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Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams Announces "Building Action NYC" Campaign to Promote Green Buildings

April 22, 2022

Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala, Department of Environmental Protection and Chief Climate Officer: What a beautiful day to celebrate Earth Day. It's a particularly good day for wind power today.

Commissioner Aggarwala: My name is Rohit Aggarwala, I'm the chief climate officer for New York City and commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, and it's my pleasure to welcome you here to celebrate Earth Day 2022. And to launch Building Action NYC, our new citywide campaign to make New York City's buildings greener and more resilient. I want to thank all of you for being here as we take this important step to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

Commissioner Aggarwala: I'd particularly like to recognize a couple of guests. Congresswoman Grace Meng, Council Member Schulman, and a couple of, oh sorry, colleagues from the administration, Kizzy Charles-Guzman executive director of the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. Jessica Katz, our chief housing officer and Gus Sirakis, acting commissioner of the Department of Buildings. And also a few guests who are here as supporters. John Mandyck, executive director of the Urban Green Council, Donna De Costanzo from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Richard Yancey from the Building Energy Exchange and Pat McClellan from the New York League of Conservation Voters. And then without further ado, our most important green leader in New York City on this Earth Day, Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Rohit. And we can't be in the borough of Queens without acknowledging our amazing Queens Borough President, good to see you brother. Good to see you. I was adopted by Queens many years ago, a graduate of P.S. 140, I.S. 8, and Bayside High School. And so I am a Queens person as well as the Brooklynite.

Mayor Adams: An important day, and Rohit thank you, we were together yesterday with former President Clinton in the Empire State Building. We were together earlier this week announcing several other green initiatives, Rohit is really a star of our team. He is the marquee player that we are going to build our team around as we deal with the environmental issues that we are facing. And today the announcement of launching the Building Action, New York City campaign and the partnership here, because this is what it's all about when we talk about how do we move forward with the decarbonization of our city. Oftentimes left out of the conversation are the small co-ops and condominiums. For many years there has been a small co-op in Brooklyn on the board understanding, navigating, how do we make sure we pay for the repairs, the upkeep, the rent, the light, the gas. The co-ops of this city during our most difficult times, was having a co-op like this is what really just sort of anchored us and kept our city moving in the right direction. Teachers, firefighters, accounting, business people, it was a transition into purchasing a home first having a co-op or your condominium.

Mayor Adams: So as Rohit indicated, our focus is 2050. We're not going to be sidetracked. We're not going to be derailed. We're going to continue to focus on how do we decarbonize our city in 2050? And we want New York to be the leader in climate change, in protecting our environment and our climate, and that's what we're focused on. And when you look at the fact that buildings, as Bill Clinton said to me the other day when we were talking, buildings are our largest emitters of carbon, it comes from builders. 70% of the city's carbon emissions, more than any of the source, comes from buildings. If we get buildings right, we get the entire process right. And so what are we going to do about it? That's the question that people ask, well, let's turn that question mark into an exclamation point. We're going to do the right things to decarbonize our city. We're investing and converting our buildings to renewable energy sources and electric based systems. And once we do the buildings, you're going to see an evolution of our vehicles, our school buses.

Mayor Adams: We can use clean energy coming from electricity from wind power, so many other sources. This is an amazing time to be a part of this initiative of saving our environment for future generations to come. And what I see in my schools, our children are so ready. They want to be part of this movement. And the mere fact we're talking about it, we are doing the butterfly effect. That energy is now in the universe, we're thinking differently about decarbonizing our planet. We're investing in so many ways of accomplishing this that we will be rolling out in the years to come, and this is how we achieve the carbon free future for New York.

Mayor Adams: When you partner with local co-ops and boards and businesses, you come together on one focus and one agenda. The New York City Accelerator has already provided free assistance to over 9,000 builders to help them achieve the climate goals. Because this stuff can get complicated, filling out the forms, filling out the documents, moving through the bureaucracy. It's just so complex that those who are attempting to get the services never receive them because they become frustrated. As we see Mr. Decarbonizing walking in a room right now. Come on, Jim. Our Councilman is here.

