Rental Buildings

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

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

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

What is the passive house movement?

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

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

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

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

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

Breaking down the J-51 tax abatement: Who is it for, and how can it help?

Skylight explains the tax break that helps New York City apart­ments recoup costs for building upgrades

It’s hard — and it’s happening

One year in, Skylight has docu­mented real progress towards a clean energy tran­si­tion in New York City’s apart­ment buildings

Steam heat systems learning new tricks

A legacy boiler company is pioneering boiler replace­ment with a steam-gener­ating heat pump powerful enough to heat New York’s biggest apart­ment buildings

How steam heat boilers work

Boilers have warmed New York build­ings for decades. But to prepare them to meet the city’s new climate stan­dards, we must first under­stand how they function.

What the candidates for mayor have to say about New York’s landmark climate housing law

Local Law 97 has been up for discus­sion at the past few mayoral debates. Who we elect on November 4 will decide the poli­cy’s fate.

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

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

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

All-electrics aren’t all created equal

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

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

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

What is Local Law 97?

Skylight’s all-in-one explainer of New York City’s land­mark building decar­boniza­tion law — and what it means for the city’s resi­den­tial buildings.

Eric Bluestone talks solar strategy

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

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

Renewable energy, sustainable financing

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

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

Welcome to Skylight

Or: Why create a magazine?

160 Harman Street
Casa Pasiva
Bushwick

231 West 151st Street
Harlem River Houses
Harlem

31–47 49th Street
NYCHA Woodside Housing
Woodside

340 West 85th Street
Three Arts Club
Upper West Side

75–23 113th Street
The Oakcrest
Forest Hills

792 Sterling Place
Crown Heights