The city's public housing developments are poised to get environmental upgrades that city and federal officials say will save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The announcement came on the same day the mayor called on the federal government for more money for public transportation. NY1’s Grace Rauh filed this report.
Utility bills at the city's public housing authority are on the rise. The cost of water, electricity and heat have skyrocketed 64 percent over the last decade even though energy usage is up only slightly.
City and federal officials say they have plans to cut costs. A new program with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development means $100 million will be spent to install energy efficient systems in public housing buildings. There will be upgrades to boilers. One million energy efficient lights will be installed.
“Millions and millions of dollars are going to be saved in the process. When you have an energy-efficient environment you save a lot of money you stop wasting all that energy and you can turn that money back to other crucial capital needs,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The money for the upgrades will come from private loans.
The program will target 89 public housing developments at first. Officials say they chose properties they felt would achieve the greatest energy cost savings.
Earlier in the day federal funding for public transportation was on the Mayor's mind. He and Senator Charles Schumer appeared together to call on Congress to fund a federal transportation bill that is set to run out of money at the end of May.
“This is our life line. It is a life line for all of us. This is what makes our economy work,” de Blasio said.
The city's commitment to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, meanwhile, has remained around $100 million a year, with no increases for inflation.
The city has a fine tradition of investing in mass transit.
The mayor says he will have more to say about the city's support for the MTA when he presents his executive budget in about a month.