At the Urban Green Council—the NY chapter of USGBC—annual awards gala Monday, Hebrew SeniorLife executive director Stephen Post won awards for water and energy savings at the 266-unit Jack Satter House in Revere. HUD’s Green Retrofit Program Multifamily Housing provided $4M of federal stimulus money that the team used to retrofit the 260k SF building with a co-gen, energy management system. Appliances reduced energy use by 20%. The awards weren’t the only good news for Stephen that night. He caught the train back to Boston to be at his daughter’s side when she gave birth to another grandchild for Stephen. Congrats!

The USGBC's Judith Webb, snapped with BuildingGreen president Nadav Malin, traveled from DC to NY for the awards. Judith tells us the US houses 5.6 million existing buildings, almost every one a candidate for energy, water, and money savings. The award (called EBies) nominees hailed from six states and account for 14M SF of improved properties that have saved 30 million gallons of water and as much energy as 1.7 million Americans use each year. Imagine the impact, she says, if 1,000 or 100,000 existing buildings put in modular green roofs, exchanged their exterior halide lights for LEDs, or installed low-flow toilets or solar panels (not in the same room).