There’s an old joke that goes, “What do you call a New York City thermostat?”
Answer: “A window.”
New York may be building a reputation as a “green” city under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but anybody who has ever lived here has undoubtedly had to deal with the leaky windows and leaky faucets of the city’s aging housing stock. While gleaming new buildings built to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, learn more here) standards are springing up around New York, the city will only make headway in cutting its consumption of resources and output of pollution by finding innovative ways to make existing buildings leaner and greener.
New York City has lagged behind some other cities in the number of energy-efficient buildings, but several key steps by the city, and a few high-profile projects, have helped to get the ball rolling on green building. In 2006, the mayor announced PlaNYC, an initiative to make the city more livable for all New Yorkers while also reducing its environmental impact on the globe by the year 2030. As part of this project, last year Bloomberg unveiled an ambitious package of legislation that would have required buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to undergo an “environmental audit” every 10 years, and then make renovations to improve energy efficiency. The audits will still be mandatory – and will affect an estimated 22,000 buildings – but the renovations will be voluntary under the bill the mayor signed into law in December 2009. Nonetheless, many building owners are taking the initiative to improve the environmental performance of their properties because they see the significant cost savings as well as the appeal to tenants of improved services and green design.
Answer: “A window.”
New York may be building a reputation as a “green” city under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but anybody who has ever lived here has undoubtedly had to deal with the leaky windows and leaky faucets of the city’s aging housing stock. While gleaming new buildings built to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, learn more here) standards are springing up around New York, the city will only make headway in cutting its consumption of resources and output of pollution by finding innovative ways to make existing buildings leaner and greener.
New York City has lagged behind some other cities in the number of energy-efficient buildings, but several key steps by the city, and a few high-profile projects, have helped to get the ball rolling on green building. In 2006, the mayor announced PlaNYC, an initiative to make the city more livable for all New Yorkers while also reducing its environmental impact on the globe by the year 2030. As part of this project, last year Bloomberg unveiled an ambitious package of legislation that would have required buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to undergo an “environmental audit” every 10 years, and then make renovations to improve energy efficiency. The audits will still be mandatory – and will affect an estimated 22,000 buildings – but the renovations will be voluntary under the bill the mayor signed into law in December 2009. Nonetheless, many building owners are taking the initiative to improve the environmental performance of their properties because they see the significant cost savings as well as the appeal to tenants of improved services and green design.
Credit: Rebecca Karrin
These changes can be seen across the city. One of the most recent additions to the Midtown skyline is the Bank of America Tower, which is aspiring to receive Platinum LEED Certification. Across the East River at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Perry Building is the country’s first Gold LEED-certified multi-story industrial building (learn more about it on our Sustainability Bicycle Tour). In Downtown Manhattan, there have been a couple big green retrofits – 375 Hudson Street, once a drab office block, recently reopened to rave reviews of its renovation by Tishman Speyer, and 375 Pearl Street, the site of the ghastly Verizon building at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, will soon get a green makeover by Cook+Fox.
But the largest retrofit project is the massive renovation of the city’s most iconic building, the Empire State Building. The building’s owners, Empire State Building Company, are investing $500 million in the upgrade of the Midtown landmark, $20 million of which will go towards boosting energy efficiency, making it the largest green retrofit of a large commercial building built before World War II (the building opened its doors in 1931). Since 43% of all the office space in New York City was built before 1945, creating models for greening older structures is essential for reducing the city’s environmental impacts. The Empire State Building has partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative, through its Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, and the Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit organization which provides recommendations on the design, construction and operation of green building techniques. The renovation project is being carried out by Jones Lang LaSalle and Johnson Controls. The remainder of the money will go towards other renovations, including refurbishing the building’s Art Deco lobby and the Observation Deck, as well as the interiors of the 84 floors in between.
But the largest retrofit project is the massive renovation of the city’s most iconic building, the Empire State Building. The building’s owners, Empire State Building Company, are investing $500 million in the upgrade of the Midtown landmark, $20 million of which will go towards boosting energy efficiency, making it the largest green retrofit of a large commercial building built before World War II (the building opened its doors in 1931). Since 43% of all the office space in New York City was built before 1945, creating models for greening older structures is essential for reducing the city’s environmental impacts. The Empire State Building has partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative, through its Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, and the Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit organization which provides recommendations on the design, construction and operation of green building techniques. The renovation project is being carried out by Jones Lang LaSalle and Johnson Controls. The remainder of the money will go towards other renovations, including refurbishing the building’s Art Deco lobby and the Observation Deck, as well as the interiors of the 84 floors in between.
That's one way to live green.
The cornerstones of the project include refurbishing all 6,500 windows in the building to reduce heating and cooling costs, insulating radiators to cut heat loss to the exterior of the building, upgrading lighting and electrical systems and improving ventilation. The building will also be outfitted with a state-of-the-art integrated control system for its heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and individual tenants will be able to use a web-based energy management system to monitor and control their own consumption. In all, the Empire State Building estimates that it will be able to cut its energy consumption by 38% when the project is completed, resulting in savings of $4.4 million annually. On the climate change front, that translates into a cut of 105,000 metric tons of carbon over the next 15 years. The building is also aiming to achieve a LEED Gold rating for commercial interiors, and it has already received a grade of 90 from the federal government’s Energy Star program, putting it in the top 10th percentile among US buildings for energy efficiency.
The project was unveiled in April 2009, but now visitors to the Empire State Building can learn about the ongoing renovations at an exhibit that recently opened in the building’s second floor queuing area. While you wait for your elevator ride up to the Observation Deck, a series of video displays detail the stages of the renovation, the impacts of energy consumption, and ways that cities, buildings, and individuals can reduce their consumption.
The project was unveiled in April 2009, but now visitors to the Empire State Building can learn about the ongoing renovations at an exhibit that recently opened in the building’s second floor queuing area. While you wait for your elevator ride up to the Observation Deck, a series of video displays detail the stages of the renovation, the impacts of energy consumption, and ways that cities, buildings, and individuals can reduce their consumption.
Photo courtesy of the Empire State Building
We at Urban Oyster were lucky enough to be invited to tour the new exhibit thanks to Jon Peahl, director of sales for the Empire State Building Observatory, and Michael Sibrizzi, sales manager for the Observatory. After walking through the exhibit, we got an express trip to the 86th Floor Observatory, a staple for any visitor to New York. We were also lucky enough to visit the 102nd floor; cradled inside the building’s spire, this enclosed observation deck allows panoramic views without having to walk the outdoor perimeter of the 86th floor. The trip to the top costs visitors an additional $15 (an adult ticket to the 86th floor is $20), but if you’re making the trip all the way to New York to go up the Empire State Building, I would highly recommend ascending the extra 16 floors. (There is actually an even higher point you can climb to, which requires ascending a ladder and climbing out onto an outdoor deck without a railing, but that is reserved for daring celebrities.)
The lives of most New Yorkers are pretty friendly to the environment – we ride public transport more than any other city in America, and we live close together – but our buildings could use improvement. Buildings account for around 70% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, so we can’t green our city without greening our buildings, both new and old. And if we adopt new environmental practices and principles for our buildings, maybe we won’t have to resort to keeping the windows open in the winter and closed in the summer (though even after the remodeling, the Empire State Building will still be one of the only skyscrapers with windows that open).
The lives of most New Yorkers are pretty friendly to the environment – we ride public transport more than any other city in America, and we live close together – but our buildings could use improvement. Buildings account for around 70% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, so we can’t green our city without greening our buildings, both new and old. And if we adopt new environmental practices and principles for our buildings, maybe we won’t have to resort to keeping the windows open in the winter and closed in the summer (though even after the remodeling, the Empire State Building will still be one of the only skyscrapers with windows that open).
Mark, Andrew, Dave, Cindy and Rebecca enjoy the view from the 102nd floor. Photo courtesy of the Empire State Building.
If you would like to learn more about the Empire State Building’s renovation, visit www.esbsustainability.com (I recommend reading this white paper which outlines the project and its impacts), or to plan your visit, go to the Empire State Building official site. Ever wonder what the colored lights on top of the building represent? Check here. For more on green building in New York, visit gbNYC, a great resource for news and information. Finally, though it’s far from the bustle of Midtown, if you come on our Brewed in Brooklyn tour (our next tour is Wednesday), you will learn about the role the Empire State Building played in the end of Prohibition in 1933.
For questions or comments about this blog post, please contact Andrew Gustafson (andrewg@urbanoyster.com). Thanks to Rebecca Karrin (rebeccak@urbanoyster.com) for taking some beautiful photos, and thanks again to Jon and Michael at the ESB Observatory for all their help. All photos are credited to Andrew Gustafson unless otherwise noted.
For questions or comments about this blog post, please contact Andrew Gustafson (andrewg@urbanoyster.com). Thanks to Rebecca Karrin (rebeccak@urbanoyster.com) for taking some beautiful photos, and thanks again to Jon and Michael at the ESB Observatory for all their help. All photos are credited to Andrew Gustafson unless otherwise noted.