Mayor Adams: So the Fairview Co-op they have a fair view of the future by accomplishing the task of care. How many of you are here from the co-op? You are leaders. Love you. Love you. How are you doing? I want a dog so bad. Love it. So thank you Fairview. You're the symbol of what we can do, this beautiful location that you live in. Let me tell you what they've done in that time. They've installed LED lighting, they added solar panels, they made buildings more livable and green in a real way, something simple that we can do. Sometimes we feel and we're overwhelmed by this thought without realizing if we just decrease our footprint, those LED lightings, the solar panels, of which you accomplish here are a symbol for the city. The decisions that are made here in Fairview, making today, are protecting our future and they're taking the lead. And we're just really proud to team with them.

Mayor Adams: So I'm urging all New Yorkers, all building owners, co-ops, condominiums, private homes, we’re saying look into the accelerator program and see what you can do to retrofit your buildings as we move towards decarbonization. Bill Clinton shared something else with me that the former mayor, Mayor Bloomberg did during the summer youth employment. We partnered with young people with summer jobs, and we had them paint the rooftops silver or white to deal with the carbonization issue, and it was a win-win. There are so many jobs we can create from the retrofitting builders, teaching our young people the skills that are needed. Middle class, union jobs, so they too can own their apartment in a co-op and participate in the greening of our city. And so we are excited about this moment. We are committed. We are dedicated to getting stuff done. You know, our motto GSD. We're going to be the administration that's known not only to be NYC, but GSD, get stuff done and get the bureaucracy out of moving our city forward.

Mayor Adams: So Rohit, the team, thank you all of you who are here. Our amazing electives and our partners, thank you so much. Rohit.

Commissioner Aggarwala: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Now I'd like to ask Kizzy Charles-Guzman, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice to speak.

Kizzy Charles-Guzman, Executive Director of the Mayor's Office Of Climate And Environmental Justice: Good morning everybody. Buenos dias. Buenos dias. Again, my name is Kizzy Charles-Guzman, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. I am thrilled to be here on this beautiful day, happy Earth Day. We are on the path to a healthier, more equitable and more sustainable city.

Charles-Guzman: Three years ago, the City Council passed Local Law 97, which requires the city's largest buildings to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It's a cornerstone of the historic Climate Mobilization Act. And as the mayor explained, our buildings represent most of our carbon emissions and this administration is committed to an aggressive decarbonization effort. Buildings like the Fairview know all too well that the risks that our city faces from climate change are not in the distant future, they are impacting our communities here and now today. And not all communities are impacted equally, this is why we have these aggressive and bold climate goals as a city, but it's also why we are committed to supporting all buildings and becoming decarbonization leaders like the Fairview.

Charles-Guzman: And in particular, we are committed to supporting and doing  outreach to buildings in environmental justice neighborhoods, places where every ounce of carbon soot and fossil fuel pollution that we remove from the air really matters to people. It is so important to be standing here today with Fairview's residents because their experience has shown us that the urgency and magnitude of the climate crisis require us to act quickly, but we still need to tackle this challenge just one building at a time. And this is why my team has spent so much effort building the New York City Accelerator. This free program helps building owners understand the strategies that will work for their buildings, it's not a one size fits all. We offer personalized service, assistance and advice, and we can help you get connected to incentives to help pay for projects that lower your costs, bring more comfort to your tenants, improve our air quality and help comply with local laws.

Charles-Guzman: It is a win, win, win, right? So, here are the Fairview cooperative residents. This is just one of the 9,000 properties that have already benefited from the city program. They've made energy upgrades, they repair damaged solar panels, and they access intensive programs to help the building comply with Local Law 97. So, I just want to thank Fairview and all of the residents for their commitment to sustainability. We are so proud to be partners with you. With the launch of Building Action NYC, we're going to drive even more properties like this one into the accelerator. We want to ensure that we are reaching those that stand to benefit the most, so that we can pick up the pace and get to carbon neutrality by 2050. We know that the support is critical for Local Law 97 compliance, for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and for transitioning our city to a clean and green economy.

Charles-Guzman: The assistance we provide does add up to big change. When building owners add solar panels or upgrade their old boilers to heat pumps, they're not only improving the efficiency of their buildings, they're also redefining the way that New York City functions and they're supporting green jobs and our economic recovery. When we talk about energy efficiency upgrades, we are talking about making our city better for everyone and for future generations. A key aspect is that—of that future is to develop and sustain our workforce. The accelerator is designed to connect building decision makers with local businesses that can implement those projects. And those connections are critical for transforming the market, by connecting the demand with this supply and creating thousands of local jobs in the process while carbon is being reduced at the same time. So again, this is a win win.

