Pratt Center
February 17, 2010
Retrofit Block By Block Inspires New Citywide Program
In her 2010 State of the City Address, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced a new Council-led initiative to retrofit homes for energy efficiency, focusing efforts in targeted locations in all five boroughs. Speaker Quinn noted that the new program will be based on a project created by the Pratt Center for Community Development. The Council will be supporting the five retrofit sites with assistance to property owners in obtaining financing for improvements, including a new loan fund.
In partnership with Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the Pratt Center launched Retrofit Bedford Stuyvesant, which is now working with property owners on two blocks of Brooklyn's Herkimer Street to obtain energy audits and obtain government assistance in financing upgrades to make homes more energy efficient. Focusing efforts in a defined geographic area takes full advantage of urban density. Word-of-mouth and social networks facilitate marketing and education about benefits of signing up for retrofit programs. Once property owners commit to energy audits and upgrades, the work is concentrated in a cluster, rather than scattered widely.
Retrofit Bedford Stuyvesant aims to retrofit over 5,000 homes and serve as a model for reducing home energy use in urban neighborhoods.