Nyc Green Roof Initiative

With more than 1 6 billion square feet of rooftops in new york city green roofs and solar panels can help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Nyc green roof initiative. Green roofs for healthy cities shares the historic win for all new yorkers as well as the larger green infrastructure community. Green roofs have vegetation that absorbs rainwater provides insulation and combats the heat island effect where urban environments have higher temperatures than surrounding areas. Buildings are front and center to this new green deal for new york with green roofs taking the spotlight. The existing roof may not be capable of supporting an additional load.

On monday april 22 the city council approved the climate mobilization act a package of bills and resolutions designed to drastically improve the energy efficiency of new york city. Green roofs or rooftop solar panels add additional load to a roof and its support system. Our collection of rooftop systems features native plants sedums green walls hydroponic towers a vegetable and herb farm and honeybee hives. Because a green roof will add substantial weight to a building s structure you must hire a professional engineer or registered architect to perform a structural analysis to determine if the existing roof and its support system can hold the added load without a modification.

New york ny the new york city department of buildings dob announced that effective today local law 92 of 2019 and local law 94 of 2019 require all new buildings and existing buildings undergoing certain major roof renovations to have a solar photovoltaic system a green roof system or a combination of the two. Green infrastructure prevents stormwater from entering the city s sewer system which helps to improve the health of local waterways. These systems must cover 100 percent of any applicable roof. To ensure structural safety it s necessary to have a structural analysis verify that the roof and its support system are capable of supporting the added load without modification.

Today april 18 2019 at 1 30 pm est time the new york city council passed the climate mobilization act a suite of measures to reduce greenhouse gases released from buildings in new york city including a requirement for green roofs and or solar panels on newly constructed buildings. We have successfully built thousands of green infrastructure installations like rain gardens across new york city. Nyc parks maintains more than 200 000 square feet of green roofs across the city. He just announced a campaign to install green roofs sidewalks and porous parking lots in order to capture excess rainwater and runoff.

Installing a green roof or solar panel may add substantial weight to your roof. Founded and coordinated by nyc audubon in 2017 with funding from the new york community trust the grra is studying the benefits and potential of green roofs developing policy creating curriculum and working to improve and expand green roofs in new york city. Tax incentives are available for making these improvements. Hire skilled and licensed professionals for installation.