Law firm's green building eases headaches

In July 2009, the approximately 100 Forchelli employees moved from their Mineola building to the RXR Corp.-owned Omni building in Uniondale. The sleepiness and headaches are gone.

Going green, executives of the law firm said, did the trick.

Recently, Forchelli, Curto, Deegan, Schwartz, Mineo, Cohn & Terrana was awarded a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver designation from the nonprofit U.S. Green Buildings Council. Only 24 companies on Long Island hold such certification, according to Vince Capogna, executive director of the U.S. council's Long Island chapter.

It all means cleaner air, better lighting, more window views of the outside world and, therefore, fewer tired-out, headache-plagued employees, said Forchelli partner Brian Sahn, who oversaw the green project.

"You don't get that tired feeling you get in a lot of offices," Sahn said. "The overhead lights are not as punishing. The overall space has an appearance of natural content in terms of light, space, and even the wall coverings look more organic."

The firm scouted out new digs when its lease on the Mineola building was expiring and fixed on the sleek Omni building, where it occupies about 35,000 square feet on the 10th floor.

Wallcoverings emit only a low level of volatile organic compounds -- gases from solids or liquids that the government says can harm your health; carpets were made using recycled materials; light and energy systems were upgraded to the highest energy efficiency. Energy costs have been cut by about one-third, to around $4,700 a month, for lighting and running business equipment.

But many Long Island companies are still not getting it. "There's a tremendous hurdle we have to overcome," to educate companies about the benefits, said Capogna.