PlaNYC was a plan introduced by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2007 to help the city prepare for one million more people, improve the economy, fight climate change, and improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. The plan involved more than 25 city agencies working together to create a greener, stronger New York. Significant progress was made toward the long-term goals in the years that followed.

PlaNYC focused on ten key areas: Housing and Neighborhoods; Parks and Public Spaces; Brownfields; Waterways; Water Supply; Transportation; Energy; Air Quality; Solid Waste; and Climate Change.

More than 97% of the 127 projects in PlaNYC were started within one year of the plan’s release. Nearly two-thirds of the 2009 goals were completed or mostly completed. The plan was updated in 2011 and expanded to include 132 projects and over 400 specific goals to be reached by December 31, 2013.

Daniel L. Doctoroff, the deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding, led the team of experts who created the plan. The New York Times described the plan as the Bloomberg administration’s "most far-reaching" and noted that its success could determine whether the administration would be remembered as truly transformative.

In April 2015, a new plan was released, titled One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City or OneNYC. This document outlined city policies to promote inclusive growth, sustainability, and resilience to climate change.

Components

The plan had three main parts:

• OpeNYC: Getting ready for a large increase in New York City’s population, which is expected to grow by more than one million people over twenty years.
• MaintaiNYC: Fixing old infrastructure, such as city bridges, water pipes, public transportation, building rules, and power plants.
• GreeNYC: Saving New York City’s resources, with a goal to lower the city’s carbon emissions by 30%.

One of the most debated parts of the plan was the mayor’s idea to charge drivers a fee to enter midtown Manhattan during busy hours on weekdays. The fee would have been $8.00 for most cars, but some vehicles, like those passing through the area, would not have had to pay. This proposal was canceled in 2008 even though environmental groups and the governor supported it. Many people in Brooklyn and Queens (on Long Island) strongly opposed the plan because they would have had to pay a toll to enter and leave the island.

A major problem with the plan was the belief that more people would use public transportation. New York City Transit studied each subway route and found that many routes were already full, and the tracks could not handle more trains. Supporters of the plan said the system could raise money for important projects, such as the Second Avenue Subway, 7 Subway Extension, and East Side Access.

In 2007, the city aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. Between 2007 and 2011, emissions dropped by 13%. This was partly because the city’s electricity supply became 26% cleaner during this time, due to more efficient power plants and greater use of renewable energy. Con Edison also helped reduce emissions by fixing leaks of sulfur hexafluoride, a harmful gas, in its electricity system. This action lowered emissions by an additional 3%.

To reduce emissions, the plan included switching to cleaner energy sources. Lower energy use, new waste management strategies, and better transportation systems were expected to help the city cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30%.

In 2011, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) started its Climate Change Program Assessment and Action Plan by studying how climate change might affect the city’s water supply. The DEP used climate change impact scenarios to identify areas at risk. Projects funded by the plan included the Croton Walter Filtration Plant, which opened in 2015 to clean sediments from stormwater, and the renovation of the Delaware Aqueduct. The DEP also improved the sewage system by creating a new stormwater drainage strategy for areas likely to flood or experience sewer backups. The plan focused on working together across energy, air, water, land, and climate policies to reduce negative effects.

Support

PlaNYC was supported by the Campaign for New York's Future, a group made up of civic, business, environmental, labor, community, and public health organizations.

Sustainable Energy Property Tracking System

A study by the mayor's office found that city buildings produced about 3.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year and used 6.5 percent of the city's energy. These buildings cost the city nearly $1 billion annually for energy, and they were responsible for about 64 percent of the city's total greenhouse gas emissions. A major goal of Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC was to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

To reach this goal, New York City made a deal worth over $10 million with TRIRIGA, a company that provides software to manage buildings and environmental sustainability. TRIRIGA was later bought by IBM, and the city used its software in more than 4,000 government buildings to help track energy use and reduce emissions.

The city used data from IBM's TRIRIGA system to analyze energy use and choose which projects to fund under PlaNYC. Energy and water use were recorded in the Sustainable Energy Property Tracking System (SEPTS) to find buildings that used the most resources and decide where to invest in energy efficiency.

Note: The TRIRIGA product was renamed Maximo Real Estate and Facilities in June 2025 and is now part of IBM's Maximo Application Suite.