How To Green A Neighborhood

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1 Green Development Profile: New York City LISC Complete Profile LISC NYC s Green and Healthy Neighborhoods initiative seeks to create healthier, more energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable housing and communities. Initially developed in response to rising energy and water costs, the initiative has since grown into a comprehensive approach to developing sustainable environments. In neighborhoods across New York City, we are reducing energy and water consumption in older, existing affordable housing projects; improving resident health with improved indoor air quality and non-toxic cleaning products; enhancing educational opportunities for youth and adults; and providing opportunities to increase workforce skills in the green economy. LISC NYC s Green and Healthy Neighborhoods initiative provides funding opportunities and technical assistance for greening communities. Highlighted on this page are Green and Healthy Neighborhoods innovative projects. Green Development Projects Featured: Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) Retrofit NYC Block by Block Green Cleaning Pilot Program Tenant Engagement Energy-Efficient Operations and Green Maintenance Training Green Workforce Development Initiative Green and Healthy Schools Cypress Hills Community School 300 Putnam Avenue Bridge Street Development Corporation Muscoota Hope Community Findlay Plaza Belmont Arthur Green Development Work Areas: Green Building: Affordable Housing, Schools Weatherization Green Retrofits and Rehabs Green Operations & Maintenance Green Jobs For more information on LISC NYC: Contact: Colleen Flynn, CFlynn@lisc.org

2 Project: Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) Work Area: Weatherization The need to reduce energy consumption in LISC NYC s portfolio became vividly clear when actual operating costs were exceeding projected costs by 10-50%. In 2010, LISC NYC launched the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) to help low-income families permanently reduce energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. The mission of the program is to provide energy conservation assistance to multi-family housing for low- and moderate-income families, improve energy efficiency, and reduce fuel and electricity costs. With a grant from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, funded through an expansion of the Department of Energy s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and made available by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, Community Weatherization Partners LLC (CWP) a joint venture weatherization initiative of LISC and Enterprise Community Partners will retrofit 2,143 units by September Once weatherization is complete LISC NYC plans to support and develop a training program for building operators and staff on energy efficient operation and green management. More on WAP. Project: Retrofit NYC LISC NYC s Sustainable Communities work in Bedford Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills Brooklyn is supporting comprehensive neighborhood greening efforts in an unconventional way block by block. Local partners Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation are partnering with the Pratt Center for Community Development to implement holistic environmental sustainability plans that tackle one block at a time. The plans, centered around a Retrofit Block by Block initiative, include energy-efficiency retrofits to oneto-four family homes, street tree planting, community gardening, green job apprenticeship and training programs, and other efforts. LISC NYC was able to infuse significant grant funding to support the activities of these organizations through State Farm and is working to bring additional resources and technical assistance to the table. New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced in November 2010 the allocation of $400K in Council funds to expand upon this successful Retrofit Block by Block model to other neighborhoods. Press Release from City Council here. More about NYC Retrofit Block by Block here. Project: Green Cleaning Pilot Program Work Area: Green Operations & Maintenance Numerous studies have determined that toxic indoor air quality leads to a multitude of health problems from headaches and asthma to respiratory problems and cancer. To reduce these harmful effects and create healthier indoor environments, LISC NYC is working with CDC partners to implement a comprehensive Green Cleaning Pilot Program to adopt the use of nontoxic materials in their buildings. This program will also provide coordinated outreach and training to educate owners, superintendents, and tenants on effective green cleaning practices and

3 its benefits. This program is seeded through a grant from the Oak Hill Foundation, in coordination with LISC Green Development Center. Project: Tenant Engagement Work Area: Green Operations and Maintenance Greening and retrofitting a building with energy- and water efficiency measures is just the beginning of a green and healthy environment. Tenants play a key role in the ongoing success of the measures. LISC NYC supports education efforts to provide tenants with tools and practices to reduce energy- and water consumption, implement the use of green cleaning products, and improve tenants overall health conditions after weatherization retrofits are complete. Project: Energy-Efficient Operations and Green Maintenance Training Work Area: Green Operations and Maintenance Expanding the education and knowledge of building owners and operations staff is crucial to ensure that newly retrofitted buildings are able to minimize energy- and water consumption and maximize cost savings. Building operators of the Weatherization Assistance Program will undergo a targeted training that educates them on each installed measure. On a broader scale, LISC NYC is a program sponsor for the NYC Green House, launched by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Community Preservation Corporation. NYC Green House is a hands-on tool kit and online resource guide for multifamily owners and operators to save money by going green. Through this program, we will be able to reach all of our CDC building operators. LISC NYC will work with HPD to provide training workshops for building owners and operators. For more information, please visit Press Release from nyc.gov. Project: Green Development Workforce Initiative Work Area: Green Jobs The jobs that investments in energy efficiency retrofits and other green industries create have the potential to lift low-income residents out of poverty provided those residents can be connected to the appropriate training, internship, and employment opportunities. To that end, LISC NYC is embarking on a full-scale pilot to connect trained workers with green jobs. Through the Green Workforce Development Initiative, LISC NYC will link their green building and retrofit programs with their affordable housing portfolio to create a broad workforce development strategy. The overall goal of the Green Workforce Development Initiative is to connect unemployed, underemployed, and hard-to-employ individuals to green construction employment opportunities. The program will break new ground in creating sustainable and concrete linkages between trained individuals, CDCs, workforce development agencies, and contractors and will create a standardized system to formalize the connections. More on green jobs in New York here.

