Challenge Rules


Challenge Rules:

  1. The Challenge will begin at 9:00:00 AM Eastern Standard Time ("EST") October 18, 2016 and end at 11:59:59 PM EST on March 1, 2017 ("Challenge Period"). The Challenge is sponsored by the New York City Housing Authority and the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation (“Sponsors”). Participation is subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. You are responsible for checking applicable laws in your jurisdiction before participating in the Challenge to make sure that your participation is legal and to ensure that you comply with all relevant laws.


  2. ELIGIBILITY: The Challenge is open only to adults, 18 or older at the time of entry and during all phases of the Challenge. In order to participate, you must agree to the accompanying terms. The Challenge is subject to all applicable United States federal, state and local laws and regulations. Participation constitutes participant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules, including the accompanying Permitted Use and Disclaimers, and Sponsors’ decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Challenge.


  3. HOW TO ENTER: To enter, you must visit nyc.gov/cfi/nycha-heat and complete all forms by November 23, 2016.

    JUDGING PERIOD: The Judging Period will begin at 9:00:00 AM EST on November 25, 2016 and end at 11:59:00 PM EST on December 21, 2016. The Sponsors will appoint a panel of up to 8 judges.

    JUDGES:

    • Robert Knapp, New York City Housing Authority Director of Heating Management Services Department
    • Bomee Jung, New York City Housing Authority Vice President Energy and Sustainability
    • Rudolf David, New York City Housing Authority, Managing Electrical Engineer
    • Armand Agasian, Con Edison New Business Manager, Steam Operations
    • John Lee, New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Deputy Director for Green Buildings and Energy Efficiency
    • Donovan Gordon, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Director, Renewable Heat and Cooling
    • Laurie Kerr, U.S. Green Building Council of New York, Policy Director
    • F.L. Andrew Padian, Padian NYC Consulting, President

    The panel of judges will select Finalist entries (the "Finalists") in its sole discretion from among all of the Submissions. All Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria, in the sole discretion of the panel of judges:

    Submissions will be measured against their ability to:

    • Reduce the heating load
    • Reduce the hot water load
    • Generate financial benefits for NYCHA
    • Be scalable throughout the 16 NYCHA developments (distribution & building level) and entire NYCHA portfolio (unit level)
    • Include additional resiliency features


  4. FINALISTS: Finalists will be asked to provide technical specifications for their proposed solutions by 11:59:59 PM EST January 15, 2017. These technical specifications will be reviewed by NYCHA. The Finalists moving forward with NYCHA for the development of pilots will be posted on the NYCHA Challenge Webpage on March 1, 2017.


  5. WINNER SELECTION: ALL POTENTIAL AWARDEES ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSORS WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CHALLENGE. Winners will be notified via email on or about March 1, 2017 using the contact information provided at the time the entrant entered the NYCHA Challenge. The potential awardee(s) will be asked to develop a pilot agreement in collaboration with NYCHA specific to their proposed technical solution. If any of the potential awardee(s) does not respond to Sponsors’ notice within the timeframe specified in the Sponsor’s notification, that potential awardee will be disqualified and the entry with the next highest score will be selected as a potential awardee in its place. Return of any notification email as "undeliverable" or failure to fully comply with these Official Rules will result in disqualification. In the event of disqualification of any potential awardee, the award will be forfeited by that potential awardee and the panel of judges will select a new potential awardee from among the Finalists. Sponsors are not responsible for notifications that are misdirected, addresses that are no longer correct, or for any other reason beyond the control of the Sponsors.


  6. THE AWARDS: On March 1, 2017, Sponsors will announce the Submissions awarded potential pilot agreements on the Challenge Webpage.

    The Submissions may also be featured on official social media channels operated by NYCHA or the City of New York.

    Award does not include assistance with or travel costs or other expenses associated with the Challenge, if required. No cash in lieu of award. No substitution of award is permitted except by Sponsor. Award is not assignable or transferable. Limit one award per person/team. If Awardee(s) cannot participate for any reason, Awardee(s) will forfeit the award and Sponsors may, at their option and in their sole discretion, select an alternate awardee or the award may not be awarded. All of the award elements are subject to change and shall be determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion.

