NEW YORK — The city's Housing Preservation and Development department is showing off the success of a new standard in sustainability for affordable housing. Overlooking train travelers fast-tracking along Park Avenue in East Harlem shines Sendero Verde, Spanish for "green path." A public walkway gives name and mission to the three buildings it bridges, housing more than 700 families.
The complex is credited as the largest, all-affordable Passive House -certified project in the nation. The HPD says, "Passive House is a high performance building standard developed by the Passive House Institute (PHI) originally in 1990 and by the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) in 2007." "The building itself is just simply using less energy than most buildings, by a lot," said HPD Chief Sustainability Officer Jen Leone.
The first of more than 25 now-completed HPD Passive House designs, elements incorporated into every aspect of life reduce its energy use by more than half that of a traditional New York City complex of comparable size. "You can't see it," Leone said. "You don't know that the windows are better than normal windows .
.. and that every breath of air you take is cleaner.
" The complex includes two childhood education centers, a community art program, plus supportive services for the more than 50 formerly unhoused families who have also found a home at Sendero, allowing space for all on the path towards a greener future. Sendero Verde's apartments are all in the process of being a.
