Suozzi Announces Public-Private Partnership to Turn Levittown Green

Seeks To Create Model For Suburbs Throughout U.S.; Will Save Homeowners Money While Reducing Carbon Footprint

Levittown, NY, November 15, 2007 – Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi today announced a public-private partnership to make Levittown, America’s first suburb, America’s first green suburb.

At the announcement today, on Periwinkle Road in front of one of the original Cape Cod-style homes built 60 years ago for returning WWII veterans and their young families, Suozzi outlined a comprehensive program to reduce Levittown’s carbon footprint by 20 percent in 2008.

In what Suozzi called “easy environmentalism,” he described a partnership with national and local companies to make it easy and affordable to install new boilers, make energy-efficient home renovations, utilize bio-fuels, solar heating and to purchase innovative, inexpensive products to quickly reduce home fuel consumption. He also described a comprehensive door-to-door campaign to show Levittown’s 17,000 homeowners how to take steps to save energy on their own.

“This winter promises to be the most expensive ever for home heating,” Suozzi said, “So the benefits to homeowners should be significant.”

The program will be funded entirely through partnerships from participating companies, and at no cost to Nassau County taxpayers.

Homeowners will be encouraged to sign up for comprehensive energy audits to provide them with a “prescription” for saving energy and saving money. And GreenLevittown will hold an Earth Day party in April to celebrate what Suozzi is calling “a massive retrofitting of America’s suburb.”

The County Executive said he hoped his program would provide a template for suburbs throughout America.

“The environmental crisis will not take center stage until everyday Americans participate in efforts to respond to it,” Suozzi said. “And to inspire people to take action, they need an answer to the question, ‘What’s in it for me – today?’ I can’t think of a better place to begin than the suburb that was the model for all other American suburbs.”

Eight companies have founded the program with Suozzi, with additional partners expected in the next few weeks. They include Alure Home Improvements, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Earthkind Energy, Intellidyne, Inc., Lazard Ltd., Long Island Power Authority, National Grid and Tragar Oil Company.  Lazard is also serving, pro bono, as an energy policy advisor to GreenLevittown and to Nassau County.

An environmental advocacy group, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, will also be a key player, with 12 of its professional canvassers calling on every Levittown household, making energy-saving recommendations, offering home energy audits and presenting special offers on energy efficient equipment, appliances and products.

The door-to-door campaign will be supported with a comprehensive marketing communications campaign developed by Blue Wolf Communications to bring the message of energy conservation and efficiency to Levittown’s 53,000 residents. A website, GreenLevittown.com, is being set up to provide information, assistance and resources to Levittowners. And beginning in January, the partners will host events and demonstrations in Levittown to showcase their products and services, offered at special prices and with attractive financing.