Mayor Mamdani, NYCHA, Announce $38.4M Investment in Heat Pumps at Beach 41st Houses

On Wednesday, February 4, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was in town to announce a $38.4 million investment to install clean, reliable heat pumps at NYCHA’s Beach 41st Street Houses in Edgemere, following a report of residents being left in the cold during the latest snowstorm and icy-weather streak.

On January 28, ABC’s Anthony Carlo gave a report from 438 Beach 40th Street, one of NYCHA’s Beach 41st Street Houses, showing the residents dealing with a lack of heat and hot water since before the snowstorm on January 25. On Wednesday, Mayor Mamdani and others announced some changes to deliver modern heating and cooling to 712 apartments as part of the city’s Clean Heat for All initiative.

The announcement was made alongside Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg, NYCHA CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt, and Chief Climate Officer Louise Yeung. Beach 41st Street Houses will be among the first NYCHA developments to receive the custom-designed heat pumps, which will replace an aging gas boiler system that has exceeded its useful life.

Once installed, the heat pumps will provide more consistent and reliable heating, efficient cooling in bedrooms and living rooms, individual temperature controls for residents, and improve hot water reliability. The project advances the city’s goal of expanding Clean Heat for All to more than 10,000 NYCHA apartments by 2030.

“Today’s $38.4 million investment in heat pumps at the Beach 41st NYCHA Houses is about dignity, safety, and climate justice. It means hundreds of working-class New Yorkers in the Rockaways can heat their homes reliably while we cut emissions at the same time,” Mayor Mamdani said. “This is what it looks like when we understand that the fight for a livable planet and livable housing are in fact one and the same.”

“This investment shows how smart policy can address our housing crisis and climate crisis at the same time. These heat pumps will be cheaper and more efficient, cut emissions, and improve residents’ lives at Beach 41st Street Houses,” said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning. “The Clean Heat for All program is proof using the city’s investment and purchasing power creatively can drive progress across the city, and that is the creativity that we will bring to bear to address the housing crisis for all New Yorkers.”

“We are so pleased to be bringing the Clean Heat for All heat pumps to the residents of Beach 41st Street Houses,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “These cutting-edge heat pumps will not only provide clean, reliable heat during the winter, but cooling during the summer months as well. We’d like to thank Mayor Mamdani for his support of this program and for his dedication to improving the quality of life for the residents of Beach 41st Houses. We look forward to a continued partnership with his administration as we work to scale up Clean Heat for All and install 30,000 window heat pumps over the next several years.”

“There are few rights more fundamental than the right to safe and stable housing. But the first thing many New Yorkers living in NYCHA housing see when they wake up is their own breath, simply because their home lacks effective heating,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. said. “This $38 million investment will deliver both heat and justice to those who deserve but have long denied it. I look forward to working with Mayor Mamdani in delivering for NYCHA families in the years ahead.”

“I’m grateful to Mayor Mamdani for today’s significant announcement. I grew up in Edgemere, the community we’re standing in today. For generations, Beach 41 Houses and NYCHA at large have been forgotten—a fight that tenant association president Eugenia Gibson has tirelessly led right here at these buildings. Hurricane Sandy highlighted this neglect when families endured weeks without power or heat. This $38.4 million investment is more than funding—it’s a promise that the Rockaways matter to City Hall,” Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson said. “Our families deserve homes with clean air and reliable heat, not as privileges, but as the fundamental human rights they are.”

“Reliable heat isn’t a luxury: it is a basic necessity that every family deserves,” Councilwoman Selvena N. Brooks-Powers said. “The Mayor’s $38.4 million investment in heat pumps at the Beach 41st Street NYCHA campus will directly improve daily life for 712 households in Far Rockaway. For too long, Far Rockaway NYCHA residents have had to deal with unreliable heating and aging infrastructure that disrupt daily life and threatens health and stability. This investment will improve quality of life, lower energy costs, and bring reliable heating and cooling to hundreds of households. I thank Mayor Mamdani and our city partners for prioritizing NYCHA residents and making meaningful investments that strengthen our communities and help move us toward a cleaner, more resilient future.”

The heat pumps being installed at Beach 41st Street Houses are the product of the Clean Heat for All Challenge, launched by NYCHA, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in 2021. Following competitive submissions by a variety of heating and cooling device manufacturers, Midea and Gradient won contracts to develop 30,000 pumps for NYCHA homes. To date, 150 have been installed at Woodside Houses in Queens and NYCHA has purchased 5,000 more. Through the Clean Heat for All initiative, NYCHA is using its bulk purchasing power to procure custom heating and cooling devices, filling a gap from existing heat pumps on the market, and improving the reliability and efficiency of hot water service.

Clean Heat for All completed its initial demonstration in June 2024, with the heat pump units showing promising results: pilot apartments with heat pumps maintained more consistent and comfortable temperatures during the winter, compared to control apartments with a standard steam system. The units have been able to maintain their set point temperatures amidst the coldest outdoor temperatures of the heating season while lowering the energy used to provide heat. Resident response to the new heat pumps has been overwhelmingly positive, with 89 percent of residents who received heat pumps reporting satisfaction with the new units. Early results, averaged across two heat pump manufacturers, show an 86 percent decrease in energy required for space heating. Results also indicated a 50 percent decrease in heating energy costs, substantial savings despite the higher cost of electricity relative to gas.