"This tax abatement will act as an economic stimulus by creating living wage green-collar jobs that are pathways out of poverty," says Rob Crauderueff, director of sustainable policy at Sustainable South Bronx and chair of S.W.I.M's policy committee, in a prepared release. S.W.I.M is a coalition of 50 city, state and national organizations "dedicated to ensuring fishable and swimmable waters around New York through natural, sustainable storm water management practices," according to the release.

Harris notes that while the number of contractors qualified to install green roofs is relatively low, "I would see this as a growing business in what you would call 'green collar' jobs." Among the landscaping contractors active in the green-roof sector is Plant Fantasies Inc., which has installed such coverings at high-end apartment buildings but is also finalizing one for Mount Hope Community Center in the northwest Bronx.

Aesthetic appeal played a part in Shaun Belle's decision to put a green roof on the community center. "We want to create a visual patchwork of green in an asphalt jungle with very few open spaces," says Belle, CEO of Mount Hope Housing Co., in a prepared release. "Our goal is to soften up the landscape with trees, shrubs and flowering plants." According to the release, three levels of planted outdoor terraces will offer views from multiple levels of the building, and the 3,600-sf green roof—plus a smaller, 900-sf roof—will perform water retention and cooling functions for the building.

The Mount Hope example helps illustrate Harris' belief that green-roof installation is "lots of different types of buildings. I see a lot of interest on a citywide basis in doing something to help our environment, and this is a tangible action people can take." She adds that the tax abatement will help spur interest in green roofs.

For optimal results, Harris says, green roofs should be installed "on all of the buildings in the neighborhood, to reduce the temperature on a neighborhood-wide basis. That would be fantastic for the environment." Naturally, this would require somebody taking the lead after installing a green roof: organizing his or her fellow property owners to follow the example. "Community boards would be a good place for people to publicize green roofs and maybe get activities going on a community-wide basis."

The green-roof tax abatement is a five-year pilot program, subject to renewal in 2013, and Harris is confident that the program will prove itself in that time. It may also serve as a pilot program in another sense, that of setting an example for smaller municipalities or counties to follow. Harris says, "Right now the legislation is geared toward cities of more than one million"—of which New York City is the only one in the state—"but I see no reason why cities with smaller populations shouldn't seek to have the same environmental benefits."