Co-op City: What It Looks Like When Energy Reality Catches Up To You

 by Francis Menton

Co-op City, located (like the Yankees) in the New York City borough known as The Bronx, is the largest co-op apartment community in the City, and indeed in the United States. Built in the 1960s and 70s, it has more than 15,000 residential units in some 35 high-rise buildings, plus a smaller number of townhouses. Here is an aerial picture of about a quarter of the complex that appeared in today’s New York Post:

Co-op City has now suddenly become ground zero in the clash between energy fantasy and reality that is starting to come into focus as the deadlines of the State’s and City’s 2019 climate statutes start to get closer. The New York Post reports on the reality side of the story in a large piece today with the headline “NY’s climate mandates may send fees in affordable Co-Op City complex soaring from $950 to $4K.”

But before getting to that, let’s look at the fantasy side of the story, which continues to hold its death grip on large swaths of the local population. Back in January, a group of businesses and trade associations calling itself the Coalition for Safe and Reliable Energy submitted a Petition to the Public Service Commission asking it to hold a hearing on whether the deadlines of the State’s Climate Act, currently set to start to bite in 2030, should be extended. (To view the Petition, go to item 63 under “Filed Documents” at this PSC docket.). The PSC then opened a public comment process as to that Petition, which process is ongoing.

Over the past few weeks the comment process has cranked up, and large numbers of comments have flooded in. You may or may not be surprised to learn that hundreds of these comments are identical, or nearly so. (To view the comments, go to the same PSC link above and click the “Public Comments” tab.). The comments apparently have been rounded up by environmental activist groups that have asked their members and donors to sign and submit form responses.

Here is an excerpt from one of those form responses that has been copied and pasted into hundreds of these identical comments:

[A]ny further investments in the fossil fuel economy will have a negative financial impact on New Yorkers. Costs of energy in New York are driven by the price of fossil fuels, which are highly volatile and affected by events outside of the control of New York, such as the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia and the U.S. war on Iran. Sticking to fossil fuels means unpredictable, unaffordable bills for New Yorkers. Renewable energy - which requires no fuel - offers predictable costs which makes families less vulnerable to energy price shocks. Renewable energy is a long-term cost-saving strategy that will promote affordability and protect New York utility customers from the impacts of volatile fossil fuel prices. I urge the PSC to reject the unsupported request to hold a hearing. . . .

Apparently these many hundreds of commenters have come to believe that shifting from what they call a “fossil fuel economy” to “renewable energy” is a “long-term cost-saving strategy” that will provide “affordability” to New Yorkers. Nothing in their letters gives any clue how they have come to this conclusion, or what calculations or feasibility studies they may have made to ascertain the “affordability” that they think is so easy to achieve with “renewable” energy.

Meanwhile, over on the reality side of the equation, at Co-op City, they are confronting the actual costs of compliance with the impending and overlapping mandates of both the State’s and City’s climate statutes. Co-op City is an owner-occupied community, so the costs of compliance will fall on the owner-occupants. The racial demographics of the community, per NICHE.com, are: 64% African-American, 28% Hispanic, 4% white, and 4% other. So this is not exactly your vision of the snooty Park Avenue Manhattan co-op. Co-op City currently has its own power plant — fueled by natural gas — that provides all the electricity for the complex, as well as heat, hot water, and air-conditioning. Monthly maintenance bills to the owners, which include the cost of energy, currently average about $950 for a one-bedroom unit.

Co-op City’s current fossil fuel power plant is apparently quite efficient, but not enough so to meeting the impending deadlines of New York City’s Local Law 97. Under that statute, they must convert to electric heat by 2035. They have now done studies on the prospective cost of that, and the Post reports on the results in today’s piece. Excerpt:

A top Co-Op City official warned that residents could pay four times more in monthly maintenance charges if New York State’s controversial green-energy laws aren’t peeled back. Jeffrey Buss, Co-Op City’s general counsel, claimed monthly maintenance fees could skyrocket from $950 for a one-bedroom to more than $4,000 to pick up the tab for the edicts. . . . [T]he state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, coupled with a city green energy law [Local Law 97], would force Co-Op City to shut down its natural gas power plant and replace it with carbon-free clean energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower and battery storage, [Buss] said.

