Co-op City: What It Looks Like When Energy Reality Catches Up To You

Manhattan Contrarian ^ | 28 Apr, 2026 | Francis Menton

[MtnClimber]

Co-op City, located (like the Yankees) in the New York City borough known as The Bronx, is the largest co-op apartment community in the City, and indeed in the United States. Built in the 1960s and 70s, it has more than 15,000 residential units in some 35 high-rise buildings, plus a smaller number of townhouses. Here is an aerial picture of about a quarter of the complex that appeared in today’s New York Post:

Co-op City has now suddenly become ground zero in the clash between energy fantasy and reality that is starting to come into focus as the deadlines of the State’s and City’s 2019 climate statutes start to get closer. The New York Post reports on the reality side of the story in a large piece today with the headline “NY’s climate mandates may send fees in affordable Co-Op City complex soaring from $950 to $4K.”

But before getting to that, let’s look at the fantasy side of the story, which continues to hold its death grip on large swaths of the local population. Back in January, a group of businesses and trade associations calling itself the Coalition for Safe and Reliable Energy submitted a Petition to the Public Service Commission asking it to hold a hearing on whether the deadlines of the State’s Climate Act, currently set to start to bite in 2030, should be extended. (To view the Petition, go to item 63 under “Filed Documents” at this PSC docket.). The PSC then opened a public comment process as to that Petition, which process is ongoing.

Over the past few weeks the comment process has cranked up, and large numbers of comments have flooded in. You may or may not be surprised to learn that hundreds of these comments are identical, or nearly so. (To view the comments, go to the same PSC link above and click the “Public Comments” tab.). The comments apparently have been rounded up by environmental activist groups that have asked their members and donors to sign and submit form responses.

Here is an excerpt from one of those form responses that has been copied and pasted into hundreds of these identical comments:

[A]ny further investments in the fossil fuel economy will have a negative financial impact on New Yorkers. Costs of energy in New York are driven by the price of fossil fuels, which are highly volatile and affected by events outside of the control of New York, such as the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia and the U.S. war on Iran. Sticking to fossil fuels means unpredictable, unaffordable bills for New Yorkers. Renewable energy - which requires no fuel - offers predictable costs which makes families less vulnerable to energy price shocks. Renewable energy is a long-term cost-saving strategy that will promote affordability and protect New York utility customers from the impacts of volatile fossil fuel prices. I urge the PSC to reject the unsupported request to hold a hearing. . . .

Apparently these many hundreds of commenters have come to believe that shifting from what they call a “fossil fuel economy” to “renewable energy” is a “long-term cost-saving strategy” that will provide “affordability” to New Yorkers. Nothing in their letters gives any clue how they have come to this conclusion, or what calculations or feasibility studies they may have made to ascertain the “affordability” that they think is so easy to achieve with “renewable” energy.

Meanwhile, over on the reality side of the equation, at Co-op City, they are confronting the actual costs of compliance with the impending and overlapping mandates of both the State’s and City’s climate statutes. Co-op City is an owner-occupied community, so the costs of compliance will fall on the owner-occupants. The racial demographics of the community, per NICHE.com, are: 64% African-American, 28% Hispanic, 4% white, and 4% other. So this is not exactly your vision of the snooty Park Avenue Manhattan co-op. Co-op City currently has its own power plant — fueled by natural gas — that provides all the electricity for the complex, as well as heat, hot water, and air-conditioning. Monthly maintenance bills to the owners, which include the cost of energy, currently average about $950 for a one-bedroom unit.

Co-op City’s current fossil fuel power plant is apparently quite efficient, but not enough so to meeting the impending deadlines of New York City’s Local Law 97. Under that statute, they must convert to electric heat by 2035. They have now done studies on the prospective cost of that, and the Post reports on the results in today’s piece. Excerpt:

A top Co-Op City official warned that residents could pay four times more in monthly maintenance charges if New York State’s controversial green-energy laws aren’t peeled back. Jeffrey Buss, Co-Op City’s general counsel, claimed monthly maintenance fees could skyrocket from $950 for a one-bedroom to more than $4,000 to pick up the tab for the edicts. . . . [T]he state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, coupled with a city green energy law [Local Law 97], would force Co-Op City to shut down its natural gas power plant and replace it with carbon-free clean energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower and battery storage, [Buss] said.

So between the costs of the electric heat conversion, closing their own efficient power plant, and buying lots of additional electricity from Con Edison, they project that the residents’ monthly maintenance costs will multiply by about a factor of four, from under $1000 per month to about $4000. Apparently that’s what the PSC commenters think of as “affordable.”

