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NYCHA Now
April 2016 News to Use 

NYCHA’s First-Ever Sustainability Agenda

Latoya Jordan

mother and child

NYCHA released our first-ever comprehensive agenda for healthy and energy-efficient public housing on April 21. The NextGeneration NYCHA Sustainability Agenda expresses the Authority’s commitment to create “healthy and comfortable homes that will withstand the challenge of climate change.” The agenda also provides for NYCHA’s compliance with the City’s greening and sustainability initiative by achieving a 30 percent reduction in building emissions by 2025, to meet the first milestone of the Mayor’s One City: Built to Last energy-efficiency and emission-reductions plan.

The agenda identifies 17 10-year strategies that NYCHA will undertake, from obtaining funds for the development of commercial-scale solar projects to implementing a comprehensive mold response plan; and from designing resiliency plans for developments in the 100-year floodplain to connecting residents to green jobs.

“As we work to curb the impacts of climate change across our communities, NYCHA’s Sustainability Agenda furthers our commitment to improving quality of life for residents and preserving public housing for this and the next generation,” said Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye.

NYCHA’s residents are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change and the negative environmental consequences of air pollution. Ten percent of developments are located within the 100-year floodplain, and many others are located in areas with the highest asthma-related emergency room visits in the city.

Through the sustainability agenda NYCHA, working with sister agencies and community partners, aims to achievethe following goals by 2025:

  • Public Safety: Eliminate root causes of mold;
  • Eliminate overheating and heat and hot water outages;
  • Start on the path to reducing greenhouse gasses 80 percent by 2050;
  • Account for climate resiliency in all capital planning; and
  • Incorporate sustainability into day-to-day management of all properties.

The Sustainability Agenda’s strategies include:

  • Implement a comprehensive mold response plan;
  • Improve heating and hot water systems;
  • Meter water usage in all developments by 2018;
  • Install recycling infrastructure at all developments by 2016;
  • Develop resiliency retrofit plans for all developments in the 100-year floodplain;
  • Launch an “ideas marketplace” for resident- and community led sustainability initiatives.