NEW YORK—Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer presented a report on Monday about the dangers of boilers that burn the most highly polluting types of oil. He spoke at the Park West Village Housing Complex on the Upper West Side, which is in the zip code with the third highest concentration of “dirty” boilers still burning No. 4 and No. 6 heating oils.
The report shows that about two-thirds of the “dirty” boilers in New York City, 5,614 out of 8,912, burning No. 4 and No. 6 heating oils are located in buildings with rent-regulated apartments.
Stinger has single out what he calls the “dirty dozen,” which is the top 12 zip codes in the city with the most toxic boilers in buildings with rent regulated apartments. All of these zip codes are located in Manhattan and the Bronx, with the top being zip code 10467 in the Bronx with 252 toxic boilers, 10468 right next to it with 221 toxic boilers, and 10025 in Manhattan’s Upper West Side with 218 toxic boilers.
Boilers burning No. 4 and No. 6 heating oils emit 50 percent more pollution than every truck and car in New York City, said Stringer.
“That’s horrible. It’s also unbelievable if you think about it,” he said. “That’s why this is a health emergency; we cannot wait decades to deal with this issue. This is, without question, the number one polluter in the city.”
Research done by the city has shown that there are over 3,000 air pollution-related deaths every year and 6,000 emergency room visits. The city’s current timeline for replacing the boilers is 2015 for No. 6 boilers and 2030 for No. 4 boilers.
Along with the list of the boilers, the borough president had a series of recommendations he feels could help speed up replacing these boilers and close the loopholes allowing landlords to pass on the cost to tenants as well.
“We need to get more creative. We need to tap the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funds to help pay for these conversions. We need to look at tax abatement programs like ICAP [Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program] and J-51 rather than using these subsidies to fund gas stations,” Stringer said. He is also urging the city to publish a list of all the buildings containing boilers using no. 4 or No. 6 oil on the city’s website.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a $37 million loan fund last month that would partially be used for boiler conversions. Stringer argues this is not enough and there are landlords taking advantage of public subsidies via the Major Capital Improvement assessment, which would allow the building owners to raise monthly rent prices permanently for building improvements of a certain cost.
“This is a health issue that the landlords and the city are responsible for. Tenants are not responsible,” Stringer said. “Under the law, they are supposed to live in buildings that are habitable and safe. And we’ve now proved beyond a reasonable doubt that when you have a dirty boiler in a building, that building is not safe.”
Winifred Armstrong, a tenant of Park West Village, says the residents there have been aware of the toxic boiler issue in their buildings for quite a while now.
“All seven of the Park West buildings burn No. 6 oil, and all of which have management who said, ‘We’re not going to change that until the city requires us to do so,’” Armstrong said. Now, the city has required them to do so. But, when the management applied for the loan funds, it was already used up, said Armstrong.
Stringer says he wants the city to work collaboratively with the landlords. “Not everything has to be a fight. You’re willing to clean up your boiler, we’re willing to help subsidize it with programs that already exist, that have to be tweaked.”
The report shows that about two-thirds of the “dirty” boilers in New York City, 5,614 out of 8,912, burning No. 4 and No. 6 heating oils are located in buildings with rent-regulated apartments.
Stinger has single out what he calls the “dirty dozen,” which is the top 12 zip codes in the city with the most toxic boilers in buildings with rent regulated apartments. All of these zip codes are located in Manhattan and the Bronx, with the top being zip code 10467 in the Bronx with 252 toxic boilers, 10468 right next to it with 221 toxic boilers, and 10025 in Manhattan’s Upper West Side with 218 toxic boilers.
Boilers burning No. 4 and No. 6 heating oils emit 50 percent more pollution than every truck and car in New York City, said Stringer.
“That’s horrible. It’s also unbelievable if you think about it,” he said. “That’s why this is a health emergency; we cannot wait decades to deal with this issue. This is, without question, the number one polluter in the city.”
Research done by the city has shown that there are over 3,000 air pollution-related deaths every year and 6,000 emergency room visits. The city’s current timeline for replacing the boilers is 2015 for No. 6 boilers and 2030 for No. 4 boilers.
Along with the list of the boilers, the borough president had a series of recommendations he feels could help speed up replacing these boilers and close the loopholes allowing landlords to pass on the cost to tenants as well.
“We need to get more creative. We need to tap the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funds to help pay for these conversions. We need to look at tax abatement programs like ICAP [Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program] and J-51 rather than using these subsidies to fund gas stations,” Stringer said. He is also urging the city to publish a list of all the buildings containing boilers using no. 4 or No. 6 oil on the city’s website.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a $37 million loan fund last month that would partially be used for boiler conversions. Stringer argues this is not enough and there are landlords taking advantage of public subsidies via the Major Capital Improvement assessment, which would allow the building owners to raise monthly rent prices permanently for building improvements of a certain cost.
“This is a health issue that the landlords and the city are responsible for. Tenants are not responsible,” Stringer said. “Under the law, they are supposed to live in buildings that are habitable and safe. And we’ve now proved beyond a reasonable doubt that when you have a dirty boiler in a building, that building is not safe.”
Winifred Armstrong, a tenant of Park West Village, says the residents there have been aware of the toxic boiler issue in their buildings for quite a while now.
“All seven of the Park West buildings burn No. 6 oil, and all of which have management who said, ‘We’re not going to change that until the city requires us to do so,’” Armstrong said. Now, the city has required them to do so. But, when the management applied for the loan funds, it was already used up, said Armstrong.
Stringer says he wants the city to work collaboratively with the landlords. “Not everything has to be a fight. You’re willing to clean up your boiler, we’re willing to help subsidize it with programs that already exist, that have to be tweaked.”