    Awardee is responsible for any transportation not specifically noted in these rules. Awardee is responsible for obtaining all necessary travel documents prior to travel. Certain restrictions, as determined by Sponsors, may apply. All specifics of the Challenge will be at Sponsors’ discretion. If Awardee (s) cannot comply with these restrictions or any other portion of these Official Rules (including the accompanying Permitted Use and Disclaimers), the award will be forfeited in its entirety and an alternate Awardee (s) will be chosen. If Awardee (s) cannot meet deadlines specified by Sponsors, the award will be forfeited in its entirety and the award may be awarded to an alternate awardee selected by the panel of judges from among Finalist entries. All costs and expenses associated with award acceptance and use not listed herein as part of the award including, without limitation, ground transportation (other than that specified above as included in prize), luggage fees, souvenirs, miscellaneous hotel expenses, and gratuities are the sole responsibility of Awardee.


  7. WARRANTIES: By participating in the Challenge, you represent and warrant (in addition to any representations and warranties in the accompanying Permitted Use and Disclaimers) that your Submission:

    1. is your own original work
    2. does not violate or infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, patent or other rights of any person or entity
    3. does not contain malicious code, such as viruses, timebombs, cancelbots, worms, Trojan horses or other potentially harmful programs or other material or information
    4. does not and will not violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance, rule or regulation
    5. does not trigger any reporting or royalty obligation to any third party.


    You further represent and warrant that the rights that you are granting under these Official Rules do not conflict in any way with any other agreement to which you are a party, or with any commitments, restrictions, or obligations that you are under to any other person or entity.


  8. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

    9. Participation Conditions and Release

    By entering, each participant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules (including the accompanying Permitted Use and Disclaimers) and the decisions of the Sponsors and/or the Challenge judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Challenge; (b) release and hold harmless the Sponsors, and their respect parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the award suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Challenge, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a participant’s Submission, creation of an entry or submission of an entry, participation in the Challenge, acceptance or use or misuse of an award (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, transmission, performance, exploitation or use of a Submission; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Sponsors from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or relating to a participant’s participation in the Challenge and/or participant's acceptance, use or misuse of an award.

    Publicity

    Except where prohibited, participation in the Challenge constitutes participant’s consent to Sponsors’ and their agents’ use of his or her name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purpose in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.

    General Conditions

    In addition to the terms in the accompanying Permitted Use and Disclaimers, Sponsors reserve the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsors’ reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Challenge, as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion. Sponsors reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual or participant it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Challenge or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Challenge may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsors reserve the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsors’ failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules or in the accompanying Permitted Use and Disclaimers shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Sponsors are not responsible for, nor are they required to count, incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, unlawful or illicit Submissions, including those secured through automated means or by registering more than one e-mail account and name, using another participant’s e-mail account and name, as well as those lost for technical reasons or otherwise.

    Limitations of Liability

    The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by participants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Challenge, (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Challenge; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Challenge or receipt or use of any award. If for any reason a participant’s Submission is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, participant’s sole remedy is to provide another Submission within the applicable deadline.

    Disputes

    Participant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Challenge, or any award, other than those concerning the administration of the Challenge or the determination of awardees, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Challenge, or any awards, shall be resolved exclusively by the United States District Court or the appropriate New York State Court; (3) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Challenge, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (4) under no circumstances will participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitations or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above may not apply to you. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsors in connection with the Challenge, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any choice of law of conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York.

    Privacy

    Sponsors collect personal information from you when you enter the Challenge. The information collected is subject to the privacy policy located here.

    Challenge Results

    For Challenge results go to nyc.gov/cfi/nycha-heat on or about March 1, 2017.

    Sponsors

    Sponsors: (1) New York City Housing Authority, 90 Church Street, New York, NY 10007 (2) NYC Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation, 15 MetroTech, Brooklyn, NY 11201.



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