Excerpted from: 

North County News - October 1, 2008

Yorktown may reduce fees for green builders

By Anna Lillian Moser
The Yorktown Town Board may adopt legislation that would reduce
building permit fees by 50 percent for residents who install solar-
powered hot water systems or solar electric panels.

The proposed law was presented by Councilman Nick Bianco and will be
up for a public hearing on Oct. 22. Bianco devised the proposal with
the help of Green Yorktown co-chairman Jerry Robock, who had a solar
heating system installed in his own home recently.

Robock said the proposed 50 percent reduction in fees won’t cause
Yorktown homeowners to run out and install solar paneling, but
contends it does send a message that the government is being proactive
in trying to reduce the town’s carbon footprint.

“The fact that they’re taking this stand is a demonstration of their
willingness to help in whatever ways they can to help educate people
and offer them more opportunities to move in that direction,” Robock
said. “It brings attention to the issues.”

Robock’s two-panel hot water system cost $9,000, but with $4,375 in
state and federal credits, the cost came to $5,125. Robock admits
that’s a lot of money, but said that with his new solar energy system
he no longer uses 200 gallons of oil a year, which equals about $800
per year in savings.

There are also low interest bank loans available for residents who
want to make energy efficient improvements.

“It will pay for itself in five or six years and after that it’s
free,” Robock said. “So the payback is reasonable. It’s not free, it’s
not cheap and you do have to have some income to be able to be willing
to put up some money to pay for it up front.”

Robock also plans to install solar electric paneling in his home. The
system costs $36,000, but with rebates and tax credits, Robock will
spend a total of $13,000, saving $1,300 in annual electric bills. The
system could be paid off in 10 years time.

“The positive thing is that the price of energy has risen so much that
it makes these options even more interesting,” Robock said.

BE ENERGY SMART!

Home Energy Forum II: Choose Energy Efficiency:Sept 18, 2008

GreenYorktown welcomes you to  Home Energy Forum II: Choose Energy Efficiency September 18, 7:30 pm,Yorktown Town Hall. With winter approaching and fuel costs rising, energy efficiency is the smart, economical choice to make. NYS programs are available to help homeowners with energy audits, planning and financial assistance.

