Both houses of the legislature approved separate bills relatedto tax benefits for installing solar panels and green roofs in NewYork City. The state's "net metering" program, allowing those withwind-powered generating systems to provide energy back into thegrid and get a credit against their own usage, will be expanded toinclude commercial customers. Stiffer "block the box" penaltieshave been enacted to help ease New York City gridlock.Additionally, construction of the Gansevoort waste-transferstation, in the works for more than three years, will finally moveforward under an agreement between the city and thelegislature.

Of the two tax-abatement provisions, it seems likely that theone rewarding installation of a green roof may get more takers atthe moment. "Relatively speaking, if you have an appropriate roof,it's easy to put on a green roof," attorney Caroline Harris tellsReal Estate New York. "And there are multiple benefits todoing so," as compared to the solar panel, which only generates onebenefit, albeit a substantial one: producing energy.

"The green roof will reduce the amount of energy you need,because it cools your building in the summer and insulates it inthe winter, so you need less heat," says Harris, who led a TroutmanSanders LLP team that drafted the tax-abatement legislation onbehalf of pro bono client Sustainable South Bronx. "It cools theambient air, so it's good for the environment, and it deals withstorm water runoff, so it addresses that environmental issue aswell. It provides benefits on multiple planes."