De Blasio wants to ban “classic glass-and-steel skyscrapers”

Developers of shimmering glass-and-steel towers in New York have had a downright frightful day.

As the city targets the mechanical void loophole favored by developers of Billionaires’ Row, Mayor Bill de Blasio appeared on “Morning Joe” on Monday to offer his two cents on efficient buildings of the future. The mayor said he wants to “ban the classic glass-and-steel skyscrapers” as part of the city’s “Green New Deal.”

“If someone wants to build one of those things, they can take a whole lot of steps to make it energy efficient, but we’re not going to allow what we used to see in the past,” he said.

De Blasio spent about 10 minutes on the show, discussing things like his potential run for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 2020 presidential election, and the “progressive” policies he’s put in place here in New York City.

The City Council last week passed a bill that requires owners of buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030. The requirement is projected to cost building owners more than $4 billion in retrofit costs.

De Blasio said the city will levy “serious fines” against building owners that don’t comply, some as high as $1 million for the largest buildings.

When asked on Morning Joe about the kind of environmental example the mayor sets by riding in a SUV from Gracie Mansion to his gym in Park Slope, de Blasio said he goes back to his old neighborhood to stay connected, and that his security detail follows him wherever he goes.

“The fact is that those cars and that security detail are part of the life of being mayor of New York City,” he said. [MSNBC] – Rich Bockmann