My hesitation wasn't false modesty. As a professional modern dancer for the Mark Morris Dance Group, I spend my days in studios and on stage, rehearsing, performing and teaching — and not in the intricacies of building management, contracts, construction projects, tax law and budgeting. But there I was at our first meeting a week later, agreeing to be president.

I realized that although we might not always know it, performing artists already have the crucial skills we need to be co-op leaders. We understand the value of teamwork; working hard never fazes us; being strapped for cash most of your life helps you manage a budget; we always consider our audience (in this case, shareholders); and attention to detail is important in both construction projects and ballet class.

The five members of our new board didn't always agree on issues, but we liked each other and worked hard. We lobbied for and instituted a flip tax, hired a brilliant superintendent, refinanced our mortgage, upgraded the gym, quadrupled our reserve fund, revised our purchase application, laid the groundwork for an exterior renovation project, and started a building newsletter.

Applause, curtain? Not quite. After 25 years of performing, I know that unless your soul is invested in what you're doing, you feel a void. The steps might be right and the audience might leave happy, but you know if your heart's not in it.

As the months of my presidency rolled along, I felt this void grow. Mediating insurance disputes, handling leaks and fighting over bicycle racks had educated me and shaken my nerves. Now I wanted to do something that would make an ethical difference. I wanted to make our building greener.

The Green, Green Trash of Home

With Ryan Enschede, an architect and neighbor who specializes in sustainable design, and Peter Hamlen, a fellow board member, I brainstormed, researched and argued. We dreamed big (green roofs, rooftop wind turbines) but agreed that small steps done right were better than large, costly ones that would be hard to justify to shareholders.

We started by replacing hallway incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), installed a digital thermometer for common-area heating and signed on for Con Edison Solutions' "GREEN Power" program for the building's electricity. We asked our super to restock his inventory with environmentally safe cleaning products, and we ordered a Technotrash box from Green Disk for recycling electronics. (See the Habitat Slideshow "Technotrash.")

After commissioning a NYSERDA audit of our building's energy use, we decided to ask shareholders to consider making changes. This was a huge public-relations risk. To me, co-op residents are socialist libertarians: They like the democratic possibilities of co-op operations but wince at the thought of being told what to do. Yet now we were going to slip under residents' doors a 14-point building "Green Guide."

To do so, I went back to fundamentals: Build a team, get the details right and always keep the audience in mind. Three neighbors and I shared different interests — eating locally, avoiding plastic water bottles, installing CFLs — but we worked them into one cohesive document. And then we distributed it (printed on 100 percent recycled paper, of course).

The audience was silent. We'd slaved over this thing and the shareholders said nothing. Had we been self-righteous? Had we crossed a line? Had our Green Guide just ended up in the green recycling bins?

Our answer arrived during the most recent annual meeting. I was briefing residents on the results of our energy audit. Just to make sure someone was awake, I asked if anyone had installed CFLs this year. Suddenly, almost every hand shot up.

The excitement was palpable and contagious — and with small steps, our building's communal spirit increases as our carbon footprint falls.

Adapted from Habitat April 2008. For the complete article and more, join our Archive >>

Request a copy of the building's Green Guide at Agreener375@aol.com.