Kermit the Frog once sang, "It's not easy being green." In truth, New York-area co-ops and condominiums are discovering that "going green" is easier and more cost-effective than ever before. No, you won't be seeing a rash of high rises…
Once upon a time, like many cities across the nation, New York City had a government-regulated energy market. There was one number to call to make all the lights come on: Consolidated Edison of New York (or, more familiarly, Con Ed). Th…
Saving money is always a top concern of any co-op or condo board, so when energy deregulation first offered customers the opportunity to choose their energy provider in 1998, it seemed that lower energy bills were on the way. But in the…
In 1863, when a tenant at 97 Orchard Street came home from work, he entered a pitch-dark hallway and had to feel his way up the stairs to his apartment. He most likely felt his way with one hand while carrying a bucket of coal for the s…
On March 22, 2001, after 53 years of accepting New York City’s trash, Staten Island’s Fresh Kills Landfill received its final shipment. Fresh Kills was originally intended to serve as a temporary storage site, but over 400,000 garbage barge…
In the depths of a New York winter, few things are as uncomfortable and uneconomical as drafty, rattling windows. Icy wind howling around your building is one thing–you can always appreciate the austere beauty of the drifting snow from a co…
It’s difficult to imagine life without the appliances and technological perks to which we’ve become accustomed. But the scores of appliances found in a typical home create a huge demand for energy and costs for both the consumer and the env…
Government spending may get a bad rap, but there is one federal program that saved consumers $4 billion last year and benefited the environment as well. It’s called Energy Star, and it’s a voluntary labeling effort that identifies both prod…
T he Cooperator’s readers follow the news. Therefore, I need not say too much about the fact that despite petroleum quotas by the Saudis and President Clinton’s attempt to build up a heating oil reserve for our region, the predictions say t…
The phrases have grown familiar to all of us. Global warming. Ozone depletion. Greenhouse effect. As recycling, composting and other eco-friendly activities become more common, the time seems right to start asking what else can be done to k…