Green Roofs and Infrastructure
Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof atop Broadway Stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Photo: NYC Bird Alliance.
Historically, NYC Bird Alliance has advocated for the conservation of natural areas in New York City with two primary goals in mind: the preservation of habitat for birds, and the safeguarding of ecological services that protect both people and wildlife in our city. Projects such as Buffer the Bay (1987), Buffer the Bay Revisited (1993), and Jamaica Bay Coastal Habitat Restoration Project (1994-1996) aimed to protect land surrounding Jamaica Bay as bird habitat, and as a buffer from storms and flooding.
Protecting and preserving coastal habitat remains a critical priority. In recent years, as the need to protect the City has become ever more imperative in the face of climate change, city planners have begun to design built infrastructure to mimic the ecosystem services provided by natural areas. Efforts to directly preserve natural habitat and create green urban infrastructure are, in fact, complementary.
Green Roof Tax Abatement
NYC Bird Alliance’s advocacy efforts focus on legislation that would help reduce urban heat island effects by absorbing and dissipating heat, improve air quality, and mitigate the negative impacts of stormwater runoff. Moreover, green roofs enhance urban biodiversity by providing habitats for birds and other wildlife, and contribute to carbon capture, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. New Yorkers are needing to adapt to increasing temperatures and more frequent and intense rainfall due to climate change. Migratory birds require stopover habitat as they pass through NYC, allowing them to refuel and continue migration. Green roofs are a necessary resiliency and conservation tool for humans and birds at a time of global extreme weather crisis and migratory bird population decline.
In 2024, NYC Bird Alliance worked to renew that tax abatement to reduce barriers to entry and equitably expand the program across all five boroughs. NYC Bird Alliance helped the renewal of the GRTA pass the NY State Senate and Assembly, and—with the help of outspoken supporters, members, and advocacy volunteers—successfully applied pressure to the Governor to sign the legislation.
The 2024 Green Roof Tax Abatement renewal will:
The 2024 Green Roof Tax Abatement renewal will:
- Create urban habitat for wild birds.
- Help New York City adapt to increasing temperatures and more frequent and intense rainfall due to climate change.
- Equitably distribute green roofs across the five boroughs, especially Environmental Justice communities.
TAKE ACTION FOR THE GRTA
Herring Gull eggs on the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Green Roof. Photo: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
THANK GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL
Please thank Governor Hochul for signing on to the renewal of the Green Roof Tax Abatement for a more green, climate-resilient, and bird-friendly NYC!
The Problem of Stormwater
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that nationwide, 10 trillion gallons a year of untreated stormwater runs off roofs, roads, parking lots, and other paved surfaces, often combined with household sewage, into urban rivers and waterways. These Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) represent a serious, and with climate change, growing problem for our planet. In New York City alone, about 30 billion gallons of CSOs are discharged annually, when rainwater flows into our sewers and overwhelms the water treatment plants, resulting in untreated waste water being discharged directly into our waterways.
In addition to the clear threat to the health of humans and wildlife, there is also mounting evidence that elevated nitrogen levels in CSOs contribute to the rapid erosion of our salt marshes—which control shoreline erosion and provide temporary resting grounds for the thousands of weary birds that pass through our area during migration The regular overflow of raw sewage and runoff from paved surfaces is a serious threat to the health of the Jamaica Bay ecosystem. Learn more about water quality and stormwater issues in New York City.)
Creating Solutions—and Habitat
New York City is trying to address CSOs through a variety of responses developed in part by its Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). “Gray” infrastructure—traditional solutions such as sewage treatment plants and storage tanks—are being updated or rebuilt with green alternatives—green roofs, rain barrels, rain gardens, permeable pavement, tree pits with below-grade water catchments, and bioswales that catch and store rainwater, preventing it from causing sewage overflow events.
These green infrastructure projects are usually designed with stormwater capture and management as a main priority, but they also provide countless other benefits to our urban ecosystem, including lowered temperatures, improved air quality, and reduced noise pollution. Though not a replacement for habitat lost to development, these projects may help preserve the City’s remaining salt marshes by reducing stormwater run-off. And they may provide new habitat that will enable birds and other wildlife to survive, and thrive, in our urban environment.
NYC Bird Alliance has been involved in a number of green infrastructure projects, detailed below. This work is enriched by cooperative partnerships, and to this end we facilitate the Green Roof Researchers Alliance, a consortium of over 60 green roof researchers. In collaboration with Fordham University and the American Museum of Natural History, we conduct biodiversity monitoring of green infrastructure sites focused on birds, bats, and insects.
