Bronx, NY In an effort to help build an environmentally sound and more affordable borough, Original Energy – a long-time, full-service provider of energy services – has completed four building conversions in Mount Hope from oil to natural gas – a substantially cheaper and more efficient method of heat delivery for the several hundred residents of the affordable housing complex. After years of financial and physical distress, the buildings’ non-profit manager – the Mount Hope Housing Company – turned to Original Energy, with its decades of expertise in energy services, with the goal of running a more energy efficient and economically solvent neighborhood for its tenants. Through its sister company, GEC Finance – which provides technical support and financial solutions for building owners interested in clean heat conversions – Original Energy completely supported the $2 million project before managing the complicated oil to gas conversions. The remaining seven buildings in the neighborhood will be fully operational within the next few weeks. “We are thrilled to work on this complex project with the Mount Hope Housing Company to prepare these buildings for the future of energy use,” said David Singer, president of Original Energy. “Through years of experience and relationships in the industry, we leveraged the best prices in purchasing natural gas for the project, which will now be used to heat the buildings and provide safe and clean-air atmospheres for the residents of the Mount Hope community.” “A cleaner Bronx is a healthier Bronx, and these green retrofits are a tremendous step towards more environmentally-friendly housing stock in The Bronx. I commend Original Energy for their commitment to a greener, healthier Bronx, and I urge other property managers and building owners to follow the example this company has set through these clean energy conversions,” said borough president Ruben Diaz, Jr. “Working with the Original Energy team has been a fulfilling experience,” said Fritz Jean, CEO of Mount Hope Housing Company. “The unbeatable customer service, in addition to their expertise in the industry has helped to reestablish the credibility of Mount Hope’s properties, offering health-conscious environments that are up-to-date with all the city’s regulations. These eleven buildings will now provide safe and clean housing for Mount Hope residents.” In 2011, New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began phasing out No.6 and No.4 heating oil, two of the dirtiest grades of heating oil available. The DEP cited that 1% of the buildings burning these residual oils were producing 86% of the total soot pollution produced from all NYC buildings. In helping property managers comply with the City’s direction, Original Energy’s experts offer consulting services in all five boroughs on the transition to cleaner fuels or natural gas, just as it did with the Mount Hope project. Ultimately, these conversions dramatically decrease air pollution and illnesses such as asthma and other lung conditions in the Bronx and throughout the entire City. In the Mount Hope project, Original Energy is providing boiler replacements in two of the buildings and replacing the burners in all eleven. Additionally, inspections of the buildings’ chimneys were conducted and Original Energy replaced the liners in most of them as required for most oil-to-gas conversions.