My team is currently working on a handful of LEED-EB projects in New York City (mid-town Manhattan). In the past we have done surveys, however we have a really hard time getting responses from this demographic. Typically we’re seeing between a 20-40% response rate. It’s heartbreaking to see these projects only get 5-9 points for SSc4 when we all know that the vast majority of workers in Manhattan use alternative transportation. These projects really deserve the full 15 points! They are older buildings, struggling for points and alternative transportation is one of their “greenest” claims-to-fame. The intent of this credit is to reduce pollution from automobiles, and in the USA no one does it better than Manhattan when it comes to reducing automobile-dependency. Does anyone have any alternative compliance ideas for Manhattan buildings that sidestep the survey approach?

My preliminary research shows that the NY Metropolitan Transportation Council collects and presents transportation information using census data (in 2008 only 11.1% drove alone). You can view data at http://www.nymtc.org/webquery/census/main.cfm as “travel mode – by place of workplace”. But the data is from 2008 at the latest, and of course this isn’t a formal “program”. Are there programs in Manhattan that meet LEED requirements, will get us a more deserving number of points, and open for membership? Are there any other ideas out there? Any help is appreciated! Thank you