New York City Housing Authority
At a Glance
Industry
Public Housing Authority
Project Types
Financial Evaluation and Planning, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2018
Location
New York, NY
Summary
Jessie Kaliski created a three-part strategy for reducing GHG emissions for the New York City Housing Authority and a financial tool to help increase departmental participation.
Goals
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) which provides housing for low and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs of New York City, enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Jessie Kaliski to create a strategic plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their 915 on-road vehicle fleet. Earlier this year, NYCHA joined New York City’s Fleet Federation, an inter-agency team designed to streamline vehicle operations and maintenance processes. As part of the Fleet Federation, NYCHA must now comply with their GHG emissions target.
Solutions
Kaliski analyzed information on NYCHA’s vehicle operations provided by newly installed tracking devices, which monitor routes, miles travelled, and gallons used, among other variables. She also conducted interviews with various City agencies and recommended three-pronged approach to reduce GHG emissions from fleet operations. This included:
- Reducing the number of vehicles via vehicle elimination or car sharing
- Replacing existing vehicles with electric counterparts
- Electrifying NYCHA developments by identifying high-travel hot spots in which to install EV charging infrastructure.
This challenge of getting all NYCHA departments on board with this plan was created by legal issues and accounting processes that had to be created to ensure equitable distribution of electricity payments across all departments for electricity drawn from EV charging stations. Kaliski created a financial tool that provides information on the GHG emission reductions and financial savings of the program that would help eliminate this problem.
Potential Impact
Kaliski projected that if implemented, her recommendations could help NYCHA reduce GHG emissions from vehicle operations 49% by 2038. In addition, NYCHA could see total savings of between $821,600 and $1,141,100 from maintenance, fuel, and GHG externality benefits over the course of that period. This equates to just under $100,000 in savings per year. With this project NYCHA could become a NYC sustainability leader by eventually reducing GHG emissions 80% by 2050.