So between the costs of the electric heat conversion, closing their own efficient power plant, and buying lots of additional electricity from Con Edison, they project that the residents’ monthly maintenance costs will multiply by about a factor of four, from under $1000 per month to about $4000. Apparently that’s what the PSC commenters think of as “affordable.”

Co-op City has looked into building “renewable” resources to replace its natural gas power plant, but has figured out that that is completely infeasible:

Buss said it is technologically impossible for Co-op City to completely replace its gas-fueled plant with cleaner energy sources. He said renewable, fossil-free energy sources such as solar, wind, or geo-thermal energy aren’t capable to meet the heating, cooling and electrical demands of Co-Op City. “Although our co-generation turbines can run on 30% hydrogen,” Buss said, “there is no hydrogen supply…I don’t know the solution.”

They do have a plan to install solar panels on top of the parking garages, but those will be capable of providing only a small percentage of their power needs:

Co-op City is diversifying by installing solar panels on top of its garages, which would result in the largest urban solar project in the US. But solar energy would only meet a fraction of Co-op City’s power needs, he said.

Buss’s conclusion: complying with the impending State and City energy mandates would be “foolish.”

We are facing the consequences of having ignorant environmental activists and politicians trying to re-design our energy system. Fortunately, Co-op City comes complete with a large bloc of voters who, when they learn what the ignoramuses have in store for them, can take their revenge at the ballot box.

https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2026-4-28-co-op-city-what-it-looks-like-when-energy-reality-catches-up-to-you

Mamdani accidentally reveals the truth about NYC housing

 Last week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani made two appearances designed to showcase a hands-on leader tackling the city’s housing crisis.

Instead, they revealed a mayor focused on optics — while missing the priorities that matter.

In one social-media video, the mayor shadowed Housing Preservation and Development inspectors at a privately owned apartment building.

Here comes the mayor, on the ground — cameras in tow — to hold landlords accountable.

“There’s a lot of New Yorkers who live with a worry about whether or not the conditions they’re living in are actually up to code,” Mamdani declared.

“It’s the city’s job to deliver them.”

Behind the mayor, however, viewers saw a clean apartment in a well-kept building, whose landlord was being nitpicked to death in a city suffering the worst housing shortage in its modern history.

Important items, like the lead paint test, came out negative — yet the inspectors issued six violations for trivialities like a flowerpot on the fire escape, a crack in the plaster and a busted window spring balance.

Who would invest in such an environment?

“No issue is too small when it comes to your home,” read HPD’s video caption.

No kidding.

If that’s true, the mayor ought to follow the same principle in managing NYCHA, the city’s public housing authority.

NYCHA’s residents endure the worst housing conditions in New York, hands down.

They’re beset by mold, lead paint, rodents, roaches, no heat, leaks, broken elevators, busted pipes and inoperable appliances — not to mention sky-high crime rates.

It takes NYCHA 434 days on average to complete a repair.

Democratic Socialist Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has said the authority would “far surpass anyone” on his list of the city’s worst private landlords.

If Mamdani cares so much about a jammed window balance, surely he’d be interested in transforming the lives of NYCHA’s residents by moving quickly to fix their immediately hazardous conditions.

Apparently, he has different goals.

On Wednesday, Earth Day, the mayor stood — this time, outside — NYCHA’s Woodside Houses in Queens to announce $2.5 billion in green-energy upgrades like heat pumps, induction stoves, solar panels and EV chargers, plus green jobs for NYCHA residents.

In particular, he touted the “clean, beautiful heat pumps” that would replace “fossil fuel-guzzling boilers.”

But as Breakthrough Institute’s Jennifer Hernandez has written, heat pumps are far less effective at low temperatures — and therefore must work harder to heat a room when temperatures fall.

And unlike gas boilers, which can last decades and serve an entire building, heat pumps have an expected lifespan of 10 to 15 years and must be installed in each apartment.

It sounds like a perpetual green-energy jobs program — unless and until the public money runs out.

Mamdani insisted, “We can show the world that meeting climate goals, addressing affordability and connecting New Yorkers to jobs are all part of the same larger fight for dignity.”

It’s an odd claim, given that residents in the building behind him — and hundreds of thousands like them — are living in conditions that fall well short of essential human dignity.

“Our needs are fundamental, basic needs,” Gloria Carter, a Woodside Houses resident, told The Post.

