Rewire: Accelerate Sustainability with Neighborhood Retrofit Programs

In the summer of 2023, New York City’s skies turned red with smoke from wildfires thousands of miles away. Months later, heavy rainfall inundated roadways, stranded residents in basement apartments, and brought much of the subway system to a halt. In January 2024, New York City reached a 700-day streak – its longest ever – without an inch of snowfall. This past summer, the planet recorded its hottest day in history, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Extreme heat, the deadliest natural hazard in New York City, causes an estimated 350 premature deaths annually. Record heat, increased flooding, and other climate hazards raise an urgent alarm for more coordinated action to mitigate climate change.

New York leaders have taken up this challenge by setting a net-zero by 2050 target and advancing regulations to accelerate decarbonization. Retrofitting New York City’s building stock, which accounts for approximately 70% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, is crucial to meeting this goal. However, while the City’s marquee decarbonization law, Local Law 97, regulates emissions from buildings over 25,000 square feet, New York City has not yet taken the same level of action to tackle emissions from smaller buildings.

Over the last year, Tommaso Bitossi with an incredible group of colleagues* explored bold ideas to address barriers and accelerate retrofits of residential buildings under 25,000 square feet- They propose the creation of an NYC Housing Retrofit Agency and enforce to ACT NOW.

Recommendations:
→ Streamline processes, requirements and incentives for retrofits under 25,000 square feet through an agency modeled similarly to NYC School Construction Authority.
→ Launch a network of neighborhood retrofit One-Stop Shops that conduct outreach and provide project management support to owners and residents.
→ Support market building for energy retrofits by informing and upskilling minorityowned and worker-owned contracts to prepare for bids.
→ Pilot an aggregated retrofit program in priority communities, unlocking financial sector and contractor appetite for small multifamily building retrofits.

Explore the full publication – a collection of research, case studies, policy recommendations, and innovative pilot ideas here>

*Jane Bartman, Lisa Bolle, Jonathan Molloy, Rebekah Morris-Gonzalez, Crystal Ng, Keith Ryan, Elaine Wang, Jess Wunsch, Sheena Zhang

Image: Concept by Urban Design Forum’s Green Homes Working Group. Photosim produced by Stantec.