200 BROOKLYN NEWS WWW.BROOKLYN-USA.ORG It’s easier than ever to be green in Brooklyn. Borough President Adams is committed to the color that symbolizes a more environmentally-friendly future, a greater amount of dollars and cents saved by Brooklynites, and the general good-natured envy that the borough’s innovation in energy has inspired. This has been the driving force behind Borough President Adams’ Renewable and Sustainable Energy Taskforce (ReSET). ReSET was conceived by Borough President Adams in the early days of his administration as a way of bringing energy stakeholders together, on a quarterly basis, to discuss how to address rising energy needs across the borough in a way that promotes cleaner and more efficient usage while simultaneously preparing Brooklyn to withstand and combat some of the effects of global warming. The borough’s energy providers, specifically Con Edison and National Grid, government agencies such as the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), as well as dozens of communitybased organizations (CBOs) and clean energy stakeholders have been members of ReSET from the very beginning. The diverse group has brought various viewpoints to the vision of Brooklyn’s energy future, and its membership has expanded over the last two years as word of its work has spread. “As more people make Brooklyn their home and our society becomes increasingly connected by technology, our borough needs to prepare for the increased energy needs that come with that progress,” said Borough President Adams. “Tangible actions to connect residents to energy efficiency programs are imperative if we are to meet the goal of creating a cleaner and healthier city.” P r e l i m i n a r y Brightening Brooklyn’s Future: A Report on ReSET meetings focused on information gathering and dissemination. ReSET recognized early on that while there are many free, or heavily subsidized, local programs designed to help individual consumers and small businesses reduce their energy footprint, such initiatives were not being utilized at the needed levels to make a sizable impact. To counteract that trend, Borough President Adams undertook a series of outreach efforts, including designing energy awareness and literacy programs targeted to Brooklyn’s faith-based communities as well as creating a dedicated page on his website (brooklyn-usa.org) for a listing of the various rebates and programs available from energy providers; one notable focus of his promotion has been the availability of NYSERDA’s free energy audits for low-income Brooklynites. This work has also gone beyond informing Brooklyn’s residential population; last December, he announced a partnership with the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) to provide a rider to all commercial and industrial leases that outlines programs available to renters. With Borough President Adams committed to showing he means it when he “greens” it, Brooklyn Borough Hall itself has also moved forward with a number of eco-friendly improvements under his leadership. He is continuing to advance the process for Brooklyn’s oldest public building to be Leadership Photo Credit: Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP’s Office Borough President Adams held up an energy-efficient lightbulb outside Brooklyn Borough Hall, a building he has committed to advancing toward LEED certification in order to showcase how a landmark that is more than 150 years old can be a model of sustainable practices that all Brooklynites can replicate. in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified, showcasing how a landmark that is more than 150 years old can be a model of sustainable practices that all Brooklynites can replicate, from lighting rooms to cleaning floors. More recently, he has launched a volunteer organics collection program for his office to explore how best to promote the practice across the borough. More recent ReSET gatherings have focused on new technologies as well as creating coalitions to help bring to life new and ambitious projects that will help Brooklyn meet the city’s future energy goals. These projects include bringing solar power to more Brooklynites, which Borough President Adams has sought to advance through supporting efforts such as the Solarize Brooklyn program, making investing in this energy source easier and more affordable for residents and businesses in western Brooklyn communities. As a result of ReSET’s work, Borough President Adams has pushed the City to modernize its approach to microgrids — small-scale networks that can operate independently or in conjunction with the area’s main electrical grid — in order to help improve resiliency in the face of major weather events such as Superstorm Sandy. ReSET has also been vocal in calling for statewide policy change to support construction by Passive House standards, which result in buildings that can reduce demands on heating and cooling energy by up to 90 percent, as well as for designating within Brooklyn a 2030 District, areas that commit to cutting in half their building energy usage, water consumption, and transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. ReSET is also an opportunity for Borough President Adams to enhance his office’s efforts to improve and secure Brooklyn’s energy future through a variety of policy initiatives. For example, he successfully advocated this spring for increasing state regulation of energy service companies (ESCOs), following reports of scams targeting elderly, lowincome, and non-English speaking Brooklynites. Borough President Adams has also urged the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to provide some form of compensation and preparation time to its school sustainability coordinators, which expand energy conservation and recycling programs but lack basic resources. “Where we dedicate resources demonstrates our priorities,” wrote Borough President Adams in a report he released this April, “Supporting Sustainability in Schools: A Greener Path Forward.” “The same principle applies to sustainability, which offers students an opportunity to participate personally in protecting the natural environment and creating a green earth.” ReSET has clearly been an energizing force in Borough President Adams’ green agenda, with hopes of a more renewable and sustainable future looking “brighter” than ever in Brooklyn.
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