New York City

On June 25, 2008, the New York State legislature passed a bill allowing building owners in New York City who install green roofs on at least 50 percent of available rooftop space to apply for a one-year property tax credit of up to $100,000. The bill is expected to be signed by Governor David Paterson shortly.

The credit would be equal to $4.50 per square-foot of roof area that is planted with vegetation, or approximately 25 percent of the typical costs associated with the materials, labor, installation and design of the green roof. Building owners will be able to apply for the credit starting Jan. 1, 2009.

A 10,000-square-foot green roof can capture between 6,000 and 12,000 gallons of water in each storm event. In addition, the evaporation of this rainfall will produce the equivalent of between a 1,000 and 2,000 tons of air conditioning, enough heat removal to cool 10 acres of the city.  This energy cooling could save New York City residents more than $5 million annually. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, green roofs will also help reduce overflows of raw sewage into area waterways. The tax credit starts Jan. 1, 2009, and will expire after March 15, 2013 unless extended.

Other cities have passed similar laws and green roofs are sprouting up all over, including Chicago's City Hall.  Could this be the beginning of a trend?    

Cross-posted from our site: It's time again for the Slow Home Report! This week we feature the first in a series of project walk-throughs. Paul Cha explains the Union Square Loft project and how the design came to fruition. Please click below to watch:

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What about the city makes this possible, while green-conscious cities like San Francisco are trailing behind?

This may sound counter-intuitive, building green makes even more sense to owners of income-producing property than it does to individual homeowners. Why? Simply put, most homeowners do not recognize the value of energy-saving innovations until after they purchase and move into into their next home.

Data from Building Green partner RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.) suggests that Americans want to recoup the investment in a "green home" in about four years, but that doesn't necessarily line up with how energy saving building practices pencil out. Most American homeowners move every 3-7 years, and the savings from lowered utility bills might not repay the investment in energy-saving features of a green home for 6-8 years.

New York is different from the rest of the country, however, because unlike the nation as a whole--where around 68% of households own their home--New York City is a renters' city, where almost the same percentage--67%--rent their homes. Among New Yorkers with incomes above $125k and a bachelor's degree or higher, 45% of the households are renters, and within this group, 37% of households have incomes over $125k and 14% have incomes above $250k, among whom are counted Wall Street employees earning record-level bonuses in recent years. New Yorkers on average have high incomes and are well-educated, the two most critical factors among housing demand correlated with the desire for a green home. So it's no wonder the demand for green rental units is high, and combined with the financial incentives, landlords in the city are seeing green.