Continuing with the green visions of PlaNYC, which was launched in 2007, New York City continues to address three core challenges: an aging infrastructure, a growing population and an at-risk environment.
By Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City

New York is the most open city in the world _ open to new people, new cultures, new practices and new ideas. By welcoming immigrants from every corner of the Earth and by giving them the opportunity to pursue their dreams, we have been _ and continue to be _ a magnet for talented, creative and ambitious people. And they, in turn, have built New York into a city like no other _ a global capital of finance and fashion, trade and technology, culture and cuisine, all founded upon extraordinary, improbable, awe-inspiring and iconic works of public infrastructure. So much of modern New York is a legacy from generations past, when _ thankfully _ people looked ahead and envisioned a more livable city. In 1857, a time when most cities, including New York, were attempting to cope with population explosions, New York's leaders had the foresight to begin building Central Park. You could say it was our first green initiative. Completed in 1873, (and not until after overcoming political opposition and lawsuits) Central Park comprises 843 acres in the heart of Manhattan (a patch of land estimated to be worth almost $530 billion today _ but we're not selling). It was one of the first large public parks to be built in any American city, and it remains one of New York's most celebrated landmarks. A few years later, in 1882, Thomas Edison built the world's first power plant on Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan, only a few blocks from my desk in City Hall. Today, New York's largest electricity provider, Con Edison, still bears his name. From the window of his plant on Pearl Street, Edison could see another wonder being built: the Brooklyn Bridge. Completed in 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, a title it held until 1903, when it was passed by its next-door neighbor, the Williamsburg Bridge, which bore the title until 1924. By that point, New York City's Water Tunnel Number One, an engineering marvel that brought water from upstate reservoirs to the five boroughs and which is still in use today, was already seven years old. Underground in Midtown and on the Lower East Side, it was competing for space with the first of the New York City subway lines, built in 1904 _ with some 700 miles of track to follow. These early innovations _ daring, all _ allowed New York to grow into the nation's largest and most prosperous city. In the decades that followed, some new infrastructure continued to be built, especially during President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. But in the post-war era, we began to take our infrastructure for granted. We largely stopped building. And when a fiscal crisis hit in the 1970s, we even stopped maintaining the infrastructure we had. As a result, the subway system

became unreliable, parks became dust bowls and some bridges even faced the possibility of collapse. Coupled with rising crime rates, New York City seemed to be in a state of hopeless decline and dysfunction. "The ungovernable city," they called it. Only it wasn't. When I came into office in 2002, the city had spent two decades re-investing in our infrastructure and bringing back our subways, bridges and parks. But making up for past mistakes is not enough. Once again, we needed to look ahead and build for the future, and that meant not only upgrading our old infrastructure but also building anew. This is especially

true as New York continues to grow in size. Today, we have a population of 8.4 million people; by 2030, we expect to reach 9 million. These new residents will place increasing stress on our infrastructure systems. For example, peak electricity demand is projected to increase by 29 percent by 2030, with an overall increase in electricity demand of 44 percent. Traffic congestion already costs New Yorkers more than 40 hours of lost time every year. And our water supply, although sufficient, will need to serve more people in more places. The challenge we face today is not only how to meet these needs but also how to do it in an environmentally

"We incorporated a vertical rhythm to the elevators and also incorporated flat parapet roof elements." John Schrader emphasized how crucial the aspect of location is when heading a project of this magnitude. "We [JHP Architecture] have noticed a trend to locate them on a public transit system," he said. Having the option to take public transportation saves money and is reliable way to travel if residents cannot drive. According to Schrader, the most challenging aspect of construction was the replacement of the parking lot for the original tower. The solution was to build into the site and to create a replacement lot that would be accessible to residents,

while keeping cost in mind. "A parking deck was built into the grade so there are no ramps in the garage. This saved money and makes it easier for the seniors to drive in." JHP Architecture, is no stranger to award recognition. In 2008, Dorsey Manor was awarded the On The Boards _ Income Qualified Rental Silver Achievement Award. Now as our "Best Affordable Senior Living Community" in 2010, Schrader said it couldn't be more rewarding. "We are thrilled. JHP is doing a lot of these small scale infill affordable senior housing projects, and we are very appreciative that 50+ Builder acknowledges that."