NOTES FROM 9/18/08

Last Thursday evening at Town Hall, Elyssa Rothe did a great job chairing the panel of Larry Nissman and Hugo Salinas, Home Performance Contractors, Barbara Fireman, an Energy $mart Loan Fund officer from Westchester Federal Credit Union, and Jonathan Nettelfield, a Yorktown homeowner who has had an energy audit in his home.
Jonathan Nettelfield  spoke about his experience with the energy audit program and felt it was “excellent”. He has implemented some of the recommendations of the audit, but found that one important benefit of the program was “really understanding and learning about my house”.  His description of the audit was humorous and informative and was an important part of the panel.
      Hugo Salinas and Larry Nissman spoke at length and answered many questions about the NYSERDA residential energy audit process. Energy audits range in price but start near $300.00 in our area and take several hours to do. The contractors who perform the audits are educated, trained and accredited by the Building Performance Institute (BPI). The contractors look extensively at your home, investigating basements, attics, vents, heating and cooling systems and more. They have a “blower-door test” which pulls air out of the house to locate air leakage throughout the entire home. Solutions to energy loss run from very inexpensive fixes like caulking windows to higher priced improvements such as increasing insulation, new heating and air conditioning systems. Every house is different and every home’s solution to efficiency is different. The contractor comes back to the resident with a list of recommendations, costs, and energy/cost savings from each improvement. The homeowner can then choose how much or how little to improve their home based on these measures and the financial savings unique to them. The NYSERDA  (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) residential energy audit program, called Home Performance with Energy Star, can be found in detail at www.getenergysmart.org.
A program called “EmPower New York” is designed specifically to a lower income population- in Westchester County 60% below median income of $81,000.00 annually. This program offers energy efficient improvements to your residence (homeowners or renters) for low cost and often free, including refrigerators and EnergyStar appliances in some cases.  This program is available to homeowners and renters and can significantly reduce energy costs with little to no cost to the resident. Please go to www.getenergysmart.org for more information.
     Barbara Fireman explained some of the loan programs available to homeowners who use these programs. There are a number of tiered financial  programs which will give back money to the homeowner if these energy efficiency measures are implemented using BPI contractors. The specifics of the programs can be explained in more detail at the www.getenergysmart.org website or by speaking with one of the energy auditors.
Ms. Fireman explained that reduced loan rates are available for people using these energy efficiency programs to improve their homes. NYSERDA’s Energy $mart Loan Fund will buy down a loan rate from a participating lender by as much as 6 1/2%, so in some cases the loans are buyable for a 10 year 0-2% interest note.  For example, a $30,000 job, for 10 yrs at 0% financing costs about $250.00 a month. The rates differ if you are a ConEd or a NYSEG customer. Con Ed offers a 6 1/2% pay down on smart energy loans; NYSEG offers 4%. The interest rate reduction for most of the state is up to 4.0% (400 basis points). Con Edison customers may be eligible to receive an interest rate reduction up to 6.5% (650 basis points) less than a Participating Lender's or Lessor's normal market rate. In many cases, the energy savings to your home can equal what the loan costs, so your energy “budget” is not increased in the short term and in the long term you will save money and improve the value of your home. There are eligibility requirements (although very broad), so please go to the website or call Elyssa for more information.
     People in the audience shared their experiences with energy saving ideas. These included solar hot water heaters and a device called an outside differential or “reset control”.  This is intended for people with baseboard hot water that have a single boiler for domestic hot water as well. These boilers often set the water temperature around 160 degrees but domestic hot water should never be above 120 degrees so the boiler uses energy to heat the water to 160 but it is then blended with cold water for domestic use.  This device recognizes that the heating function of the boiler is not necessary in the summer time (outside air temperature) and is able to 'reset' the temperature lower, saving water and energy.  Jerry offered to show anyone his home solar system- email him at greenyorktown@gmail.com to organize this.
      One interesting fact found was that the tax assessment on a home cannot be increased due to renewable energy improvements (for example, solar, wind, geothermal, EnergyStar central air systems). Many remarked on the need for the town to make building permits for renewable energy improvements free or low cost. Jerry Robock reported that Yorkttown is investigating this issue and is contemplating reducing these permits by 50%.  The lesson from this forum is to take advantage of the programs available and have an energysmart home, saving fuel, money and reducing GHG all at once.
Below you can find the contact information for the panelists involved. For more information you can go to the above mentioned website, or click this link: http://www.getenergysmart.org/Resources/FindPartnerDetails.aspx?co=41 to find BPI accredited contractors in Westchester.
(For more information on day to day savings on home energy, please visit the website greenyorktown.org and click on Our Home.)

Panelists :Home Energy II Choose Energy Efficiency:
- Barbara Fireman
Loan Officer
Westchester Federal Credit Union
177 Hillside Avenue, 2nd Floor
Greenburgh, New York 10607
Phone: (914)422-2555
Fax: (914)422-8066
barbara@westchesterfcu.org

Elyssa Rothe
Westchester/Bronx Energy $mart Communities Coordinator
Courtney Strong, Inc.
(914) 572-4236
rothe.elyssa@gmail.com
www.getenergysmart.org


New York Energy Conservation Co. Inc.
www.nyconservation.com
Hugo Salinas
sales@nyconservation.com
8 Valley Place
New Rochelle, NY 10801
Phone: (914) 654-1937
Fax: (914) 654-0137


Phoenix Mechanical
www.phoenixny.com/homeenergy.html
Larry Nissman
lnissman@aol.com
17 Magnolia Drive
Rye Brook, NY 10573
Phone: (914) 690-1000
Fax: (914) 690-9089
 

“HUDSON WARMING: LOCAL IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE”

Weather affects us all daily, from simply deciding how to dress to worrying about how to survive severe storms.
As we hear more and more about climate change, as we watch natural disasters on TV, we may still feel somewhat removed from these events. However, the question that lurks is “ Is climate change occurring near me? Or is this merely weird weather?”

GreenYorktown, an environmental advocacy group, invites the public to join us for coffee and conversation on climate change nearby. On May 28th, 7:30 pm at Yorktown Town Hall, GreenYorktown Café will present an evening with Yorktown climatologist Jerry Thaler. Jerry Thaler, a retired Earth Science professor at Mercy and WCC, is the author of four books on weather and climate and has received two awards from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dr. Thaler, a longtime Yorktown resident, has been tracking weather in our area for over forty years. He will speak about how his data has reflected changes in our local weather patterns as the atmospheric greenhouse gases have increased. Dr. Thaler will take questions after he speaks. Following this, GreenYorktown will have a short working meeting. All are welcome to stay and participate. We hope you will come and learn more about our community and its weather.

