Former President Bill Clinton joined Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, and chairman, president, and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust Anthony Malkin Thursday to announce a greener Empire State Building.
Standing inside the iconic, near century-old skyscraper during the Earth Day-eve event, the dignitaries unveiled the “Empire Building Playbook: A Guide to Low Carbon Retrofits.” This new guide outlines a step-by-step process for commercial buildings to develop and maintain carbon reduction while also making returns on the investment, something for which the Empire State Building has served as a forerunner.
President Clinton lauded the announcement, stating that eco-friendly initiatives like these have been amongst the goals he has strove to achieve for decades.
“A cause I have literally been working on for 45 years, it may finally be here to strike a match,” President Clinton said. “We could do an Empire State job on every sizable building in every city in America. In the next two years, we would probably buy 20 years of more time before the worst consequences of climate change comes down on us like a ton of bricks.”
As the 42nd president alluded to, the elected officials hope that the rest of the city and then the country adopts the playbook, starting an environmentally friendly chain reaction.
“We have to be bold. We cannot think outside the box. We have to destroy the box and that is what you did, and we have to be bold enough to face the future. Fear is not what New York City represents. We are resilient. We are fearless and we carve the way. The way goes New York City, the way goes to the state, the way goes to America. The way goes America, goes the globe and it starts right here,” Adams said.
Governor Hochul likewise believes the shining beacon of the Big Apple i.e., the Empire State Building will serve as an inspiration to the rest of the world.
“This is all about relationships and partnerships. New York State cannot go it alone. Most of the large buildings that we are talking about are in the City of New York. So, you need to have a synergy between our teams working together and that has not always been the story of the past. It is the story of the present and the future,” Governor Hochul said
“When we convert all buildings here in the City of New York, to follow this playbook. It’ll have an economic impact of $20 billion both creating 100,000 jobs. I liked the sound of that,” Governor Hochul added.
In celebration of the announcement, the Empire State Building will shine a lush green.
