About 94 percent of New York City buildings covered by Local Law 97 submitted required documents showing actions to be completed by 2024 related to reducing carbon emissions, requested extensions until Dec. 31, or are in discussions with the city’s Department of Buildings “to determine their appropriate compliance,” the agency said.
The law will require buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to emit net zero carbon emissions by 2050, directing phased upgrades from oil and gas-burning appliances to electricity. All but 1,400 owners have taken those steps, the department said politicianalthough it did not provide a more detailed breakdown of compliance data.
Buildings, including hotels, office buildings, apartments and condominiums now produce about two-thirds of the city’s carbon emissions. The law enacted in 2019 aims for those over 25,000 square feet to reduce emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.. A registered design professional must certify whether annually reported emissions are within limits or to what extent they are not, with possible penalties for missed limits or late filing.
A panel of state appeals court judges in May dismissed a lawsuit filed by two Queens co-ops to overturn Local Law 97, saying it violates state law.
Compliance watchers point to the owner’s difficulties in finding enough support from contractors and engineering firms. The buildings themselves are also covered by the city’s Local Law 95, which requires annual energy efficiency reports, said Jimmy Carchietta, CEO of The Cotocon Group, a consulting firm that has helped properties comply with both laws. Other property owners are wary that compliance reviews could result in fines owed, said Faisal W. Taha, principal at Lawless and Mangione Engineers and Architects LLP. But only a handful of buildings his company has worked with needed making changes, mostly those with vapor absorption chillers dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.
Last week, the Urban Land Institute of New York and the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice published Decarbonizing NYC Co-ops: A Local Law 97 Compliance Roadmap, which offers strategies for dealing with the technical, funding and regulatory challenges of Local Law 97. Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has also advocated that offset certificate funds, which buildings can use to cover 10% of their carbon limits, be used for equipment upgrades at properties in need of financial assistance.
Affordability of enforcement for landlords and property owners has also become an issue in the city’s Nov. 4 mayoral race, with Democratic Leader Zohran Mamdani vowing to strictly enforce Local Law 97 but arguing for the city to buy equipment in bulk for some property owners. Candidate Andrew Cuomo (D) would seek to have the city council amend the law to reduce penalties for co-ops that make good-faith compliance efforts, while Republican Curtis Sliwa would halt enforcement of the law and call for its repeal.
