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Mayor Bloomberg Paints The City White

NEW YORK (1010 WINS / WCBS 880) -- Some people go out and paint the town red. Mayor Bloomberg goes out and paints it white -- at least the rooftops.

LISTEN: WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reports
LISTEN
: 1010 WINS' Stan Brooks reports

Bloomberg Paints
(Photo/Stan Brooks)

So far, Bloomberg and a core of volunteers have painted 1 million square feet of rooftops with a reflective white coating designed to improve energy efficiency, 1010 WINS' Senior Correspondent Stan Brooks reported.

"If you have ever been to the beach on a hot sunny day, you'll know that a light colored t-shirt will keep you a lot cooler than a dark one and it is the same way for buildings," Bloomberg said speaking from the roof of a 6-story apartment building in the East Bronx.

"On a hot summer day the temperature on a light colored cool roof can be as much as 60 degrees lower than on a dark roof."

The mayor said the white coating could last ten to fifteen years. Back in April, Bloomberg vowed to paint a million square feet of city rooftops white by the end of October.

Bloomberg said the coating was designed to cut cooling costs as well as energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

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