NYC Green Roof Property Tax Abatement Program

The Green Roof Property Tax Abatement provides a one-year tax abatement for the construction of a green roof on residential and commercial buildings in New York City. The green roof tax abatement is aligned with the City’s long-term sustainability plan, PlaNYC.

In general, a green roof is an addition to a roof that includes, among other things, a growth medium and a vegetation layer of drought-resistant and hardy plants. Green roofs help improve storm water management, provide insulation for the building, and lessen the urban heat island effect, which causes dense urban environments to have higher temperatures than other areas.

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Green Roofs

Green roofs have vegetation that absorbs rainwater, provides insulation, and combats the heat island effect, where urban environments have higher temperatures than surrounding areas.

Because a green roof will add substantial weight to a building’s structure, you must hire a Professional Engineer or Registered Architect to perform a structural analysis to determine if the existing roof and its support system can hold the added load without a modification.

Green Roof Property Tax Abatement
New York City offers property tax abatements to property owners that install solar green roofs on their buildings.

An applicant’s professional designee must certify that the installation meets design and other requirements under all applicable Laws, Rules and Codes. Generally, alteration applications and other requirements of the solar or green roof systems installation represent good practice and would be followed, regardless of the tax abatement application.

State law requires that all applications for a green roof tax abatement must include an applicant agreement with a maintenance plan for the compliance period (year of abatement) plus three additional years.

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