NY Climate Tech: August 8 to August 15
Environmental Justice in Harlem, Climate Policy at Brooklyn Grange, plant swap, and a barge party!
Hi all,
Start the week off tomorrow night with the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council's networking night at Jack Doyle's in midtown or at home dialing into Building Energy Exchange's conversation with City Council Member Jim Gennaro and NRDC's Donna de Costanzo. On Wednesday, call in or show up to NYC Accelerator's Summer of Solar workshop in the morning, then head to Harlem for a session on Climate Change and Environmental Justice with a powerhouse panel of local researchers, elected officials, and community leaders.
On Thursday, dial into the Climate Mobilization Act Primer for lunch, then come by Brooklyn Grange in the evening for our event on Climate Policy and Action in NYC with Spring Street Climate Fund. Close out the week with a plant-swap hosted by local community-solar startup Wildgrid Solar in the afternoon and then head to the only distributed energy barge party you're going to find this weekend, hosted by DER Taskforce, Flux Tailor, and the RETI center. And stay cool throughout! 😎
Cheers,
Alec and Sonam
Hot Take: Heat Pumps for New York City’s Largest Landlord
The mid-rise brown brick buildings that dot the NYC landscape? These are a city unto itself.
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the largest public housing organization in the United States, created in 1935 to provide affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. NYCHA is home to 560,000+ residents, about 1 in 15 New Yorkers, and its residents are employed as teachers, police officers, nurses, and much more - many who provide critical services that make NYC function like clockwork.
NYCHA “alumni” include the former CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein, NASA aerospace engineer Aprille Ericsson, actress Whoopi Goldberg, and our favorite rap star Jay-Z (with a shoutout to his roots that so famously produced the Empire State of Mind!).
Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia speaking at the dedication of the Harlem River Houses in 1937. This was one of the first federally financed public housing developments in the country. Photo provided by the NYC Housing Authority.
What were once the envy of affordable housing systems across the world, the portfolio of 2,351 NYCHA buildings are now in severe disrepair. Since the 1990s, there has been a significant decrease in federal and state funding for both operations and capital projects, and the authority needs to invest upwards of $24 billion to ensure the buildings can remain safe, resilient, sustainable havens of affordability in an increasingly unaffordable city (median rent is $4,000 in Manhattan these days if you’re counting!).
Last week, the first of such transformative investments was revealed at Woodside Houses in Queens, where last winter residents went without reliable heat and hot water for months after Hurricane Ida damaged the complex’s boilers. New York’s leaders announced $70 million in initial funding to deploy 30,000 window-sized electric heat pumps in developments across NYCHA’s portfolio. Gradient and Midea each won large, lucrative 7 year contracts to replace NYCHA’s outdated heating oil systems and gas fired boilers in exchange for their clean and green heat pump technologies.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is flanked by Gradient and Midea heat pumps at the Woodside Houses in Queens. Photo provided by the Governor’s Office.
This Clean Heat Challenge coordinated between NYCHA, New York Power Authority (NYPA), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) asked companies to develop electrified systems that don’t require specialized technicians to put in place, cost no more than $3,000 per unit, and can operate in cold climates. Heat pumps warm homes by pulling heat from the outside air and moving it indoors. To cool rooms, the devices work much like air conditioners, using a condensing liquid to absorb the excess heat indoors and transfer it outdoors.
Heat pumps work like two-way air conditioners, bringing in ambient heat in the air even if the overall temperature is low. Image from Collaborative Efficiency.
It’s a part of the OneNYC Green New Deal’s goals to reduce GHG emissions from buildings by 40% by 2030. Buildings account for 73% of all our emissions in New York, and the largest set of assets across the city that we need to decarbonize.
Doreen Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA said that focusing on public housing properties for the Clean Heat Challenge is key to ensuring the equitable development of climate-fighting technologies like heat pumps.
This is just one example of the power of government procurement - a subject I know all too well! City governments globally spend over $384 billion per year on climate action, and they act as proving grounds for national policy: the Inflation Reduction Act follows New York in providing subsidies for residential heat pumps. Local governments can have a significant impact on spurring innovation for brand new technologies here in New York and cities across the globe - and the power to combine their policymaking prowess with their market-making potential is unmatched.
Events This Week:
🥂 SILC's Sustainability Professionals Networking Night: Tue, Aug 9
🏛 A Conversation with Council Member Jim Gennaro: Tue, Aug 9
☀️ Decarbonizing NYC: Summer of Solar Workshop (Hybrid): Wed, Aug 10
🗳 Climate Change and Environmental Justice in Harlem: Wed, Aug 10
🗽 Climate and NY: What’s Next in Politics, Policy, and Tech: Thu, Aug 11
🌱 Climate Mobilization Act Primer: Thu, Aug 11
🪴 Wildgrid Plant Swap: Sat, Aug 13
For the Early Birds:
🧬 For Climate Tech Summit and Global Innovation Challenge, Sept 13-15
🎸 Big Climate Thing: Sept 16 - Sun, Sept 18
🗽 Climate Week NYC, Sept 19-25
👩🏻🔬 Women and Climate Celebration, Sept 20
🦋 The Nest Summit, Sept 21-22
🥂 SILC's Sustainability Professionals Networking Night
When: Tue, August 9, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
Where: Jack Doyle's, 240 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Are you a professional in NYC who's interested in sustainability? Do you want to network with like-minded professionals? Come and join us for an evening of drinks, food and great conversation. We encourage everyone from industry, NGOs and Government to come meet new people, bounce off ideas, and make new friends! Please RSVP as soon as possible as spaces are limited!
