This morning, Borough President Scott Stringer, joined by Go Green! Lower East Side and community groups, announced the start of the Model Block Project, a new program to turn one block of the Lower East Side into a model for energy conservation.

BP Stringer explained that to kick off the Model Block Project he and 100 volunteers would paint 35,000 square feet of roofs of the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association with a white coating that reflects 90% of sunlight. Cooper Square expects that this new paint will make the buildings’ roofs 25% more energy efficient and lower electrical and fuel costs for the buildings.

The Model Block Project’s volunteers come from many organizations, including Go Green! Lower East Side, FABnyc, the White Roof Project, NYC ° CoolRoofs, Con Edison, and other Lower East Side community groups. The large number of groups working together is one of the great strengths of the Model Block Project. Proclaimed BP Stringer, “[b]y uniting and empowering our community partners and stakeholders, we are building a healthier, more sustainable New York.”

Borough President Stringer sees the Model Block Project as a blueprint for local environmental activism and looks forward to working on similar projects in communities across the borough to reduce both energy usage and energy costs. The energy-saving measures are also good for the city and planet as a whole. “Cities are responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions,” noted the Borough President, “so it is up to us to take the lead on fighting climate change.”

The efforts would be felt close to home, as the Borough President pointed out, saying “[r]ooftops account for 12% of all surfaces in New York City. If we painted all those rooftops white, we could lower temperatures by two degrees.”

Read a press release on white roofs and the start of the Model Block Project

Read some great articles on white roofs and the Model Block Project:

• 20 Manhattan roofs go green with coat of white — Crains New York
• EastVillage Roofs Painted White To Keep Cool and Save Money — DNA Info
• Volunteers Paint the Town White — The Epoch Times
• White Roofs to Cool New York — Voice of Russia

View a cool time lapse video of volunteers painting roofs white (video by the White Roof Project)