Green Rooftops Keep Cities Cool
MARCH 11, 2010
Green roofs improve the city’s air and water quality, save energy and reduce heat.
A “green roof” is a building rooftop with a lightweight, engineered, grid-like roofing system which can consist of anything from turf grass to trees and shrubs. The biggest positive effect of a green roof: They help reduce the amount of heat absorbed by the building—helpful during hot summer months. Green roofs also make life easier for sewer systems since they absorb more rainwater. Though they last longer than regular rooftops, the cost of installing green roofs is higher. Current New York State legislation allows for tax abatements for green roofs to help address and offset this cost.
Since the early 2000s green rooftops have been slowly popping up across the New York cityscape. A few of the city’s newer residential buildings like Observatory Place and Riverhouse have given themselves the green roof treatment. Even the United States Postal Sevice has gotten into the act recently. The Post Office added a green roof—which at nearly 2.5 acres is reportedly the nation’s largest—at its Morgan Processing and Distribution Center on Ninth Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets.
Communities are giving the green treatment to rooftops on smaller buildings, too. The Lower East Side arts center ABC No Rio has included a green roof in plans for its building’s new design. Greenroofs.com and Earthpledge are good resources for keeping up with the green roof movement.
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