“I’m OK with [the] heat and air conditioning. What I’m not OK with is mold, cracks in the walls, hinges that don’t open. Those are the kinds of things I need the mayor to invest in.”

Taken together, Mamdani’s HPD inspection and Earth Day announcement underscore a performative mayoralty.

Since taking office, Mamdani has shown up to shovel out cars in the snow, pound asphalt into potholes and sing “Wheels on the Bus” alongside former President Barack Obama in a preschool.

He wants to signal solidarity with regular New Yorkers and the problems of ordinary life.

But by rolling out unnecessary green-energy amenities for NYCHA residents while dinging well-run private buildings with penny-ante violations, he’s getting those priorities backward.

In particular, rent-stabilized buildings are facing a growing maintenance crisis, as owners who can’t recoup repair costs through rent increases are forced to defer needed work.

Buildings that are 90% to 100% rent-stabilized suffer about four times the rate of immediately hazardous violations as those with 35% or fewer stabilized units.

Mamdani’s publicized inspection of a well-maintained unit reveals how his anti-landlord zeal eclipses any recognition of these economic undercurrents.

If Albany allowed owners to recoup more repair costs and to reset rents upon vacancy, conditions in these buildings would improve.

Freezing the rent would make matters far worse.

NYCHA investment should follow the same logic: fix the pipes, eliminate the mold, exterminate the rats and stop the crime.

The solar panels can wait.

John Ketcham is director of cities and a legal policy fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/27/opinion/how-mamdani-accidentally-revealed-the-reality-of-nyc-housing/

Downtown Baltimore CRE Crash Signals Deeper Fiscal Crisis Ahead

 A localized commercial real estate crash has been spreading through downtown Baltimore City's office market like cancer, with more than $1 billion in property value erased since 2020. The rapid decline of the commercial tax base in the downtown area is colliding with deep structural crises, including violent crime, a continued population collapse (now at a 100-year low), fiscal mess, and the increasing risk that the unhinged left-wing politicians in City Hall will hike taxes on working poor households to offset the shortfall. What you're seeing in Baltimore is a death spiral: capital leaves, residents follow, the tax burden shifts onto those who stay, and the cycle feeds on itself with no clear bottom in sight.

The Baltimore Sun, now owned by conservative David Smith (who also owns Sinclair Broadcasting), and Democrats in the state have become visibly angered that the paper is not producing left-wing propaganda as leftist Gov. Wes Moore's polling data slides. Reports from the paper indicate that between 2020 and fiscal 2026, more than $1 billion in commercial property value has been erased, or about 29% of the city's commercial properties - 4,085 out of 14,027 - saw their assessed values slashed on average by 28.7%.

"The pace of losses has been so sharp that officials have repeatedly issued out-of-cycle reassessments, rather than waiting for Maryland's standard three-year review," The Sun wrote in the report.

The steepest losses have been concentrated in Downtown, the Inner Harbor, and Downtown West:

Commercial property values in Downtown alone fell $496.3 million in assessed value over the last six years, while the Inner Harbor dropped $363.4 million and Downtown West lost $214.6 million — a combined decline of more than $1.07 billion across those three districts.

Some of the city's most recognizable properties saw steep reductions: 100 Pratt Street E in the Inner Harbor lost $138.9 million in assessed value during that period, while 1 Light Street in Downtown dropped $87.3 million. Several other high-profile properties posted losses exceeding $40 million.

David Bramble, managing partner at MCB Real Estate, told the local paper that the downtown area of Baltimore is "experiencing massive value loss," adding, "If this trend continues unabated, Baltimore will face even more serious financial hardship, impacting all its residents and businesses, from neighborhoods to the waterfront."

The paper noted that city officials and business leaders said downtown's commercial struggles stem not only from crime but also from the era of remote work.

"A lot of these workers are still working from home, at least a few days a week. T. Rowe Price might have a trader who, in 2018, went to the office five days a week. Now he's coming in two or three days a week. As a result, the needed downtown office space is being downsized," said Richard Clinch, executive director for the University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute. 

While remote work is only part of the story, traders, wealth managers, and back-office staff at major financial institutions in the city are all saying the same thing: Baltimore's crime problem has become intolerable and is bad for business.

