The NYC Retrofit Accelerator

Organization Name: Mayor's Office of Sustainability

Project Location: Private properties city wide

Project Goals:
The NYC Retrofit Accelerator is part of the City’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. It is a one-stop resource for owners and operators of privately owned buildings who want to increase the value and sustainability of their properties through energy and water upgrades while making a positive impact on our environment.
The NYC Retrofit Accelerator has worked side by side with NYC HPD, NYC HDC, and NYS DHCR to ensure affordable housing properties are able to integrate energy efficiency into their maintenance plans and at the time of capital improvements. Efficiency Advisers have promoted compliance with City building energy regulations including Local Law 87 energy audits and conversions to cleaner heating fuels. Advisers have also provided guidance on the process to make all buildings more efficient. Affordable housing properties have the opportunity to receive free on-site energy efficiency training to identify issues and opportunities for improvements.

Project Description:
NYC Retrofit Accelerator is a free program that offers advisory services to help building decision makers successfully complete energy and water efficiency projects. Data analysis for over 22,000 buildings provided insight to help identify and prioritize specific energy and water retrofits. Examples: a building is located in a flood zone and may require resiliency measures; the boiler is 20 years old and should be replaced; the building is in the top 30% of its peer group for energy consumption. Efficiency Advisors provide individualized guidance to building decision-makers to help them comply with local energy regulations, determine which projects their buildings would benefit most from, interpret their ASHRAE Level II audits, connect them to service providers, share information on incentives and financing, and be available as a resource for building decision makers throughout project implementation to help them achieve their cost reduction goals.

Community Impact:
Since the program started, the New York City Retrofit Accelerator has engaged over 3,000 buildings, providing assistance to over 2,300 energy efficiency projects throughout the five boroughs. The program has coordinated with 25 different market programs, providing opportunities for affordable housing properties to engage in other initiatives and take advantage of available funding to make their projects stretch further. Our community engagement team has increase awareness of the benefits of energy efficiency in communities with high concentrations of affordable housing by participating in 58 events and establishing relationships with 27 organizations. The program has also trained 194 building operators on energy efficiency practices.

Organization Description:
The NYC Retrofit Accelerator is a free program provided by the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability that offers free, personalized advisory services that streamline the process of making building energy efficiency improvements.