Gioia’s auditors visited clusters of government and municipal buildings across the city, and discovered that many buildings in Long Island City, Downtown Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan had lights on at 3:00 am on a weeknight. The auditors estimated that significantly more lights were turned on than would be sufficient for cleaning services.
New York City has already implemented several long-term measures to decrease the city’s energy consumption. Mayor Bloomberg has allocated a fixed percentage of the city’s capitol funds to be invested in energy efficiency programs. The Mayor plans to cut city government’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2107. New York City government currently spends approximately $1 billion a year on energy costs.
Gioia has proposed a legislation to further reduce the city’s energy spending and increase energy efficiency. His proposal would mandate energy audits for all buildings in New York City by 2012. These audits would analyze the amount of energy usage, identify waste, and recommend energy-efficient and cost-effective improvements, such as turning off systems during non-use hours and replacing windows.
“Government buildings shouldn’t be lit up like Times Square in the middle of the night,” said Councilman Gioia. “Mayor Bloomberg has done a good job looking forward to the future, figuring out the bigger expenditures to retrofit buildings that will save us money in the long run, and putting aside the capital funding for it. Turning the lights off after the workday isn’t difficult to do, has far reaching consequences and should be mandatory for all city buildings. Energy audits for all government buildings would help green the environment, create a more sustainable city, and in tough economic times would save New York money.”
Office buildings are estimated to produce more pollution than cars, and to use more energy than commercial buildings. According to the U.S Department of Energy, office buildings use $1.34 of electricity per square foot, whereas commercial buildings use only $0.99 per square foot, on average. In 2005, city buildings accounted for 79 percent of CO2 emissions, with government buildings accounting for 64 percent of emissions and producing approximately 2.4 million metric tons of CO2.
