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Green Canopy in the Urban Jungle

A tax break for covering roofs with plant life earns lawmakers' approval

By Paul Bubny | Updated on June 27, 2008

Having been dealt a setback earlier this year when its congestion pricing plan died in the New York State Legislature, the Bloomberg administration and its PlaNYC environmental initiative enjoyed a big inning during the legislative session’s final days. Even as Mayor Michael Bloomberg applauded Home Depot’s plan to open recycling centers for compact fluorescent lights at its stores in New York City and elsewhere, a number of bills were being passed in Albany that will help advance PlaNYC’s goals.

Both houses of the legislature approved separate bills related to tax benefits for installing solar panels and green roofs in New York City. The state’s “net metering” program, allowing those with wind-powered generating systems to provide energy back into the grid and get a credit against their own usage, will be expanded to include commercial customers. Stiffer “block the box” penalties have been enacted to help ease New York City gridlock. Additionally, construction of the Gansevoort waste-transfer station, in the works for more than three years, will finally move forward under an agreement between the city and the legislature.

Of the two tax-abatement provisions, it seems likely that the one rewarding installation of a green roof may get more takers at the moment. “Relatively speaking, if you have an appropriate roof, it’s easy to put on a green roof,” attorney Caroline Harris tells Real Estate New York. “And there are multiple benefits to doing so,” as compared to the solar panel, which only generates one benefit, albeit a substantial one: producing energy.

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