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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, DECEMBER 1, 2019
BY ROSE ADAMS
Two laws requiring
new property owners
to build solar panels
or green spaces on their
roofs went into effect on
Nov. 15 — marking a major
step towards Brooklyn’s
environmental sustainability,
according to
local green thumbs.
“It’s important and
very valuable,” said environmental
activist Pete
Sikora from the New York
Community for Change,
a local nonprofit. “It’s a
critical step for New York
City to meet the Green
New Deal goals.”
The legislation —
which Councilman Rafael
Espinal (D-Bedford
Stuyvesant) first introduced
to the City Council
in July of 2018 — requires
developers to install either
solar panels, greenery,
or a combination of
the two on all new roofs.
The mandate exempts
very slanted roofs and
roofs that already contain
structures, such as water
towers, green houses and
other equipment, according
to a representative
from the Mayor’s Office
of Sustainability. Lowrise
residential buildings
with less than 100 square
feet of available space
and other types of buildings
with less than 200
square feet will also be
exempt, and the sustainable
measures won’t take
the place of recreational
spaces that are integral
to the building’s use,
such as playgrounds on
school roofs or terraces
on apartment buildings.
The laws also apply to
property owners seeking
to renovate their roofs,
including the owners of
historic buildings — who
will have to take their
green roof plans to the
Landmarks Preservation
Commission before
obtaining a construction
permit from the Department
of Buildings.
Environmental officials
say that property
owners will be in charge
of funding and maintaining
solar panels — which
is no cheap task. The average
solar panel array
costs about $30,000, but
since the panels power
the building, the electricity
generator eventually
pays for itself, according
to the executive of a solar
panel company.
“Any time you’re not
borrowing power from
Con Ed, you’re saving
money,” said TR Ludwig,
the CEO of Brooklyn Solarworks,
A new law promotes solar panels and green roofs on city buildings. Getty
who said that it
usually takes homeowners
four to eight years to
pay off the price of the
panels before they have
free energy.
Building owners will
also receive significant
tax incentives for the solar
panels, getting back
20% of the equipment
costs in the form of a
property tax abatement,
and receiving a $5,000
tax credit, among other
pluses, Ludwig said.
Greenery, which helps
reduce f looding and provides
better building insulation,
is significantly
cheaper, costing between
$10 and $40 to install per
square foot, the New York
Times reported. The gardens
require some maintenance,
like periodic
weeding, although they
don’t need to be watered
frequently.
According to Sikora,
the legislation is a necessary
step in shrinking
the city’s carbon footprint
and meeting the
goals of the Green New
Deal, which calls for 100-
percent emissions-free
electricity by 2040. Still,
he argues, putting green
roofs on new buildings is
not enough.
“Roughly 90-percent
of square footage that’s
going to be up in 2050 is
already built,” he said.
“New York City should
require green roofs on
existing buildings.”
Solar shingles
Law requires new roofs go green
BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
DRX9000TM WITHOUT BACK SURGERY
Surgeons perform an estimated 300,000 to 400,000
back surgeries every year. Annually, neurosurgeons
perform at least 100,000 operations for lumbar disc
disease alone, and orthopedic surgeons perform a
similar number. It is estimated that between 20% and
40% of these operations are unsuccessful.
That is why doctors from all over the country
are racing to acquire and get trained to operate the
DRX9000TM, an FDA approved device that is saving
thousands of Americans suffering from chronic back
pain from going under the knife.
Dr. Melinda Keller, who treats serious back
pain without surgery explains how the DRX9000TM
works... “Over 10 years ago, NASA began to notice
an unexpected result of space travel: Astronauts
that left with back pain would come back without
it. After investigated this now phenomenon here’s
what they found: During the anti-gravity state of the
mission there were decompressive forces on the
intervertebral discs and back pain was relieved. How?
When you travel through space, the effects of gravity
are removed and you are in a weightless state. All
the pressure is taken off your spine and discs. Even
better — and this is the key — a negative pressure
is created. This negative pressure actually sucks the
herniated material back into the disc and allows it
to heal. Thanks to the DRX9000TM, disc herniation
sufferers finally have a non-surgical solution.”
The main conditions the DRX9000TM has documented
success with are back pain, sciatica, herniated
and/or bulging discs (single or multiple), degenerative
disc disease, facet syndromes and a relapse
or failure following back surgery.
Anyone wishing to learn more about this new
FDA approved solution to back pain or to set up an
appointment for a free consultation call Dr. Keller’s
office at 718 234-6212 or visit Brooklyn Spine
Center, 5911 16th Ave., Brooklyn, New York 11204.
Brooklynspinecenter.com.
S f ti t
RELIEVES BACK PAIN
Local doctor treats herniated and bulging discs, sciatica, and serious lower back pain
/Brooklynspinecenter.com