(Credit: Arverne East)New York City has ambitious net zero goals and a new community being developed will be one of the largest areas in the city to encompass those ideas.
The 116-acre development called Arverne East will be energy efficient and resilient to natural disasters. The project includes solar power, building systems that use geothermal heating, cooling and hot water, and storm water that will be managed on site. Overall, the project aims to be fossil fuel free.
In the wake of damage done by 2012’s Hurricane Sandy and increasing concerns about climate volatility, the project also is designed to protect against sea surge and groundwater flooding by raising the elevation of the development area. The project organizers say the buildings will also use energy efficient passive design standards.
The 1,600-unit affordable housing development will also include an urban farm, nature preserve and natural plants to buffer the area and manage stormwater onsite.
The project also requires new or updated infrastructure to meet these sustainability requirements. Those include electric and gas systems and updated streetlights. Planners say they will also use permeable materials in paved surfaces where possible and use rainwater for irrigation.
Several media outlets have described the development as having the potential to be New York City’s standout net-zero and energy efficient community. Bloomberg reports that the project will produce more energy than the community needs and that the geothermal system for heating, cooling and hot water will be the first major development in the city to rely on the technology.
New York has been active in implementing sustainability programs throughout the city and state.
Programs like the NYC Carbon Challenge encourage building owners to make energy efficient changes to cut costs and reduce emissions. The program, which includes participation from companies like Google and Barclays, hopes to save $175 million in energy costs and reduce 360,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.
The New York Power Authority has invested millions in transitioning to an all-electric bus fleet. Statewide programs have implemented energy efficiency incentives, and more than 286,000 streetlights have been replaced with LEDs through the Smart Streetlighting NY initiative.
Arverne East is a public-private partnership led by the New York City Department of Housing and Development, the Parks Department and the Department of Transportation. It is part of a New York City project approval from 2003 to develop the Arverne Urban Renewal Area.
New York Yimby reported in December that $30.3 million of financing was closed to complete the first phase of the project. Bloomberg says the project will roughly cost $1 billion.