Co-op City has looked into building “renewable” resources to replace its natural gas power plant, but has figured out that that is completely infeasible:

Buss said it is technologically impossible for Co-op City to completely replace its gas-fueled plant with cleaner energy sources. He said renewable, fossil-free energy sources such as solar, wind, or geo-thermal energy aren’t capable to meet the heating, cooling and electrical demands of Co-Op City. “Although our co-generation turbines can run on 30% hydrogen,” Buss said, “there is no hydrogen supply…I don’t know the solution.”

They do have a plan to install solar panels on top of the parking garages, but those will be capable of providing only a small percentage of their power needs:

Co-op City is diversifying by installing solar panels on top of its garages, which would result in the largest urban solar project in the US. But solar energy would only meet a fraction of Co-op City’s power needs, he said.

Buss’s conclusion: complying with the impending State and City energy mandates would be “foolish.”

We are facing the consequences of having ignorant environmental activists and politicians trying to re-design our energy system. Fortunately, Co-op City comes complete with a large bloc of voters who, when they learn what the ignoramuses have in store for them, can take their revenge at the ballot box.

[PallMal]

Co-op city is in the late, TDS-suffering, Eliot Engel's district.

AOC beat Joe Crowley back in 2018, so unless they redrew the district since then, I don't think that Co-op city is in AOC's district.

[PallMal]

I know Co-op city.

There were basically two sections. One section were for the "normal" folks, while the other section was for the ferals.

You had to take a bus (or a very long walk) to get from the "normal" section to the feral section.

[God luvs America]

You are correct- its just cut out as though they gerrymandered it for some other rat:

https://www.congress.gov/member/district/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/O000172

[Cronos]

I’m not a “former” - unlike you.

When did you agree to the yuan?

My priority remains bankrupting the Wahhabi and Russian regimes through any means necessary; — your priority seems to be keeping the US a permanent hostage to the Strait of Hormuz

With US renewables beating gas generation for the first time this past March, the only “pipe dream” is your belief that we should stay tethered to the petro-dictators’ money machine for one second longer

[wildcard_redneck]

“When did you agree to the yuan?”

Never, you witless lump of Eurotrash. You just want us to buy al of our solar panels and windmills from China just like the rest of the world does.

You know what? I doubt that you ever were American or even Polish, you’re just a piece of crap, draft dodging Ukrainian hiding out in Poland;

[Cronos]

I want the USA to build its stuff - you want China to build stuff for the USA.

I want the USA to be energy independent

You on the other hand, you advocate for American surrender to 1970s oil shocks.

My priority remains bankrupting the Wahhabi and Russian regimes through any means necessary; — your priority seems to be keeping the US a permanent hostage to the Strait of Hormuz.

How much yuan does it take to sell out the USA?

[wildcard_redneck]

Euroweenie says what?

We are moving beyond short bus Europe and their pipe dreams of unicorn farts and moonbeams powering the world.

[wildcard_redneck]

“Looks very Soviet.”

Exactly, when communists build they build ugly.

[Cronos]

I want the USA to build its stuff - you want China to build stuff for the USA.

I want the USA to be energy independent

You on the other hand, you advocate for American surrender to 1970s oil shocks.

My priority remains bankrupting the Wahhabi and Russian regimes through any means necessary; — your priority seems to be keeping the US a permanent hostage to the Strait of Hormuz.

How much yuan does it take to sell out the USA?

[wildcard_redneck]

What don’t you understand about the fact that America is already energy independent? I can see why you’d be confused living in censored Europistan.

[Cronos]

If ‘energy independence’ means Americans paying $4.23 a gallon because of a blockade in the Persian Gulf, then your definition of freedom is nonsense.

Being a ‘net exporter’ on a spreadsheet doesn’t change the fact that the U.S. still imports 6 million barrels of oil every single day because our refineries can’t even process the shale we drill.

True independence isn’t a political slogan; it’s the physical ability to tell the Middle Eastern regimes to pound sand because their commodity no longer dictates our cost of living.

Until we overproduce every form of energy—shale, nuclear, and renewables—to the point of total market saturation, we’re just a net exporter with a glass jaw, waiting for the next Ayatollah to hike our gas price

[central_va]

EU appeaser bump.

[wildcard_redneck]

“U.S. still imports 6 million barrels of oil every single day because our refineries can’t even process the shale we drill.”

Then we build the refineries here. Problem solved. Also a lot of the oil that we import we turned into value, added products and sell them overseas.

You are an economically challenged, brain-dead, eurotrash central planner - a %#&@ communist.

[Cronos]

But you don’t want that.

You want dependence on China, eh?

[wildcard_redneck]

America invented the oil and gas industry and it led us to unparalleled prosperity, independence and power. You are wasting your time eurotrash.

Keep your cult of poverty. You preach to us to adopt the European green cult while the pagan temple of Europe falls down around you. You are a delusional twat.

[dennisw]

ping