🏛 A Conversation with NYC Council Member Jim Gennaro
When: Tue, August 9, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM EDT
Where: Online and (limited) in-person at Building Energy Exchange
BE-Ex is pleased to welcome New York City Council Member Jim Gennaro to the Exchange for a conversation with Donna De Costanzo of NRDC.
Council Member Gennaro has marked experience, leading the NYC Council for years on environmental policy and sustainability, serving as Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Protection and notably authoring many groundbreaking pieces of legislation, including over 50 environmental and public health-related local laws. Listen in as Council Member Gennaro speaks to his outlook on New York City’s most important issues related to climate policy, sustainability, and city planning.
☀️ Decarbonizing NYC: Summer of Solar Workshop (Hybrid)
When: Wed, August 10, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM EDT
Where: Andromeda Building, 49-27 31st Street, Queens, NY 11101
Join NYC Accelerator to learn how to maximize savings on solar energy systems for your building(s), while offers last. This workshop will offer insights into limited-time incentive offerings and tax benefits for installing on-site solar. Our team of solar specialists will get back to basics on the benefits of installing solar energy. Attendees will learn how NYC Accelerator’s free, personalized technical assistance process can help save money and reduce emissions – now, and in the long term.
🗳 Climate Change and Environmental Justice in Harlem
When: Wed, August 10, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Where: Adam Clayton Powell Jr State Office Building, 2nd Floor Art Gallery, 163 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
How can community organizations and residents partner with local businesses, academic organizations, and government to create change? Kicked off on Earth Day 2022, this is the second in a series of events hosted by The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Climate School, and The City College of New York exploring the reality of how the growing risks of rising heat, more intense storms, and a history of environmental injustice continue to generate disproportionate climate impacts in communities like Harlem as well as the community leadership working to overcome this history. Hear from local researchers, elected officials, and community leaders on the challenges and opportunities to empower communities to lead the way into a cleaner, safer, and healthier future.
🗽 Climate and NY: What’s Next in Politics, Policy, and Tech
When: Thu, August 11, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Where: Brooklyn Grange @ Brooklyn Navy Yard, 63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205
New York could enact decarbonization policies that would vault our state to global leadership in climate policy and spur the next generation of climate tech innovation and success. Dedicated advocacy efforts have led to the development of several new initiatives to get our state to net zero, from Local Law 97 to decarbonize our buildings to multi-billion dollar investments in new clean energy transmission lines. What is on the table? And what politics do we have to change to continue to deploy truly groundbreaking climate policies and technologies in our state? Join New York Climate Tech and Spring Street Climate Fund at Brooklyn Grange’s rooftop urban farm for a spirited discussion about the intersection of technology and public policy in New York, and the politics we will need to meet the urgency of the moment.
🌱 Climate Mobilization Act Primer
When: Thu, August 11th, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Where: Online
Get informed on New York City climate legislation and its impact on buildings. Register now for the Climate Mobilization Act Primer, a one-hour seminar examining the basic principles of the Climate Mobilization Act and offering actionable guidance for building decision makers.
The Climate Mobilization Act, passed in April of 2019, is an ambitious legislative package placing emissions limits on New York City’s large commercial and residential buildings. In addition to these emissions limits, codified in Local Law 97 of 2019, the legislation includes green roof and solar PV mandates (Local Laws 92 & 94), building energy performance grades (Local Law 95), and the establishment of clean energy financing tools (Local Law 96).
🪴 Wildgrid Plant Swap
When: Sat, August 13, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EDT
Where: IXV coffee, 497c Pacific Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Wildgrid is hosting a plant swap to connect with and learn more about our community! To participate in the plant swap, all you need to do is bring a plant you're no longer loving or a propogation of an existing plant and come home with a new one! It doesn't matter what size or what kind - all plants are welcome!
⚓️ DER Taskforce / Barge Party!
When: Sat, August 13, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Where: 701 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
The DER Task Force will be hosted by the RETI Center and Flux Tailor at the Blue City Barge in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The Barge is an experimental learning site for water science, waste reduction, sustainable building, and ecosystem restoration that is the initial step for Blue City, a 4.5 acre living, floating lab for sustainable industry hosted by the Gowanus Bay Terminal.
Expect the usual DERTF crew, but we'll also be joined by RETI Center's awesome community, and a bunch of others as well. Bring friends and lets party!
Drinks and snacks will be provided, but feel free to bring your own too. A group of us plan to bop around Red Hook after as well if you're up for more.
Join the Fun!
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Volunteer
We're excited to grow the Climate Tech community in cities across the globe - starting right here in our hometown of New York! 🗽 What started as an 8-person mid-pandemic outdoor dinner has since morphed into a 1,200+ strong and ever-growing group of rockstars trying to change the world. We're looking for volunteers to help us expand our programming into a full roster of community-wide meetups, subject-specific events, mentorship programs, site visits, and more. We aim to be a community resource - built for and by our community. Share your thoughts and we look forward to working with you!