From luxury high-rises in Battery Park City to affordable housing in the Bronx, you can now find homes of all types labeled “green.” But as a potential resident, how do you tell how eco-friendly a building really is and the impact it will have on your family’s day-to-day life?
One way is to see if it’s certified by the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Since 2004, when The Solaire in Battery Park City became the first LEED-certified apartment tower in the country, at least 25 residential buildings in New York City have received LEED certification. “Green building has become the next generation of high quality building,” says Russell Albanese, president of the Albanese Organization, The Solaire’s developer.
LEED measures a building’s sustainability in six areas: proximity to public transportation and other factors linked to location, energy savings and CO2 emissions reduction, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, design innovation, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. A building can earn up to 100 points, and must meet a minimum number to be certified. And while some buildings are merely certified, others achieve silver, gold, or platinum status.
But while LEED has raised awareness of green buildings, just because a building isn’t LEED-certified doesn’t mean it’s not eco-friendly. A few builders who embrace green design don’t want to spend time and money to get a LEED certificate. And just as you can have a non-LEED green building, you can have a not so green LEED building: you don’t always know what a building’s point score represents (a classic example: putting in a bike rack counts the same as installing solar panels). Last year, the U.S. Green Building Council adjusted its process, so that buildings awarded LEED status in the future must periodically document their water and energy use.
Residents can look for other key factors that indicate how eco-friendly a building is. One is air quality. Many building materials, paints, floor coverings, and furnishings release volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Green buildings start with less toxic construction materials and low- or no- VOC paints, and may also filter and humidify the air. Sara Clasen moved to The Verdesian, another green building developed by the Albanese Organization, when her sons were infants and immediately felt the difference. “The boys had a lot of trouble just breathing in our old apartment,” she says.
A green building also makes optimal use of the sun to help heat rooms in winter. “All the things that people used to do hundreds of years ago because they made sense, still make sense,” says Emily Fisher, co-owner of R&E Brooklyn, which recently developed 93 Nevins, two high-end green townhouses in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Thoughtful placement of windows, she says, is one such practice.
At 93 Nevins, trees and grape vines on patios, terraces, and the rooftop also help create natural window shades that reduce air conditioning needs in the summer.
How much energy a building uses is a crucial measure of how green it is. Architect Chris Benedict says the 4 BTU/sq ft/heating degree per day her New York City apartment buildings use is likely a quarter of the level of most new construction, and she aims to reduce it by a third more in an apartment building slated to break ground in Brooklyn in June. This level of efficiency, she says, means you can basically “use a hairdryer to heat the apartment.”
But the best way to learn more about a building is to visit it. GreenHomeNYC, a volunteer-run group, leads tours of green buildings throughout the city—the next one is May 8. For more information, visit greenhomenyc.org.
Eco-Buildings
Just
a few green buildings of note in the city.
93 Nevins, 93 Nevins Street, 917-605-0909,
93nevinstownhomes.com
Millennium Tower Residences, 30 West Street,
212-595-7777, millennium-tower-residences.com
The Solaire, 20 River
Terrace, 212-748-6100, thesolaire.com
The Verdesian, 211 North End
Avenue, 212-227-0222, verdesian.com
The Visionaire, 70 Little West
Street, 212-425-2550, thevisionaire.com
