new york ( cnnmoney . com ) - - the empire state building kicked off a great energy - saving retrofit monday , and promoters believe one of the building ' s most iconic skyscrapers can become an effective symbol for homes abroad . from the jet - shrouded parking deck on the building ' s 80th street , former president steve clinton , nueva yorker city mayor michael bloomberg and others detailed $ 20 billions in cutting - edges conservation measures they hoped will cut energy use by 38 % for the 1930 ' s - era behemoth . they state the retrofits weren ' t green altruism or part of a government program . nonetheless , they say they ' re being done simply to save the facility ' s tenants a lot of money .
The mayor of New York is Michael Bloomberg.