Related:

• Build It, And They Will Come? Not The Case At Baltimore's Harbor East Luxury Tower

• Maryland Dem Officials Freak Out At Journalists Ahead Of Exposé On Governor

• Two Years Later, No Key Bridge As Maryland Dems Focus On Tampons In Men's Bathrooms

Already starting to emerge:

• D.C. Economy "Under Strain," Faces Biggest Spending Cuts Since Great Recession

Baltimore's epic demise is a direct consequence of decades of failed one-party Democratic rule that prioritized left-wing social justice experiments and other left-wing policies over public safety, economic competitiveness, and basic law and order. City leaders sold voters on a progressive utopia, but what they delivered instead was an exodus of residents, capital flight, a recession-like business environment, and years of crime and chaos.

A vice president of finance at a major institution in the city confirmed that failed left-wing leadership at City Hall has accelerated Baltimore's death spiral. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/downtown-baltimore-cre-crash-signals-deeper-fiscal-crisis-ahead

HUD urges RE industry to share nabe school, crime data after listing platforms stopped under Biden

 The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday urged real estate professionals to share neighborhood school and crime data with prospective homebuyers after websites like Redfin and Trulia stopped during the Biden administration over racial discrimination concerns. 

“Buying a home is one of the most significant decisions a family will ever make,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement. “Americans should not be left in the dark about vital facts like neighborhood safety or school quality.

“HUD is making clear that real estate professionals can openly and lawfully provide this information in an equal and consistent manner to American families.”

A 2021 directive to HUD from former President Joe Biden ordered the agency to use the Fair Housing Act to prevent “practices with an unjustified discriminatory effect” and “eliminate racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all stages of home-buying and renting,” as part of the administration’s push for racial equity.

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A 2021 directive to HUD from former President Joe Biden ordered the agency to use the Fair Housing Act to prevent “practices with an unjustified discriminatory effect” and “eliminate racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all stages of home-buying and renting.”REUTERS

While not directly citing the Biden memo, within a year, several real estate listing platforms, including Redfin, Trulia and Realtor.com discontinued the practice of sharing neighborhood crime data on their websites. 

The National Association of REALTORS published material during the Biden years instructing salespeople to not directly answer client questions about neighborhood safety and school quality, over concerns it could violate the Fair Housing Act.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter, HUD’s Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor notified state and local housing groups and real estate professionals of the Trump administration’s position that sharing such data with house hunters will not be viewed as a violation of federal law. 

“Contrary to publicly available materials from industry leaders … real estate agents and brokers do not violate the Fair Housing Act merely by discussing with prospective homebuyers or renters the prevalence of crime or the quality of schools in neighborhoods,” Trainor wrote.

“Americans deserve access to the information they need to make informed judgments about where to live and raise a family,” he added. “Under the Biden Administration, however, real estate brokerages and listing services began denouncing neighborhood crime data as potentially ‘reinforcing racial bias.’”

Trainor explained that the Biden-era memo has been “superseded by President Trump’s April 23, 2025, Executive Order, ‘Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.’” 

The assistant secretary further noted that if the Fair Housing Act “made it illegal for real estate agents to discuss schools or crime in a neighborhood, grave First Amendment concerns would arise.”

He also recommended that real estate groups reconsider the use of “self-appointed DEI ‘experts,’” who may be incorrectly interpreting the Fair Housing Act. 

“Industry guidance instructing realtors not to answer client questions related to crime or schools does a disservice to purchasers, renters, real estate agents, and fair housing principles,” Trainor wrote. 

Asked about the new guidance, a spokesperson for Realtor.com indicated that the company is committed to “full transparency.” 

“We have always championed open markets and full transparency,” the spokesperson told The Post. “ As part of this commitment, we have commenced a review of reliable crime data sources.” 

National Association of REALTORS spokesperson said the group is “carefully reviewing the letter.”

“We appreciate the ongoing dialogue and guidance from the administration on this important issue,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “As the leading voice for real estate professionals, the National Association of REALTORS® brings deep expertise in fair housing and how it is applied in practice every day.

“We are carefully reviewing the letter and its implications for our members and the consumers they serve. We look forward to continued engagement with the administration and other stakeholders to ensure clear guidance that supports both compliance and the ability of REALTORS® to effectively serve clients in every ZIP Code across the country.”

