Most of your buildings have a shareholder—or maybe two or three—who fit into a particular mold: you know, longer hair, Birkenstocks, vintage Woodstock t-shirts; or maybe yours has the $5,000 suit, $1,000 shoes, and starched attitude. Th…
You know that when one of the world’s most famous skyscrapers goes green, the future of energy efficient buildings has been changed forever. Earlier this year, it was announced that the Empire State Building would begin a $20 million re…
Talk of “green” homes and buildings these days often evokes images of roof gardens, solar panels, and even wind turbines humming in the background. For most co-ops and condos however, “going green” comes incrementally, in much smaller m…
Saving money by going green sounds great, but who has that initial capital in these tough economic times? The average person may not be able to afford a hybrid car or a solar panel array, however, there are many energy-saving changes yo…
Technological applications to residential building life are becoming more prevalent, and in some cases, they’ve even become more affordable than in the past. An “intelligent” building is able to monitor its environmental, mechanical, and…
By now, we’ve all heard about rising oil prices—and are seeing their impact on our energy bills. Co-op and condo owners in New York have seen their energy bills climb to record highs and there’s no relief in sight, so buildings and their…
Change is good, as the saying goes. And it’s even better when that change both saves money and helps the environment. Sometimes, though, change can be difficult. That’s especially true when it affects the places we live and possibly impa…
Looking to save the planet—or just a few bucks—more and more New Yorkers are looking to “green” their lifestyles. Environmental watchdogs are quick to point fingers at gas guzzling automobiles as prime contributors to climate change, but…
With the constant rise in energy costs, the use of “peak generating plants” and increased individual energy consumption, we are seeing a direct impact on our monthly electricity bill. According to Con Ed, July 2008 set a new record of 6…
The concept of a “carbon footprint” has been widely circulated in the media for the last couple of years—particularly as global warming has become such an urgent topic of discussion for people other than Al Gore. Essentially, a carbon fo…