Tony Subraj was intrigued by the idea of putting solar panels on the roofs of the apartment buildings his family owns in Queens, where he learned the business as a youngster hauling garbage and fixing what needed to be fixed.

His research into solar power became a pet project. Would the supply of electricity be dependable? Was the cost worth it?

Convinced, he decided to approach his father and uncles, Guyanese immigrants who started Zara Realty in the ‘70s by pooling family money when banks were reluctant to issue them loans.

“It took a little bit to convince them because they’re old school, traditional,” Subraj said one morning this month standing atop a building on 153rd Street surrounded by an array of solar panels. “But then they saw the light. It was more of a dollars and cents thing. How much we would be reducing in our expenses? And when they saw how much we were reducing our electrical utility consumption they were like ‘alright let’s do this.’ ”

That was five years ago. Since then, Zara has added some 6,500 solar panels to 46 buildings centered around the Jamaica neighborhood where Subraj was raised.

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