentally-sound
• Conducted renovations in 85 percent of school buildings
• Funded the construction of 280 science labs

http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm