Skylight Editions

The Queens co-op that built a foundation for Local Law 97 compliance, brick by brick

At a middle-income co-op in western Queens, a series of smaller projects over a longer period do the same work as a single big-ticket upgrade to reduce carbon emissions

Submetering for savings at Queensview

Behind the metering strategy that shifts the onus for elec­tricity use onto the indi­vidual — making users more aware of their own waste

Taking advantage of tax breaks gave this co-op a bigger budget for energy efficiency work

At the Queensview co-op, the J‑51 tax break secured almost $3 million in abate­ments over a nine-year period

Keeping Queensview affordable

How life­long afford­able housing cham­pion Alicia Fernandez has ensured that her Astoria co-op stays within reach for first-time home buyers

New York City’s passive house movement carries existing homes into a low energy revolution

The passive house move­ment is alive and well in New York City, proving that even old build­ings can achieve extreme efficiency

How Casa Pasiva recycled infrastructure for a breath of fresh air

Behind this Bushwick development’s novel ERV solu­tion for its a passive house retrofit

What is the passive house movement?

This set of German-orig­i­nated building prin­ci­ples is a game-changer for energy efficiency

Can New York be a passive city? We surveyed the experts

A Q&A with three passive house experts on how passive prin­ci­ples can be imple­mented in New York City

At the Harlem River Houses, HVAC gets a history lesson

A historic NYCHA devel­op­ment leaves behind steam heat for clean energy as part of a suite of new upgrades

A heat pump that slots into the façade and is pack(aged) with benefits

More retrofit projects are shifting toward the use of pack­aged terminal heat pumps, or PTHP units, as an energy- and cost-effi­cient way to upgrade a property’s heating system

Tyrone Thomas: “Stay engaged, even if they’re upset”

Tenant engage­ment, special­ized support, and inde­pen­dent over­sight were key to managing the retrofit at Harlem River Houses, even as it remained a bustling, active community

How nonprofit developers financed Harlem River Houses’ major rehabilitation

To complete the multi-million-dollar retrofit, part­ners on the project lever­aged a mix of public and private funding sources

After an eye-popping quote for gas, an Inwood building cozied up to an alternative

A $3 million quote for infra­struc­ture upgrades from Con Edison sent the Inwood Park Apartments co-op searching for another solution

What is a “Radiator Cozy” and how does it work?

Inwood Park Apartments was able to save money on fuel and reduce carbon emis­sions — all by insu­lating their in-unit radiators

“Every win comes with a concession”: The ups and downs of navigating energy efficiency collectively

A change of plan at Inwood Park Apartments required commu­ni­ca­tion, educa­tion, and more oppor­tu­ni­ties for feedback

How a dyed-in-the-wool cooperator led his building through change

Hal Fuchsman is a life­long believer in the co-op model of home­own­er­ship, but leading his building through an energy effi­ciency upgrade chal­lenged even him.

In Queens, a culture-driven approach to energy efficiency changed everything

How a historic Jackson Heights co-op secured its grade A energy rating through incre­mental upgrades and consis­tent share­holder discourse

How do you replace 400 windows? One step at a time.

Behind the scenes in one co-op’s plan­ning process for a major façade upgrade

“A nice long runway”

An energy audit sets a ten-year path for compli­ance and savings at a Jackson Heights co-op

The value of a building wellness check

An energy audit team talks through the bene­fits of knowing where your building stands

A clean energy future for this Queens public development is… hanging out the window?

NYCHA, the city’s largest resi­den­tial land­lord, has set ambi­tious goals to reduce the carbon emis­sions of its build­ings. Its test run of window-unit heat pumps in one Queens devel­op­ment offers a promising pathway

How do window-unit heat pumps work?

Behind the new heat pumps that are helping to decar­bonize NYCHA’s Woodside housing

NYCHA makes a market: Here’s how

To develop a heat pump that didn’t yet exist, New York’s public agen­cies put up millions in invest­ment, then chal­lenged the market to develop a solu­tion — a strategy that’s seen success before

Small heat pump, big difference

Residents Maria Lopez and Tammy Reyes on the 2023 NYCHA heat pump pilot that brought more comfort and control into their homes

Rent-stabilized tenants fight for an energy efficient retrofit — and win

Demands for effi­ciency pay off for tenants in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights in the form of brand-new heat pumps

All-electrics aren’t all created equal

What’s right for your building — heat pumps, or elec­tric resis­tance heaters?

Tenant power heats up

How one rent-stabi­lized building orga­nized to demand heating upgrades

The birth of an organizer

Anna Nemetz’s journey from freezing renter to tenant leader

In the South Bronx, this co-op sets a high standard

How one working-class coop­er­a­tive took an incre­mental approach to improving effi­ciency, and found savings along the way

Real Time Energy Management (RTEM) tech offers real savings opportunities

Meet the NYSERDA-backed tech that saved Sherman Terrace more than $53,000 on energy in one year

“We have to be very smart with how we are using money.”

How this South Bronx co-op maxi­mized impact without sacri­ficing budget

Getting under the hood with Derek K. Jones

What drove this South Bronx coop­er­ator to lead his building toward solar and more

Pilot light: HDFC co-op pioneers a new strategy for air-source heat pumps

Inside the pilot program that helped this LMI Manhattan co-op lean less heavily on #2 heating oil

Controlling for comfort — and for cost

New air-source heat pumps offer resi­dents an increased level of control, but also shift who’s paying for the heat

Sealing in the benefits of energy efficiency

Project designers explain why air sealing is a crucial compo­nent of any energy effi­ciency project

Tips from Tom Sahagian

An energy aficionado offers advice on how to make the switch to more renew­able technology

What are we going to do with this roof?

The story of how one Brooklyn condo board bonded together over solar energy — after much deliberation

How this Brooklyn condo ensures its solar panels work at max efficiency

Once solar panels are installed, engi­neers utilize energy ​“clip­ping” to ensure peak perfor­mance, even on the cloud­iest days

Making it make cents

A Q&A with Jay Merves on green financing options for different types of homeowners

“We had to tell a good story.”

How Lucas Parra lobbied his neigh­bors for rooftop solar

Heat pumps transform former factory lofts into a temperature-controlled oasis

The International Tailoring Building set out to make their spaces more comfort­able, and met LL97 regu­la­tions along the way

Hybrid heating, modern solutions

Ecosystem engi­neers utilize both heat pumps and a gas boiler to heat Manhattan co-op

Installing heat pumps in a fully-occupied co-op

How this Manhattan building completed a major energy upgrade without disrupting resi­dents’ lives

From nightclubs to boiler rooms

Get to know Eric Einstein, the co-op member behind the International Tailoring Building’s HVAC revamp

How a Queens multifamily rental building turned roof repairs into energy gains

When it came time for routine repairs, the Bluestone group upgraded to solar

Simple installations and a financial ‘no-brainer’

Solar panels on the roof of Forest Hills rental carve a pathway toward clean energy via net metering

Renewable energy, sustainable financing

NYCEEC worked with the Bluestone Organization for its first loan to a multi­family rental unit for solar installation

Eric Bluestone talks solar strategy

Bluestone, pres­i­dent at the Bluestone Organization, is putting solar anywhere he can

A facelift into an energy efficient future

An Upper East Side co-op replaces white-brick façade with porce­lain tile, fixing leaks and improving insulation

Betting on a better Building Management System

An auto­mated program to monitor building systems helps Manhattan co-op inch toward Local Law 97 compliance

Out of the china cabinet and onto the façade

Cutting-edge porce­lain tiles offer dura­bility and low main­te­nance for Manhattan co-op

How Stefan Unger got “married to the project”

This co-op member became an expert in rain­screen cladding by leading his build­ing’s reno­va­tion project