Bed-Stuy YMCA Gets a Cool Roof Thanks to ConEd and Mets

The roof of the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA based in Brooklyn got the royal white treatment today when volunteers from Con-Edison, the Met, and Y members painted the roof with a reflective white membrane paint. (Watch the above video.) The Y was part of  Mayor Bloomberg’s NYC Service program to cool rooftops by painting them with reflective white membrane paint. The Y is the second YMCA in the City to obtain a white roof.

According to statement issued by the YMCA,

“New York Mets players Jason Bay, Ike Davis, Jonathon Niese and Ryota Igarashi joined 30 volunteers from Con Edison, the lead sponsor of the program, to bring significant energy savings to the Bed-Stuy YMCA by coating 14,300 square feet of rooftop with a cool reflective white paint.”

The Mayor’s program aims to cool a million square feet of NYC roof space. To date, 215,494 square feet have been painted throughout the five boroughs.

“Due to the prevalence of hot dark surfaces like asphalt roofs and roads covering the surfaces of the city, much of the sun’s heat is absorbed, resulting in a 5-7 degree overall increase in temperature when compared with surrounding rural areas. NYC Cool Roofs aims to combat this “Heat Island Effect” by coating city rooftops with a white reflective paint, which would lower the summertime temperature of the entire city by one degree, saving a projected $100 million in energy costs.” [Source.]

My hat goes off to these dedicated volunteers since it had to be immensely hot on the asphalt roof.  A white roof on the Y means lower energy bills and more programs for their kids.  That sounds like a cool deal to me.

Readers. do you recommend  a particular white membrane paint to create cool roofs?

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