09-10-2019
In Support of Bird-Safe Legislation
UPDATE: Proposed Initiative 1482B was approved by the New York City Council on December 10, 2019.
On September 10, 2019, FXCollaborative Director of Sustainability Dan Piselli testified at a hearing for proposed "bird-safe" legislation, speaking on behalf of the firm and AIA New York. The New York City Council Committee on Housing & Buildings is considering the proposed Int. No. 1482-2019, a local law that would amend the New York City building code to require that glass installed on newly constructed or altered buildings be treated to reduce bird strike fatalities.
As industry leaders in bird-safe design, FXCollaborative supports this legislation.
"The bird glass collision issue is part of a larger problem with human impacts on the environment. The United Nations estimates that one million species of animals and plants are threatened with extinction because of us. That scale of ecological loss erodes the foundations our economies, food security, quality of life worldwide. Bird collisions are growing environmental land use issue that contributes to this problem. Glassy buildings degrade habitat to the tunes of hundreds of millions of bird deaths every year in North America.
"As architects, we often use glass to connect people with nature, but if done wrong, that glass can literally kill the nature we seek to connect with. Fortunately there are bird-safe glass solutions ... Multiple strategies are available such as: simple insect screens, solar shading elements, reduced reflectivity, decorative patterns, and barely visible ultraviolet coatings. ... The simplest way for a large building in New York to deal with this is patterns, which adds only a fraction of a percent to the cost of such a building.
"[Our previous experience designing buildings with bird-safe glass] are all institutional building owners. But commercial and residential building owners are hesitant to use these things because of concerns of cost and market expectations for lots of clear glass. As a result, there are very few bird-safe commercial and residential buildings in New York City. ... Most building owners will not do this on their own, and that's why legislation is necessary."
This is an excerpt of Dan Piselli's testimony. The full hearing can be viewed on the New York City Council's website: https://councilnyc.viebit.com/player.php?hash=T7bwEesxYlHs
Sources for more information:
FOX 5 NY. "NYC considers requiring 'bird-safe' glass on buildings" by Stacey Delikat. September 10, 2019.
Audubon. "There's a Growing Political Push To Make More Buildings Bird-Safe" by James Crugnale. August 30, 2019.
Archinect News. "Architects lobby for bird-friendly glass as NYC overhauls cladding regulations" by Antonio Pacheco. September 9, 2019.
The New York City Council. Committee on Housing and Buildings. September 10, 2019.
NY1 News. "Tens of Thousands of Birds Die Flying Into NYC Buildings. A Bill Looks to Change That." by Angi Gonzalez. September 11, 2019.
On September 10, 2019, FXCollaborative Director of Sustainability Dan Piselli testified at a hearing for proposed "bird-safe" legislation, speaking on behalf of the firm and AIA New York. The New York City Council Committee on Housing & Buildings is considering the proposed Int. No. 1482-2019, a local law that would amend the New York City building code to require that glass installed on newly constructed or altered buildings be treated to reduce bird strike fatalities.
As industry leaders in bird-safe design, FXCollaborative supports this legislation.
"The bird glass collision issue is part of a larger problem with human impacts on the environment. The United Nations estimates that one million species of animals and plants are threatened with extinction because of us. That scale of ecological loss erodes the foundations our economies, food security, quality of life worldwide. Bird collisions are growing environmental land use issue that contributes to this problem. Glassy buildings degrade habitat to the tunes of hundreds of millions of bird deaths every year in North America.
"As architects, we often use glass to connect people with nature, but if done wrong, that glass can literally kill the nature we seek to connect with. Fortunately there are bird-safe glass solutions ... Multiple strategies are available such as: simple insect screens, solar shading elements, reduced reflectivity, decorative patterns, and barely visible ultraviolet coatings. ... The simplest way for a large building in New York to deal with this is patterns, which adds only a fraction of a percent to the cost of such a building.
"[Our previous experience designing buildings with bird-safe glass] are all institutional building owners. But commercial and residential building owners are hesitant to use these things because of concerns of cost and market expectations for lots of clear glass. As a result, there are very few bird-safe commercial and residential buildings in New York City. ... Most building owners will not do this on their own, and that's why legislation is necessary."
This is an excerpt of Dan Piselli's testimony. The full hearing can be viewed on the New York City Council's website: https://councilnyc.viebit.com/player.php?hash=T7bwEesxYlHs
Sources for more information:
FOX 5 NY. "NYC considers requiring 'bird-safe' glass on buildings" by Stacey Delikat. September 10, 2019.
Audubon. "There's a Growing Political Push To Make More Buildings Bird-Safe" by James Crugnale. August 30, 2019.
Archinect News. "Architects lobby for bird-friendly glass as NYC overhauls cladding regulations" by Antonio Pacheco. September 9, 2019.
The New York City Council. Committee on Housing and Buildings. September 10, 2019.
NY1 News. "Tens of Thousands of Birds Die Flying Into NYC Buildings. A Bill Looks to Change That." by Angi Gonzalez. September 11, 2019.
