On a stark gray afternoon atop a co-op building in Flushing, Queens, a group of over two dozen workers diligently applied a fresh coat of white paint across the building’s black roof.
The initiative took shape under the guidance of Domonique Clotter, one of the painters, who explained the importance of this task, stating, “It’s really for it to keep the roofs cooler, and it also makes the whole building cooler as well.”
This approach, known as creating a cool roof, is an innovative strategy designed to tackle extreme summer heat. Unlike standard black roofing, which absorbs heat, the white paint reflects sunlight.
The results are significant on multiple fronts: not only does the reflective surface decrease surrounding air temperatures, but it also helps maintain a cooler environment inside buildings. This reduction translates into lower energy consumption for air conditioning, easing the load on the electric grid and diminishing carbon emissions.
In fact, residents can expect to save as much as 15% on air conditioning costs while also lowering indoor temperatures by up to 30%.
Since 2007, a city government program has spearheaded an impressive initiative to install over 12 million square feet of cool roofs, setting a current goal of an additional million square feet annually, with large portions of the city still untouched by this effort.
Mehdi Pourpeikari Heris, an urban planning professor at Hunter College, emphasizes the significance of this initiative, stating, “Cool roofs are important, one of our major strategies to keep cities cooler and reduce the urban heat island effect.”
He noted the broader benefits stemming from cooling urban environments, which include public health improvements, energy savings, and overall comfort for residents.
The city’s cool roof initiative also serves a dual purpose of workforce development through the HOPE Program, a nonprofit that trains jobseekers such as Clotter, equipping them with essential professional skills.
Tracey Capers, the Executive Director of the HOPE Program, elaborated on the program’s impact, highlighting its role in both personal and community development: “It is an opportunity not just to train people, but also to make a difference in neighborhoods by improving the housing stock of the buildings, improving the energy efficiency of the buildings, and improving the financial outcomes of the residents in the buildings.”
Under a decade-long partnership between the HOPE Program and the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, the Department of Small Business Services provides cool roofs at no cost to eligible nonprofits, community centers, affordable housing, hospitals, and other qualifying buildings.
While other buildings with flat roofs can participate, they must cover material costs, with HOPE supplying the labor.
The Flushing roof marked the fourth painting job completed by the HOPE crew this season.
During a break, Clotter, 24, shared her experiences and aspirations, revealing tan lines from weeks spent working outdoors and a tattoo on her neck bearing her 1-year-old son’s name.
Having joined the HOPE Program seeking a career in construction, she anticipated receiving safety certifications in OSHA and CPR, along with training in customer service, financial literacy education, and interview skills within two months.
Clotter stated, “I’m learning everything they teach in class. I’m picking it up, trying to put it in my professionalism.”
Her goal is clear: to secure a stable job that will allow her to provide for her family and pave the way for a promising career.
However, the work on the roof was not yet finished, requiring at least one more coat of paint for completion.
Her supervisor, Gary Lambert, shared a similar journey, having once been a participant in the HOPE Program himself. He now aspires to start his own landscaping business but chose to return for a full-time position to help others.
Reflecting on his time in the program, Lambert stated, “I got more out of the program than I ever thought, and it still aligns with my career goals.”
He expressed a strong commitment to addressing environmental injustices faced by various neighborhoods, explaining, “The reason why we paint the roof of white reflective coat is to help reduce carbon emissions here in New York City, to help people.”
In the four years he has been involved with HOPE, Lambert has painted over 100 roofs. He now navigates different rooftops, sometimes needing to clear away trash, drug paraphernalia, and even dead pigeons to prepare for painting.
Current research indicates that approximately 40% of flat roofs across New York City have been coated with reflective paint.
Heris, in collaboration with his students and researchers from Penn State, noted that there are still about 500 million square feet of rooftops that require coating to achieve complete coverage with cool roofs for flat-roof buildings.
To reach this ambitious target, many building owners will need to take initiative independently, extending beyond the capabilities of the city’s programs.
As climate change fuels extreme heat events, the need for effective and efficient urban cooling strategies becomes increasingly urgent. Every year, around 580 New Yorkers succumb to heat-related causes, emphasizing the necessity for initiatives like cool roofs.
New York City, already plagued by the heat island effect, is anticipated to warm even further, with heat waves becoming more frequent and enduring.
Certain neighborhoods are more susceptible to heat, with vulnerabilities influenced by social factors such as income levels and tree canopy coverage.
Interestingly, approximately 70% of the cool roofs installed as part of the HOPE Program are located in these high-risk neighborhoods, as noted by the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice.
On the rooftop in Flushing, assistant crew supervisor Rasheem Purcell engaged with workers, having begun his own path within the HOPE Program in 2021 without fully grasping the gravity of the cool roofs initiative.
Now, he imparts knowledge about sustainability, technical skills, and team dynamics to current participants.
“You might look at it like, ‘Oh, it’s just paint, and we’re just painting on a roof,’” he remarked. “But there’s much more to that.”
image source from：https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/05/27/cool-roofs-paint-climate-change/?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=gnews&utm_campaign=CDAqEAgAKgcICjC19MELMNeP2QMw4NPgAw&utm_content=rundown