Charles-Guzman: With the support of the accelerator, Fairview here is on their way to becoming the first co-op to use PACE financing. What that means is that they will repay for their loan in installments through a charge on their property tax bill. So, that means they don't have to worry about the upfront cost of all this great work they've done. So, we're here today to acknowledge the very real need of retrofitting our existing buildings, so that they're safe and healthy and resilient and sustainable for all New Yorkers. But we're also here to celebrate the strikes that leaders like the Fairview have made in helping transform New York City. One building upgrade at a time we will achieve a carbon free future, we will do this together. A special thank you to my team and all our partners, without whom all this work would not have been possible. Thank you and Happy Earth week.

Commissioner Aggarwala: Thank you Kizzy. And of course, we all know that when we finally get all those cars and trucks electrified, not only it'll be better for the planet, they'll be a lot quieter, right? Then we'll come back out here and do this again. But of course, it's my great honor and privilege to introduce Congresswoman Grace Meng, please. Thank you.

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Commissioner Aggarwala: Thank you, congresswoman. Now it's my great privilege to invite Borough President Donovan Richards.

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Commissioner Aggarwala: Thank you, borough president. Now I'd like to invite Council Member Lynn Schulman.

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Commissioner Aggarwala: Thank you, council member. Now I'd like to invite Council Member Jim Gennaro, chair of the Environmental Protection Committee.

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Commissioner Aggarwala: Very good. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Now, for all the work that we do in making policy, the people who actually make the planet greener are the people who do it building by building. I'd like to give my thanks and congratulations to Greg Carlson, the president of the Fairview co-op board, and invite him to speak.

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Mayor Adams: Thank you, thank you.

Question: The city's clearly taking some steps. Do you say that carbon neutrality may now be possible by 2050? Do you have confidence that you can reach that goal?

Mayor Adams: Yes. Yes, yes and yes. And not only reach that goal, but really build out the pipeline of employment to reach that goal because the administration is about ending inequality, the proper job training. Everything from retrofitting to the new technology. I met with an Israeli company that is talking about how do we build out electric vehicles? I met with a company from Vietnam that is at the car show. They opened an electric vehicle plant in Carolina. We want to attract them here to New York. It's more than changing the environment of the air we breathe. We need to change the environment of the lifestyle people are living that we left behind. So yes, I do believe we can reach that goal.

Question: Can I ask you also about your personal contribution, your lifestyle? We know you are on a plant based diet, I believe the city vehicles you use our hybrid. Do you compost, do you take other steps?

Mayor Adams: Oh, if you come to City Hall, look in the kitchen. I have a compost. I have where I put my recyclables located, LED lights at home, which many people don't realize is one of the biggest contributors to our carbon issue is feed for cattle. The over consumption of meat. That's something that's not talked about. We're going to really start showing New Yorkers how our lifestyles can really decrease the carbon issue. Personally, I want to continue to decrease my carbon. We all can do better. I want to do better. And I constantly seek out ways of doing so.

Question: Yeah, last month, several council members and also the comptroller called on you to fully fund Local Law 97, after you released your preliminary budget, is that something you're willing to do?

Mayor Adams: We're still in the budgetary talks, still in conversation. So many people will say, "Well, you know what, Eric is not going to be aggressive about that." Wrong. I'm going to be extremely aggressive about it. I did not start as mayor talking about improving our environment. This is something I'm committed to, I'm going to continue to do so. And we're still in budget talks. This is the budget dance that takes place right now. We are going to be fine, trust me. Everybody's going, we're going to do in the words of Rodney King, "We are all going to get along. Trust me."

[Crosstalk]

Mayor Adams: We're going to take a quick picture and we'll come back for a few off topics. 

[Crosstalk]

Question: Dozens of DOE employees were caught with fake vaccinations cards, they were placed on unpaid leave. Have you given more consideration to whether you're going to lift the vaccine mandate for city employees and private employers as well? Any movement at all?

Mayor Adams: No, not at all. And I'm really disappointed to learn that there were fake vaccination cards. Not only is that illegal, it undermines our entire trust. And my understanding is it's being investigated and we're going to see the outcome of the investigation.

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