sustainable way. Already, New York has one of the smallest carbon footprints of any American city as a result of the density of our buildings and our robust mass transit system. However, the threat of climate change challenges all of us to do more, and New York City should always lead by example _ and we are. In 2007, we launched PlaNYC _ our vision for a greener, greater New York _ to address three core challenges: New York's aging infrastructure, our growing population and our at-risk environment. The plan began as a long-term, strategic land-use planning exercise. However, as we engaged New Yorkers and experts, we realized the city needed a more comprehensive vision for guiding future growth. PlaNYC is the result, and it is one of the most ambitious attempts by any city in the world to meet the needs of our current and future residents. After just three years, we have already achieved significant successes in a number of areas, including making real progress toward our goal of reducing the city's carbon emissions 30 percent by 2030. One of the key steps we have taken to reduce carbon emissions has been to modernize our electricity infrastructure. In New York City, electricity consumption is responsible for roughly 80 percent of our global-warming emissions and more than 40 percent of all locally-generated air pollution. With a growing population, we need to find new ways to deliver energy more efficiently, as well as to produce more clean energy. To achieve these goals, the city is working with New York State, Con Edison and other electricity providers to supply 2,000 to 3,000 megawatts of additional clean energy. And we have also adopted _ with the help of the city council and its speaker, Christine Quinn _ a comprehensive legislative green buildings package that we call our Greener, Greater Buildings Plan. The legislation will curb the city's peak energy demand by requiring ongoing efficiency improvements in existing large buildings, which consume nearly half of the city's energy. The result will be a 5 percent reduction in our carbon emissions _ the equivalent of making the entire city of Oakland carbon neutral. More than 100 years after Edison built his plant on Pearl Street, we're now beginning a second urban energy revolution. Of course, electricity is not the only aspect of our infrastructure that we have been improving. Over the past eight years, we have spent more building a third water tunnel _ construction of which stopped and started for decades as good times came and went _ had than the previous five administrations combined.

Our other two water tunnels _ built so many decades ago _ are leaking and in need of repair. If one were to break down, half of the city could run dry. The only way to fix the leaks is to bring a third tunnel on line _ and that's exactly what we are doing. We are also building a water filtration plant under a public golf course in the Bronx, and to protect the quality of our reservoirs, we've acquired thousands of acres in upstate counties that otherwise might have been purchased by developers. Together, these steps will help ensure that New Yorkers have a continuous supply of clean water. At the same time, we have pioneered the best stormwater management practices that are preserving valuable wetlands in Staten Island, which has helped mitigate damage from storm flooding while also creating community open spaces and wildlife habitats. Protecting our natural resources is a vital component of PlaNYC and is a top priority for our administration. As we work to keep our water clean, we're also working to improve the quality of the air we breathe. Over the past several years, we have turned about onequarter of our 13,000 yellow taxi cabs green; they are now hybrids or highly fuel-efficient. We've added over

360 miles of new bike lanes to provide New Yorkers with more options for moving around the city. We are building an extension to the Number 7 subway train, from Times Square over to 11th Avenue and down to 34th Street _ the first new miles of subway track built by the city in decades. We are also building the foundations of a Bus Rapid Transit network, with dedicated bus lanes and links to our subways, commuter rail lines and ferries. And as part of our vision for a more walkable New York, we've created new pedestrian plazas in Times Square, Herald Square and other locations. These new plazas have not only created a new destination for pedestrians and for those looking for a place to sit, they have also improved pedestrian and motorist safety, as well as vehicle travel times throughout Midtown.

As much as we have been doing to modernize and expand our infrastructure, cities cannot do it alone. In fact, the need for federal assistance has never been greater. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the United States' infrastructure an overall grade of D, concluding that the country would need an investment of $2.2 trillion for our infrastructure to reach a state of good repair. To help persuade our federal representatives to take action, I have joined forces with Governor Ed Rendell, D-Pa., and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif., to form Building America's Future, a coalition of elected officials who recognize the need for national infrastructure reforms. Our partnership demonstrates that infrastructure is not a partisan issue; it's a national the way. Historically, the federal government was a major funder of infrastructure; that's how we built the Eisenhower Interstate Highway system, for instance.

But today, three out of every four public infrastructure dollars comes from states and cities. For the American economy to remain a global superpower, we need Washington to play a stronger role in building a 21st century infrastructure system. During these tough times, it is important to remember that sustainability does not have to come at the expense of economic development and job creation. In fact, the two go hand-in-hand. PlaNYC is, above all, a development strategy _ a strategy for smart, sustainable growth that creates both shortterm and long-term jobs, incentivizes environmentally responsible practices and modernizes and expands our infrastructure. Our goal is simple: to leave our children and grandchildren a city as strong and healthy and promising as the one that our parents and grandparents left for us.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been mayor of New York City since 2002. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov.