Water Sector News
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Green roofs may soon be required on all new buildings in New York City
One hundred percent of new residential and commercial buildings may soon be required to install green or solar rooftops following the passage in the City Council of three bills on Thursday. If signed into law, it would make New York the largest city in the country to pass such a requirement.
All new buildings and any homeowner doing renovation on their existing rooftop will have to invest in the green infrastructure.
The package of bills includes three pieces of legislation from Councilmembers Rafael Espinal, Donovan Richards and Stephen Levin. They will require 100 percent of the roof area to be covered, a more aggressive requirement than that of other cities, which only require 25 to 50 percent of the roof to be covered.
“Now more than ever, New Yorkers, and my colleagues, have become aware that climate change is an existential threat that we have to take on and really focus on moving forward,” Espinal told the Brooklyn Eagle. “The U.N. climate report stressed the fact that we are on a limited timeframe.