IN THE COMMUNITY> Downstate New York

Southeastern New York is home to the Power Authority’s White Plains office, the Richard M. Flynn Power Plant in Holtsville, Long Island and two small hydro projects, at the Ashokan reservoir in Ulster county and the Kensico reservoir in Westchester County.

As a densely populated area that has experienced sharp growth of its population and hunger for electricity in the past decade, the region is also the site of a number of new Power Authority projects in various stages of development.

A combined-cycle plant in Queens began commercial operation December 31, 2005. The 500,000-kilowatt plant uses clean, natural gas, with low-sulfur oil as a backup fuel, and is the cleanest generating facility in the New York metropolitan area. Adjacent to this plant was another Queens facility, NYPA's Charles Poletti Power Project. On January 31, 2010, NYPA kept its word under a September 2002 joint stipulation agreement and permanently ceased operation of this 885-megawatt generating unit.

While waiting for larger plants like the combined-cycle facility to come into service, the Power Authority filled the need for additional capacity with small, clean PowerNow! power plants at six sites in New York City, in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, and another at Brentwood, Long Island. The plants began operating during summer 2001 just in time to stave off the threat of blackouts during peak-demand periods.

Economic Development and Jobs

Low-cost electricity supplied by the Power Authority powers subways, commuter rail lines, street lights, schools, hospitals and other public facilities in New York City and Westchester County, reducing bills for governments and taxpayers by about $250 million dollars a year.

We also provide affordable electricity in downstate New York to approximately 250 companies and non-profit groups helping protect nearly 250,000 jobs. Recipients include companies such as IBM, Kraft, Steinway Piano, The New York Times and Readers Digest and non-profit organizations such as the South Street Seaport in New York and Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, Westchester County. (Learn more about our economic development programs.)

Energy Efficiency

Our energy-efficiency programs in the New York City area at public facilities such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art help lower energy costs by more than $85 million a year and reduce pollution.

Last year, NYPA passed the $1 billion mark in total energy efficiency investments at more than 2,400 schools, fire and police stations, hospitals, museums, libraries and other public facilities statewide. Fully half of those facilities—about 1,200—are in metro New York, and work to cut New York City’s power costs by $58 million each year. Here’s a sampling of downstate work just finished or going on right now, approaching mid-2007:

For New York City Transit, work is under way at the Coney Island Yard to upgrade boilers, install five quick-roll-up doors to retain heat or repel cold, and convert the yard to cleaner number-2 fuel oil. At the Kingsbridge and Casey Stengel Bus Depots and the 207th Street Yard, we’re installing new compressed air and/or lighting systems.
For New York City schools, we’re working on lighting retrofits and upgrades and room occupancy sensors at PS 280, 56, 46, 91, 391, 86, 202, 72, 149, 345, 15 and 91; and IS 206.
For the NYPD, we’re putting in energy-efficient lighting at the 40th, 41st, 44th, 49th and 79th precinct facilities.
For SUNY and CUNY, starting later this year NYPA crews will be replacing steam traps and zone control valves, upgrading chillers and installing web-enabled metering throughout the Brooklyn College campus; replacing chillers at the Fashion Institute of Technology
In Westchester, we’ll be upgrading cooling and dehumidifying systems for Purchase College’s prestigious Neuberger Museum.
On Staten Island, NYPA is installing a new energy management system at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
For the New York City Housing Authority, this spring we delivered 25 high-mileage hybrid-electric vehicles for maintenance operations at the nation’s largest public housing agency.
And in Orange County, we’re working with the county Department of Public Works to install LED (light-emitting diode) traffic signals. As demonstrated earlier with NYPA LED installations in 18,000 Queens traffic signals, the new fixtures last for seven years or more, and consume a small fraction of the power of the older fixtures. (Learn more about our energy-efficiency programs.)

New Technologies

Virtually emission-free, a NYPA fuel cell helps power the North Central Bronx Hospital, among the first hospitals in the nation to rely on such technology. We have also led the way in demonstrating practical uses of new technologies. We helped introduce the first electric-powered school bus in the Bronx and hybrid-electric transit buses in New York City, and installed fuel cell power plants and solar photovoltaic projects at a variety of public facilities in New York City, Westchester County and Long Island. (Learn more about our new technology and clean transportation initiatives.)

Community Involvement

Check our web calendar for NYPA-sponsored community events near you