Solar panels installed on rooftops at 89-12 153rd St., Jamaica, Queens/ Image credit: Zara Realty
NEW YORK CITY—With Earth Day approaching on April 22, Zara Realty made a timely announcement. The real estate firm that's based in Jamaica, Queens plans to install more than 6,500 solar energy panels, covering every building it owns in the borough by next year.
The $6.5 million project that's underway is converting the energy use in the common areas of 45 buildings to sustainable solar power. Zara Realty says this will produce enough clean energy to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of five million vehicle miles driven each year. It notes this will replace what's equivalent to the carbon emissions of 355 homes and 423 cars over a year. Plus, the project has created 50 jobs.
Premier Solar Solutions, a Long Island-based company, and New York City-based Sol Alliance energy consultants are handling the installation. The city's OneNYC plan aims to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 and Zara Realty points out that its initiative is in line with this program.
“As building owners we are in a unique position to do our part to make the investments now that will help leave our children a greener and healthier world,” says Tony Subraj, VP of Zara Realty. “Clean energy is the future, and as we continue modernizing and upgrading older buildings to meet the demands of today's world, converting to solar energy in our properties will be at the forefront of that effort.”
In addition to this positive, environmentally friendly news, the company has also recently received some negative public attention. On March 1, The Real Deal reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James and the New York state Division of Housing and Community Renewal have hit Zara Realty with a lawsuit. The complaint accuses the company of “harassing tenants with illegal broker fees, rent increases and late fees.” It alleges the firm repeatedly violated New York's rent stabilization laws.
TRD also reported that Zara Realty's attorneys say the company has been cooperating with HCR and that they plan to contest the allegations calling many factually inaccurate.
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