4 Project: Cypress Hills Community School Work Area: Green Building: Schools Access to good education is a critical component for healthy neighborhoods, but securing adequate facilities can be a hurdle for both new and existing schools. To aid in this development, LISC NYC provides grants, technical assistance, construction loans, and creative financing mechanisms including the use of New Market Tax Credits and financing through LISC s Educational Facilities Financing Center. LISC NYC provided a planning grant to Cypress Hills LDC in the early stages for the Cypress Hills Community School that opened in September This is Brooklyn s first green public elementary school and features a hydroponic greenhouse, and environmental and health education center, and an innovative kitchen and family-style cafeteria serving low-fat, fromscratch, nutritious meals aimed at combating childhood obesity. More from NYC LISC and Cypress Hills Community School. Project: 300 Putnam Avenue Bridge Street Development Corporation LISC NYC supported Bridge Street Development Corporation s (BSDC) effort to rehabilitate and green 300 Putnam Avenue, a HUD-assisted building for low-income families in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Only three years ago, the 52-unit building was a severely distressed eyesore, having suffered terrible physical neglect under prior ownership. LISC NYC helped BSDC secure a $2.056M loan from the NYC Acquisition Fund and provided grant support for the project at pre-development and construction phases. A Home Depot Foundation grant through LISC s Green Development Center helped support the installation of solar panels, Energy Star lighting fixtures, energy-efficient windows; low-flow faucets and showerheads, and dual flush toilets. The restoration and greening of 300 Putnam Avenue is having a transformative impact on the residents of Putnam Avenue. In October 2010, BSDC was awarded LISC NYC s Big Apple Innovation of the Year Award sponsored by JPMorgan Chase for their commitment to the preservation and rehabilitation of 300 Putnam Avenue. More from NYC LISC. In the news here. Project: Muscoota Hope Community Inc. Work Area(s): Green Retrofits and Rehabs On September 17, 2010 LISC NYC joined the East Harlem CDC partner Hope Community Inc. (Hope) to celebrate the commencement of renovations for Muscoota, five walk-up buildings containing 63 units. Hope acquired these buildings 40 years ago and developed them using volunteer labor and sweat equity. Now badly in need of repairs, the buildings will receive

5 extensive physical and greening upgrades, financed through a combination of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Equity through National Equity Fund and subsidies from HPD. The Green Development Center provided a planning grant to incorporate green and energy-efficient features in the renovation, such as improved weather stripping and insulation around doors and windows, use of less concrete and more greenery in outdoors spaces, low-flow toilets, and energy-efficient boilers. More from Hope Community Inc. and NYC LISC. Project: Findlay Plaza Belmont Arthur Avenue LDC Findlay-Teller Apartments (formerly known as Findlay Plaza) project, involves the rehabilitation and greening of 163-units of senior housing by Belmont-Arthur Local Development Corporation (Belmont). LISC NYC provided technical support to help Belmont receive a TD Charitable Foundation s Housing for Everyone 2010 grant for the implementation of greening measures. These green renovations include a green roof, Energy Star appliances, and motion sensors that will be used throughout to reduce lighting in unoccupied spaces. An energy reduction plan will also be developed to minimize energy- and water consumption and optimize savings. Belmont acquired Findlay-Teller in the fall of 2009 after HUD foreclosed on the project, which had fallen into disrepair under prior ownership. LISC NYC originated the NY Acquisition Fund loan to make the acquisition possible. Press release on acquisition of Findlay Plaza here. More from NYC LISC and TDBank.