NYC has no mandatory cool-pavement code, but the Department of Transportation Cool Streets initiative and DDC Cool Pavements pilots apply solar-reflective coatings on schoolyards and select residential blocks to cut surface temperatures by up to 12 degrees.
Under PlaNYC and the OneNYC heat-equity strategy, DOT and the Department of Design and Construction install reflective pavement coatings on schoolyards through the Trust for Public Land Schoolyards to Playgrounds program and on streets in environmental-justice neighborhoods identified by the Heat Vulnerability Index. The Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice coordinates with DEP and Parks to align pilots with stormwater and tree-canopy goals. There is no Admin Code mandate requiring private property owners to install cool pavement, but Local Law 92 of 2019 and Local Law 94 of 2019 require new and reroofed buildings to install reflective roofing or solar arrays.
Because cool pavement is voluntary, no fines apply, but contractors who fail to meet DOT specification 11.05 reflective-coating standards on city-funded projects face contract rejection, repaint orders, and possible debarment under PPB rules.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
New York, NY
Local Law 97 of 2019, codified at Admin Code section 28-320, sets carbon emission limits for buildings larger than 25,000 square feet, with the first complia...
New York, NY
Local Laws 92 and 94 of 2019, codified at NYC Building Code section 1511.7, require most new buildings and major roof replacements to install a reflective su...
New York, NY
NYC pursues heat-island mitigation through OneNYC 2050, the Cool Neighborhoods program, the 30 by 30 tree-canopy goal, and Local Laws 92, 94, and 97, blendin...
See how New York's cool pavement rules stack up against other locations.
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