Tishman Speyer Working with UFT, DOE and SCA to Improve Ventilation Systems and Sources MERV-13 Filters for New York City's Public Schools

The United Federation of Teachers teamed up with leading real estate developer and owner Tishman Speyer to assist with air ventilation solutions in New York City public schools. Over the past several weeks, Tishman Speyer has worked on a pro bono basis, in close collaboration with the UFT, Department of Education, and the School Construction Authority to improve ventilation solutions and source more than 100,000 MERV-13 filters for New York City public schools.

"Tishman Speyer has been at the forefront of the effort to improve ventilation systems in response to the pandemic.  When I asked Rob Speyer for insight on how our school system could better protect the health and well-being of its students and faculty, he did far more than just give advice - he assigned a team of his best engineers and building managers to work with the UFT and the city. Together they came up with a host of innovative solutions to protect our students and staff," said Michael Mulgrew, President of the UFT.

"As a lifelong New Yorker, I am committed to doing everything I can to support the city in its ongoing recovery," said Rob Speyer, CEO, and President of Tishman Speyer. "I was honored when Michael Mulgrew asked if I could put Tishman Speyer's expertise and contacts to work in helping the UFT and DOE create safer and healthier environments for our children, teachers, and administrators."

Tishman Speyer’s team of engineers and design experts focused on schools with complicated central air distribution systems.  The team spent several weeks reviewing the ventilation systems and operation at the Martin Luther King Jr. complex in Manhattan and Herbert Lehman High School in the Bronx. As part of the effort, Tishman Speyer performed full diagnostics on all building fans, which augmented the DOE’s ongoing classroom air flow surveys.

Drawing on its experience with commercial real estate buildings, Tishman Speyer helped develop multiple strategies for continuing the current provision of fresh outside air through the winter months and deploying high-quality MERV filters at the central fans.

In addition, Tishman Speyer tapped its supply chain to find a domestic supplier who could deliver more than 100,000 MERV filters, currently in high demand across the world, to New York City schools in a short timeframe.

About Tishman Speyer

Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and investment manager of first-class real estate in 27 key markets across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. We develop, build and manage premier office, residential and retail spaces for industry-leading tenants, as well as state-of-the-art life science centers through our Breakthrough Properties venture. With a global vision, on-the-ground expertise and a personalized approach, we are unparalleled in our ability to foster innovation, quickly adapt to global and local trends, and proactively anticipate our customers’ evolving needs.  By focusing on health and wellness, enlightened placemaking and customer-focused initiatives such as our tenant amenities platform, ZO., and our flexible space and co-working brand, Studio, we tend not just to our physical buildings, but to the people who inhabit them on a daily basis. Since our inception in 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated 424 properties, totaling 184 million square feet, with a combined value of approximately $97 billion (U.S.). Our current portfolio includes such iconic assets as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai, TaunusTurm in Frankfurt, and the Mission Rock neighborhood currently being realized in San Francisco.