New York University
OP-23: Stormwater Management

NYU has emphasized stormwater management as a design consideration for new construction and building renovation, as part of the university’s commitment to a standard of LEED Silver for green building. The Law School's recently-completed Wilf Hall has incorporated Green Roof and Blue Roof systems as stormwater reduction and quality control features. Presently under construction, the Interfaith Center on Washington Square will incorporate a green roof, as well. NYU developed and published a set of design standards and guidelines for green roofs to streamline future implementation of this technology on campus buildings: http://www.nyu.edu/sapd/pdf/exteriors_atria1.pdf While NYC does not mandate stormwater management in its building codes, the city did only recently lift a ban on cisterns and now authorizes on-side disposal of stormwater as a permissible technique to manage outflows and avoid the Combined Sewer Overflows that plague the city. PlaNYC is encouraging increased stormwater flow reduction techniques in public spaces, which constitute a large part of the campus neighborhood near Washington Square Park. Wilf Hall’s green roof and two planted terraces, bedded with grasses, ferns, and trees, will help insulate the building year-round and filter pollutants out of rainwater, thereby reducing runoff into the city’s sewers. Terraces on the second and sixth floors serve as informal meeting areas, with walking paths enclosed by creeping perennials NYU's comprehensive building technology review under LEED ensures that best practices in low impact development and stormwater management are considered in new construction and renovation projects. However, the institution does not yet have in place a full policy or plan to address and mitigate stormwater impacts for existing buildings. The NYU Sustainability Task Force's Energy and Water Working Group has recommended development of both immediate-term (current academic year) pilot projects to demonstrate the potential, and a longer-term effort to create a stormwater management plan and campus policy.

Green roofs, including those at 133 Macdougal Street (Wilf Hall), are designed with sedums and other drought tolerant plants. Irrigation is not required.