COOPERATING AGAINST CARBON
Capstone Symposium Presentation
May 2025
JAIME STOCK
In roduc io
Projec vervie
Re earch Findin
Coopera in A ain Car o
Buildin our Pro ra
Lookin Forwar
hank You + Q&A
Meet Maya.
Maya Lives in a Ty ical NYC Coo
40 unit in pre-war building (built 40 Mix of longtime re ident and newcomer Facing aging infra tructure challenge
Limited re erve after recent roof repair
Maya i a board member
Maya’s building recently got some mail.
About NYC’ Local Law 9
Building contribute 66% of YC' carbon emi ion
Mo t ambitiou building emi ion la globall
Require 5 , building (>25K q ft) to reduce emi ion
4 % reduction by 2 3
1 % reduction by 2 5
Where to start?
How much will this really cost us? Who can help us figure this out? Is this possible?even
Whatexactlyneeds tobedoneforour specificbuilding?
trustWhocanwe work?todothe How will we pay for it all?
PROJECT OVERVIEW
How might we reduce the frictions of the decarbonization & LL97 compliance process and empower more small coops in NYC to successfully reduce their emissions?
Critical to NYC's ffordable Housin
95% of homes sold for under $400,000 in 2023 were coo 1,100+ H FC coo erative buildings serving low-income residents
Critical to NYC's ffordable Housin
95% of homes sold for under $400,000 in 2023 were coo 1,100+ H FC coo erative buildings serving low-income residents
Unique Obstacle
Limited financial resource
Non- rofessional board members managing com lex com lianc
Older building infrastructur Often smaller buildings — the biggest H FC’s are 200 units, most are closer to 40
Project
Lite atu e Revie
Ex e t Inte vie s ( + ex e ts
Pa tici ant O se vatio
Su vey ( 2 es on ents
Semi-St uctu e Inte vie s (
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Drowning in Information, Starving for Guidance
People know there is a lot of information out there, but it is difficult to find the right information for their specific building.
“Everyone is giving you specific answers about specific projects but not able to tell you if you were to go in that direction how it would impact everything else.”
— Clinton Hill Coop Board Member
“A lot of the issues right now have a lot to do with the proliferation of of information and access to information.”
— Caleb Weil, UHAB
Desire for a Guide
People feel isolated and want to connect with people who have been in their shoes and successfully navigated similar projects.
“[the best thing to help would be] someone to talk to.”
—
Crown Heights Coop Superintendent
“I would love to talk to someone who has successfully electrified ... I tried cold-emailing someone mentioned in a news article who had done it.”
— Clinton Hill Coop Board Member
Too Small, Too Big, Never
Just Right
Coop buildings are often told they are too small, big, or otherwise fail to meet the criteria required for contractors to work with them or to access funding sources.
“[contractor] declined to do the work for us ... the amount was too small for their model”
— Clinton Hill Coop Board Member
“They said the building was too big [for a solar installation].”
— Crown Heights Coop Superintendent
Amperage Surprises
People are running into challenges when they try to switch from gas to electrical systems because their buildings systems cannot handle the additional load.
“We could only use them [heat pumps] for AC ... our building doesn't have enough amperage for one electric stove.”
— Prospect Heights Coop Board Member
“The real issue with the cost there is electrical upgrades — and there is no help for that.”
— Caleb Weil, UHAB
What Maya Needs
Resource Access & Education Peer Connection Aggregation Solutions Amperage & Infrastructure Support Accessible Funding
COOPERATING AGAINST CARBON
Cooperating Against Carbon ▸ Concept
CAC’s Pi ar
Connections & Support: Buil in ours, peer ne orks, resource rou in
Amplifying Voices: Simplifie resources, ecision frame orks, mana emen compan en a emen
Amper ge Advoc cy: Research, u ili en a emen , polic proposals
One-pager used to solicit feedback on the concept.
To the extent that you can connect with people who have done this work and How did they get that work done
How did they self-organize
Was there a champion who led the way
What were the internal politics in terms of moving things along?
That would be a story that is interesting to tell.
We need more stories like that.
— Will DiMaggio, NYC Mayor s Offi e of Climate and Environmental Justi e tell those stories
BUILDING TOURS PROGRAM
Powered By Peer-Learnin
Bo rd members le ding tours of successful project
Tec nic l + decision-m king process focu
Networking opportunitie
T ke- ome resources
Building
Host recruitment flyer provotype iterations.
"Just being at the building and seeing it in real time — that's the biggest benefit …
— Morissa Morris, KC3 you can't see it until you see it
LOOKING FORWARD
Phase 1 (Months 1-6)
Connectin Maya with her peer LL97 Buildin Tour pilot and calin
Develop initial online re ource
Phase 2 (Months 7-18)
Helpin Maya find the ri ht re ource and upport
Expanded online re ource and event
Mana ement company en a ement
Phase 3 (Months 19-36)
Helpin Maya o electric Ampera e advocac
U in collected data to advocate for more fundin and re ource
Maya is just one of thousands of coop board members and residents in NYC.
Maya is just one of thousands of coop board members and residents in NYC.
CAC needs to grow to help them tackle LL97 and the decarbonization process.
Maya is just one of thousands of coop board members and residents in NYC.
CAC needs to grow to help them tackle LL97 and the decarbonization process.
I’m seeking partnership opportunities and funding support for the pilot program.
Please reach out at jaimemstock@gmail.com
THANK YOU!
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the many people who supported this work, including:
Anonymous Coop Board Members, Residents, and Superintendents Caleb Weil, UHAB Matthew Soble, Bright Power Morissa Morris, KC3
Rebekah Morris-Gonzalez, Pratt Center for Community Development Peter Koechley, Rewiring America Juanli Carrion Jane Bartman & Jacob Koch, Bloomberg Associates Elaine Wang, Jane Energy Bomee Jung, Cadence OneFive Pattra Sikkamann Paul Emmel
Will DiMaggio, NYC Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Brielle Mariucci, Public Policy Lab
Evren Uzer