Comptroller Stringer, State Senator Liu, and Assemblymember Rozic Call on the City to Implement Green Roofs Tax Abatement and Spur Development of Green Roofs Across the City

(New York, NY) — New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer joined with State Senator John Liu and Assemblymember Nily Rozic to send a letter to Mayor de Blasio calling on the City to implement the Green Roofs Tax Abatement and catalyze the development of green roofs across the city. Comptroller Stringer, State Senator Liu and Assembymember Rozic urged Mayor de Blasio to sign an executive order authorizing the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability to implement the new Green Roof Tax Abatement and to designate high-need areas for green roof installation. The Green Roofs Tax Abatement, sponsored by State Senator Liu and Assemblymember Rozic and signed into law by Governor Cuomo, stems from recommendations made in 2018 by Comptroller Stringer and Danielle Spiegel-Feld, a professor at New York University Law School.

“As we continue to tackle our public health crisis and grapple with the economic fallout of COVID-19, we must remember we’re still in the midst of the climate crisis. We can’t postpone our climate fight until after the pandemic — we have to use every tool at our disposal right now to take it on,” said Comptroller Stringer. “Every dollar invested in green roofs reaps double or triple in societal returns and pays major public health and environmental dividends in communities on the frontlines of climate change. Green roofs cut energy costs and carbon emissions, mitigate flooding, insulate buildings, and cool entire neighborhoods. We have to seize every opportunity to work towards a cleaner, greener future.”

“The green roofs tax abatement program is a small yet smart investment in green infrastructure that will reap huge benefits for New York City,” said State Senator Liu. “Though we are facing many challenges these days, fighting climate change must remain a top priority. Letting the green roofs program wither on the vine is short-sighted and would do a disservice to the outerborough communities who most need the jobs, the green space, and the societal and financial benefits that come with an investment in green infrastructure. The Mayor must prove his commitment to creating a sustainable future for NYC by signing an executive order to activate this program without delay.”

“When we renewed the City’s Green Roof Tax Abatement Program, we knew it was integral to investing in green infrastructure and addressing the realities of climate change in our communities,” said Assemblymember Rozic. “To delay its implementation any further denies our most vulnerable neighborhoods the opportunity to reap many benefits amidst an environmental and public health crisis.”

The new Green Roof Tax Abatement incentivizes the construction of green roofs by tripling the tax abatement in areas of the city that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The program, now capped at $1 million per year, would drive the development and retention of green infrastructure jobs that will form a critical part of the City’s economic recovery as well as mitigate ongoing environmental and health inequities that put low-income communities and communities of color at risk. Furthermore, the Comptroller underscores that every dollar invested in green roofs is estimated to generate an estimated two to three dollars in societal return.

The letter highlights several advantages of green roofs, including absorbing stormwater, reducing runoff by more than 50 percent and averting combined sewer overflows and localized flooding, insulating buildings, cutting energy use and associated carbon emissions, and mitigating the urban heat island effect that imperils seniors and other residents susceptible to heat stress. Green roofs keep individual rooftops 30 to 40 degrees cooler than conventional roofs and can help lower temperatures across entire neighborhoods, and can even be turned into community space for New Yorkers to enjoy the outdoors.

The Green Roofs Tax Abatement was restructured and reauthorized last year with the goal of catalyzing the development of green roofs across the City’s 62 square miles of roof space. According to the Nature Conservancy, less than 0.1% of New York City’s one million buildings boast green roofs, and the bulk of existing green roofs are concentrated in Manhattan. The new abatement aims to offer an enhanced credit to areas most in need of critical green space and infrastructure, including communities like Eastern Queens, the South Bronx, Central Brooklyn, and other neighborhoods.

To read the full letter from Comptroller Stringer, State Senator Liu and Assemblymember Rozic to Mayor de Blasio, see below or click here.

Dear Mayor de Blasio,

As New York continues to suffer through stifling summer temperatures, we are writing to request that you implement a crucial program to encourage the development of green roofs in neighborhoods suffering from extreme heat, combined sewer overflows, or a lack of green space.

The new Green Roof Tax Abatement, passed into law last year, incentivizes the construction of green roofs by tripling the tax abatement in areas of the city that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Your executive order is required to give the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability the authority to implement the tax abatement and to designate areas that are most in need of the tangible reductions in air pollution and heat stress that green roofs offer. While we are of course sensitive to the City’s precarious financial situation, we believe this program, capped at $1 million per year, offers a valuable opportunity to spur the creation of green jobs and address ongoing environmental and health inequities that put our most vulnerable communities at risk.

The Green Roofs Tax Abatement was restructured and reauthorized last year with the goal of catalyzing the development of green roofs across the City’s 62 miles of roof space. A previous iteration of the credit was woefully under-utilized and failed to meaningfully encourage the development of green space. According to research undertaken by the Nature Conservancy, less than 0.1% of New York City’s one million buildings boast green roofs, and the bulk of existing green roofs are concentrated in Manhattan. The new abatement aims to forgo subsidizing corporate Midtown roof gardens and instead offer an enhanced credit to areas most in need of green infrastructure. The new program promises to help bring crucial green space to communities in Eastern Queens, the South Bronx, Central Brooklyn, and other neighborhoods on a rotating basis.

Green roofs are a crucial tool in the City’s fight for a more sustainable future. Green roofs drink up stormwater, reducing runoff by more than 50 percent, and can help avert combined sewer overflows or localized flooding. Green roofs insulate buildings, helping cut energy use in buildings and associated carbon emissions. Indeed, green roofs can assist building owners in achieving compliance with Local Law 97 of 2019 and its emissions reduction mandates. Crucially, green roofs help to mitigate the urban heat island effect, which can increase temperatures by as much as 20 degrees more than surrounding areas – imperiling seniors and others that are susceptible to heat stress. Green roofs not only keep individual rooftops 30 to 40 percent cooler than conventional roofs, they can also help reduce temperatures across entire neighborhoods. In some cases, green roofs can be turned into community assets that provide opportunities for New Yorkers to enjoy their urban environment and witness wildlife.

While we appreciate the constraints on the City’s finances, we believe the abatement will generate significant economic and social benefit. The program will help drive the development and retention of the green infrastructure jobs that will form a critical part of our economic recovery and the City’s future. Further, every dollar invested in green roofs is believed to generate an estimated two to three dollars in societal return.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has offered a preview of the coming climate crisis and a stark reminder of environmental inequities that already plague low-income communities and communities of color. It is crucial that New York City seize every opportunity to forge progress toward a more sustainable future and that the City’s does all it can to help create a more livable, sustainable city. Helping green our most vulnerable neighborhoods will pay major dividends for City’s health and environment. We urge you to sign an executive order to implement the law without delay.

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