Energy Retrofit Office Moves to Yorktown

Leaving its longtime home to fulfill a broader mission, the Energy Improvement Corp. is moving this week from Mount Kisco to office space in Yorktown Heights.

Operations are shifting from offices at 666 Lexington Ave. in Mount Kisco to space in the shuttered French Hill Elementary School, 2727 Crompond Road.

Almost three years ago, Bedford officials gave birth to the energy-efficiency program, meant to save homeowners money and finite natural resources. Today, like some precocious offspring, the program is moving far beyond its Bedford backyard, bringing the message of energy efficiency to a host of Northern Westchester neighbors.

And, like many a young man or woman leaving the nest and setting down roots elsewhere, program officials made a trip home to borrow the folks’ plastic so they could buy some furniture.

Mark Thielking, Bedford’s director of energy resources, asked Bedford town board members of Tuesday to borrow the town’s credit card for a quick trip to the New Haven Ikea. Although the ready-to-assemble furniture giant had the best value, Thielking said, it does not accept cash or checks. “We’re at the point now,” Thielking told the board, “where we’re moving in tomorrow (Wednesday) and still haven’t been able to obtain a credit card.”

To be sure, the burgeoning energy initiative—which is finding acceptance far beyond Bedford to now include Mount Kisco, Somers, New Castle and both the town and village of Ossining—has more than enough cash to pay for its own desks, filing cabinets and swivel chairs. Indeed, with more than it could likely finance a few paper clips for the cash-strapped town.

Instead, through the Energy Improvement Corp., it’s helping homeowners first to obtain free energy-efficiency evaluations. Later, if a homeowner wants to fix some or all of the shortcomings turned up in the energy audit, the corporation will process applications for state-subsidized financing.

“The duties of the Energy Improvement Corp., as outlined in the agreement,” Thielking said, “are to review the application and to qualify properties, to execute . . . agreements between the property owner and the EIC.”

In the end, Energize New York—the program’s overarching umbrella—is expected to cover 14 communities that allied two years ago, under the banner of the Northern Westchester Energy Action Coalition (NWEAC), to seek energy-conservation and other green solutions.