By Stephen Witt
Call it Bruce Ratner’s rooftop Garden of Eden. That’s the new rub in Forest City Ratner Companies’ (FCRC) plan to develop the Atlantic Yards, and bring the NBA’s New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn. Assemblymember Roger Green is proposing state legislation aimed at giving FCRC Companies’ Atlantic Yards plan a tax credit for the installation of Green Roof Technology. “My legislation would create an incentive for developers to use new technology that would reduce temperature within local neighborhoods and create a cost-effective storm water management tool,” said Green. “I believe that this legislation will strengthen the principles of the Clean Air and Clean Water Act,” he added. The legislation is actually an amendment to an existing Environmental Conservation law that would create a tax credit for the installation of Green Roof Technology on this site, said Green. Green said he decided to propose the amendment in response to the need to incorporate principles that would create opportunities for environmental remediation within the Atlantic Yards Project. The Clean Water Act mandates that cities curb storm water runoff pollution. Many proposed solutions such as sewer separation, underground storage tanks, and upgrades to wastewater treatment facilities require massive public investment in new infrastructure, he said. Under the green roofs alternatives, vegetated rooftops retain and detain storm water, reducing runoff volume and slowing the rate at which it enters the sewage system. Green said vegetated rooftops also reduce the prospect for hot spots that occur in urban centers that have large concentrations of rooftops built using black tar or rubber materials. The proposed legislation would expand the green building tax credit program by making available an additional $25 million tax credit for the Atlantic Yards site. FCRC could receive a credit certificate issued by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation. In total, FCRC would receive a credit of up to 30 percent of the cost for the installation of green roofs. FCRC spokesperson Joe DePlasco said the company is familiar with the legislation, and confirmed discussions with Green regarding these environmental issues. However, the company has no comment on the proposed legislation at this time, he said. “We are looking at green roof technology and a variety of other environmental initiatives,” said DePlasco. City Councilmember Letitia James, a vocal opponent to the FCRC plan and who once worked for Green, refused comment.
