Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Up on the Roof

Members of the Brooklyn Green Team were on hand today at City Hall to hear Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) and Councilman James Gennero (D-Queens) unveil a proposal to make the city more green.

It’s a simple concept: we have endless roof space in New York City, why not use it for the good of the city? By putting grass and plants on rooftops, or even by simply painting roofs white to reflect rather than absorb radiant heat from the sun, building owners will be helping the environment and getting a tax abatement of up to 90%.

Green roofs soak up storm water and absorb carbon dioxide. Yassky pointed out that a green roof will lower the energy costs of the building itself and also those of surrounding buildings. He also stressed that while the main goal was to create better air quality in New York City, there was an aesthetic aim as well: a rooftop covered in green plants is a more appealing than a sticky black tar roof.

The new proposal will expand the already existing J-51 Property Tax Exemption and Abatements which offers tax incentives to building owners for a variety of building rehabilitation work.



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