NEW YORK: Bharat Bahadur, 22, a rooftop access resident in New York City's Greenwich Village, and electric guitar player, uses his barren, black tar roof to listen to his favorite musicians with his favorite friends. His 6th floor walk up apartment is too tiny to accommodate this activity. In New York City, where the city has built upwards instead of outwards, it's easy to feel like the ceilings are caving in and defending one's identity can be almost impossible. There is almost no room to be oneself, alone. So residents seek help from a higher power, to think, and to escape, but here, help from above is a rooftop. “You just need more space, and space that you can do whatever you want with,” Bahadur told Bikyamasr.com. “It isn't a bathroom or kitchen or cupboard size bedroom. It is whatever you are, whatever you want it to be.” A roof is something unlabeled, which is a rarity in New York City. However, like most things that provide a selfish pleasure, public resident rooftops are illegal in New York City, mainly due to height restrictions. But in a place where space is more coveted than safety, banning rooftops means obliterating a lot of useful space. In March, Mayor Michael Bloomberg lifted the ban on using rooftop space when it came to having “green” roofs, and since then the city of industry has grown a green thumb. This eco-friendly escape in the law led to many commercial building owners replacing their black tar tops for green layers. However helpful to the environment it may be, it is no cheap or easy feat. According to a New York Times article published in May of this year, “over the black tar roof goes insulation, then a waterproof membrane, then a barrier,” which is topped off by a drainage level of clay or gravel, a mat and is finished with a soil coating. These new green roofs not only help reduce the temperature compared to rooftops paved in tar, but according to a study done by Columbia University it also controls “water runoff control, water quality improvements, urban biodiversity, noise reductions and building amenity value.” In light of the cost and hassle of setting up a green roof, Mayor Bloomberg has allowed for owners of green roofs to apply for a tax amendment. However, the applicant must endure an arduous process in order to be accepted for the abatement of $4.50 per square foot. For example, the green part of the roof must cover more than half of the land and an architect must apply as a guarantor alongside the applicant. In addition, the appropriate permits and filing fees must be purchased which can lead to several dollars spent in the hopes of saving on taxes. Initiatives like Greensulate have emerged, helping find the perfect solution to integrate green rooftops on existing New York property. Greensulate is allowed to operate on more rooftops in the city because of the Green Zone Amendment accepted by the Department of City Planning in April. This allows for height restrictions on commercial buildings to be lifted in order to create green roofs and urban rooftop farms. According to a study done by the Urban Design Lab, this will create 1200 acres of useable rooftop land. “Greensulate hopes to be a part of this by contributing our greenroof expertise and experience to this effort,” Amy Norquist, CEO and Founder of Greensulate, told Bikyamasr.com. Columbia University uses a Greensulate roof at Regis High School where both the university and the high school study water quality and biodiversity is bolstered. For Norquist's “my favorite rooftop in NYC is the Regis High School which we designed and installed,” Norquist said. “The design when seen from above reflects the living estuarial reality of New Your City before the built environment that we are familiar with today.” However, NYC rooftops are not limited to Norquist's hushed green one or Bahadur's louder tar roof. Gotham Greens owns 20,000 square feet of hydroponic rooftop space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. They plant a garden of vegetables like baby butterhead lettuce and basil using mineral nutrient solution without chemical pesticides. They plan to open three more rooftops, which will raise its total hydroponic rooftop garden space to 200,000 square feet, the largest in the city. For New Yorkers, most of residents' time is spent climbing: subway stairs, social standings and corporate classes in order to prove that we deserve this city. When they reach the top, for those like Norquist and Bahadur that top is a roof. It can simply prove that one mastered the NYC housing market and scored an outside space, or used rooftops to help make the city more sustainable. Whether it's green, tar or filled with produce roofs are the best way to make New York personal.