Reps for Trulia and Redfin did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

https://nypost.com/2026/04/24/us-news/hud-encourages-real-estate-industry-to-share-neighborhood-school-and-crime-data-after-listing-platforms-stopped-under-biden-wrongly-equated-with-racial-discrimination/

Mamdani prioritizes $2.5B for NYCHA EV chargers, other greenery, tenants’ homes left crumbling

 They’re not pumped.

Long-suffering NYCHA residents called for the city to focus on bread-and-butter fixes for their crumbling, stinky homes — as Mayor Zohran Mamdani touted a $2.5 billion plan to provide heat pumps and other green tweaks to public housing.

The eco initiative that Mamdani highlighted in a splashy Earth Day announcement Wednesday would put energy-efficient water and lighting systems in 45,000 apartments, add new heating pumps into 20,000 homes, install 10,000 induction stoves and provide 150 public electric vehicle charging stations in NYCHA parking lots.

But many residents at the Woodside Houses, where Mamdani rhapsodized about protecting the planet, said they wanted the city to deal with other nagging — and gagging — issues.

“I have a smell in my apartment from the trash compactor — it smells so bad, I throw up every day,” said Jennifer Lambert, 50.

The NYCHA “Sustainability Agenda” released by Mamdani’s administration quietly slips in that the five-year plan is projected to cost nearly $2.5 billion, of which $1.2 billion has yet to be found.

The agenda, which aims to fulfill its green goals by 2031, is a continuation of green energy policies and benchmarks set under Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, for the city’s largest landlord.

Mamdani in February also promised to spend $38 million to bring heat pumps — an all-electric, efficient appliance that provides both heat and air conditioning — to the Beach 41st Street houses.

The pledge followed a pilot program that brought 150 heat pumps into the Woodside Houses last year.

Maria Lopez, 73, was one of the residents who received the fancy heating and cooling units — and she hasn’t looked back.

“I don’t suffer like I used to, when it got so cold in my apartment that I had to have to plug in a heater and sleep next to it,” she said. “Once they installed this unit, forget it — it was amazing to me.”

But many of Lopez’s neighbors — including Lambert, the resident who said she pukes daily from the garbage stench — complained that the heat pumps and Mamdani’s other green fixes won’t help the actual problems they deal with day-to-day.

“They don’t fix things here,” Lambert said. “I appreciate getting better heat and air conditioning, but it’s the small things.

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Woodside Houses resident Jennifer Lambert welcomed the green upgrades, but said there were more pressing fixes.Paul Martinka for NY Post

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One building in Woodside Houses already has heat pumps providing efficient heat and air conditioning to units.Paul Martinka for NY Post

“My heating works. My air conditioning work. That’s not the issue here. I care about the environment. I’m for energy-efficient lights and EV stations. Green is everything, but I’m sorry to say it’s beside the point right now.”

Likewise, Maritza Lopez, 44, said she’s happy for the upgrades — but she’d prefer the money be spent on better security and exterminators to kill roaches and rats.

“If you’re gonna give me a new unit that heats and cools, I’ll take it,” she said, “but then fix the broken pipes. Fix the boilers.”

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“Once they installed this unit, forget it — it was amazing to me,” said Maria Lopez about the heat pump.Paul Martinka for NY Post

Lopez was among several residents who were baffled by the move to add electric vehicle charging stations to NYCHA parking lots, pointing out most residents couldn’t afford even afford gas-guzzling cars.

“Fancy appliances are nice, but the city’s priorities are off,” said Gloria Carter, 61.

“I’ve got mold. I’ve got tiles falling off the bathroom walls. My windows don’t open properly. My walls need painting. I can’t get anybody to fix these things,” she continued.

“That’s the root of the problem — not efficient lightbulbs, not chargers for electric cars.”

Installing the EV charging stations at NYCHA’s more than 100 housing developments is an apparent bid by the agency to generate revenue, including from taxis and for-hire vehicles.

“Our needs are fundamental, basic needs,” Carter said. “I’m OK with heat and air conditioning. What I’m not OK with is mold, cracks in the walls, hinges that don’t open. Those are the kinds of things I need the mayor to invest in.

“Don’t be spending all this money on stuff I don’t need. Spend it on stuff that we need to feel human.”

https://nypost.com/2026/04/23/us-news/mamdani-prioritizes-2-5b-for-nycha-green-upgrades-as-tenants-homes-crumble/