Residents of New York City luxury buildings aren't just paying some of the highest rents in the city—they're also the biggest contributors to its pollution, according to a report released by the advocacy group Climate Works for All.
The group looked at the Forbes Billionaire List, then Business Insider's 20 Most Expensive Buildings in New York City list, and cross-referenced this information with the city's Energy Benchmarking data. They came up with a list of ten buildings, all of which scored an F in terms of energy efficiency. On top of that list is 838 Fifth Avenue, which has an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) score of 270. An EUI score of over 206 places buildings in the 90th percentile of the worst pollution emitters for multi-family residential buildings.
Others on the list include two Donald Trump-branded buildings—Trump Tower at 721 Fifth Avenue and Trump Park Avenue at 502 Park Avenue—along with 515 Park Avenue and 740 Park Avenue. (The study makes sure to point out the Alice Walton, heir to the Wal-Mart empire, and David Koch own in those respective buildings.) The study also found that 70 percent of the city's emissions come from buildings, and that a mere two percent of the city's buildings use up almost half its energy supplies. But the group provides suggestions for reducing these emissions, such as implementing zero net energy standards andpassive house technologies, like those being used at the forthcoming Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island.
According to Climate Works for All, which is a part of ALIGN: The Alliance for Greater New York, the report is the first of many that will focus on the impact large-scale buildings on the city. Its release comes in light of the rapid rise of massive luxury developments in the city and the Mayor de Blasio's pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. At the current rate, sea levels around the city could rise by up to two feet in the same time frame, according to the group's findings.
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