Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2019 - 3

ON THE ROOF WITH...

STEVEN PECK (LEFT), AND COUNCIL MEMBER
RAFAEL ESPINAL AT THE LAUNCH OF MANDATORY
GREEN ROOF LEGISLATION FOR NYC.

Photo courtesy S. Peck

ON THE ROOF WITH...

Steven Peck (SP): Congratulations Council Member Espinal.
You and your colleagues on council have just passed a package of
legislation that promises to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from buildings in NYC! What is it about the culture/
politics of NYC that allows you to take a progressive stance on
climate mitigation and adaptation like this?
Rafael Espinal (RE): With a federal government decimating
our National parks and ignoring climate change, there's
an opportunity and an obligation for municipalities to take
drastic action. NYC has a huge carbon footprint, but we
also have a very progressive City Council that's conscious of
setting precedent with global ramifications. We have to do
everything that's in our power to show that big cities need
to take accountability for their energy use, and enforce policies that begin to reverse the damage urban development
has caused.
SP: You have taken the lead on requiring green roofs, solar panels
and or small wind turbines on new commercial and residential
buildings. What exactly does the legislation call for and what will
this do for New York City?
RE: This bill was passed with a package of other legislation
to create a New York City-centric version of the green
new deal. My bill specifically requires green roofs or solar
LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM

COUNCIL MEMBER
RAFAEL ESPINAL ON
THE RECENT PASSAGE
OF NEW YORK CITY'S
NEW GREEN DEAL
FOR BUILDINGS
INTERVIEW BY STEVEN W. PECK, GRP, HONORARY ASLA
panels to cover all feasible parts of rooftops for commercial
buildings. It also requires the same green standards for
commercial rooftops that are undergoing extensive repair or
replacement on older buildings. This is a significant stride
in reducing the Urban Heat Island effect, collecting runoff
water, and cooling off buildings in the summer, so they
won't use as much energy on air conditioning.
SP: Have you encountered any significant resistance to the passage
of this legislation and if so, what arguments did they bring to the
table against it and how were they countered?
RE: There were certainly concerns from those who feel like
they would have to shoulder the cost of installing these
roofs. But the case was made that in the long run, green
roofs save costs because they reduce the energy use of the
building and membranes don't need to be replaced as often.
SP: What are the next steps in the process of detailed implementation? Where do we go from here?
RE: This bill follows the standard of most City Council bills,
meaning it will be implemented within 180 days of it being
enacted, which will be on May 18. This will give stakeholders enough time to examine implementation and start to
make plans for a greener NYC.

LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / SUMMER 2019 / 3

http://www.LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2019

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