Dr. Thaler is the author of “The Weather History and Climate Guide to the Lower Hudson Valley”,
“Catskill Weather”, and “Adirondack Weather.”

GREENYORKTOWN CAFÉ PRESENTS:
An evening of fun, film and fellowship (for free!). Join us to watch the short film, “The True Cost of Food” on Wednesday April 30, 7:30 pm at the Yorktown Town Hall. This 15 minute animated video takes a light approach to explaining the hidden costs of mass-produced food and about alternatives that are kinder to the planet.

Linsay Cochran, naturalist and farmer, will speak briefly about local food markets and farms. Linsay teaches Green Living at Teatown Reservation and is Teatown’s ELLA Coordinator. Eileen Zidi, organic and micro-farmer will speak about low stress farming at home. We will open the floor to discussion on these topics for a few minutes.

GreenYorktown will then welcome the public to participate in our general meeting, with special reports on ongoing projects and planning for upcoming events. Coffee and refreshments will be served. Come and enjoy the evening- bring your family and friends, everyone is welcome. For more information, visit our website www.greenyorktown.org or email us at greenyorktown@gmail.com.

“RECYCLING SIMPLIFIED”-A GREENYORKTOWN CAFÉ EVENT!

GreenYorktown presents it’s fourth free public event on March 28th, 7:00pm at the Yorktown Town Hall in Yorktown Heights, NY. “Recycling Simplified” is a panel discussion designed to help our community understand the new Westchester County recycling mandate with experts from local governments, business, and schools.

The panelists are Ron Gatto, Westchester County’s Director of Environmental Security, Kim Angliss, Recycling Education Coordinator for Yorktown, IBM’s Daniel Chess PE – Environmental Engineer and Tim Sossa from Student’s for Environmental Action. Short presentations about recycling efforts in schools, businesses, our town, and the county will be followed by discussion with the audience.

Coffee and refreshments will be served in this café style event, so bring your friends and neighbors!

GreenYorktown, a group of Yorktown residents, seeks to promote awareness and empower us, household by household, building by building, to reduce harmful emissions, conserve energy, and help limit climate change. We can be reached at greenyorktown@gmail.com or to learn more about us, visit our website at greenyorktown.org.

PRESS RELEASE From GreenYorktown's TRANSPORTATION Cafe`

GreenYorktown presents “Greenwheeling:How to Save Gas, Help the Environment and Save Money,”a free, public forum at the Yorktown Town Hall on February 29th at 7:00 pm. An expert panel will discuss ways in which we can all reduce our impacts on the environment–and save money–by making better choices about how we drive, what kind of cars we drive, and alternatives to driving. With 13,000 households in Yorktown, many of which have multiple vehicles, our transportation choices affect the quality of the air we breathe and how much greenhouse gases we emit. The good news is that there are simple things we can do today to increase the mileage our cars get and reduce our driving.

Eric DiBartolo, Yorktown Superintendent of Highways, will present Yorktown’s plans to increase the fuel efficiency of the Town’s vehicles. Ken Cothren of Metropool, a joint program of the New York State and Connecticut Departments of Transportation, will explain the many incentives for employers and employees to use public transportation or participate in ride sharing and vanpooling.

Other panelist include Bob Froats of Yorktown Tire who will cover strategies for vehicle maintenance and driving that lead to significant increases in fuel efficiency. Bill Camastro and Mike Coats of Curry Toyota will discuss the various gas-saving hybrid technologies that are available today and what we can expect in the future. Jerry Robock of Community Biofuels will discuss clean-burning biofuels like biodiesel and E85 that can be used in the family car.

This is the third in GreenYorktown’s series of public forums. We are a grassroots environmental advocacy organization that believes Yorktown’s residents can make positive choices that will improve the quality of life in our community and preserve our environment. We are seeking to provide information to the public about the vast array of resources and services available to achieve these goals. Our fourth event will be on the Green Consumer and Recycling, March 28th at the Yorktown Town Hall. For more information email us at greenyorktown@gmail.com or visit our website www.greenyorktown.org.