Local Law 97 is groundbreaking legislation adopted by the City Council and signed by the mayor in 2019 that requires energy efficiency improvements in many of New York City’s residential buildings over 25,000 square feet. Since over 70% of New York City’s carbon emissions come from buildings, LL97 is a crucial part of New York City’s strategy to reduce air polluting emissions and combat climate change. It will also create tens of thousands of green jobs and lower utility costs. For an excellent summary of Local Law 97, see the Urban Green Council’s description here.
How does Local Law 97 work? What can buildings do?
Building pollution comes from two main sources: the boiler/furnace in the building and electricity for the building. Local law 97 sets initial caps on each source of pollution and then lowers the cap every five years. The first cap starts next year and runs until 2029. Approximately 80% of buildings meet the cap for this period. However, most buildings will need to increase their energy efficiency to meet the cap that goes into effect in 2029. Buildings which do not comply are subject to a penalty of $269 per ton of climate pollution over the cap.
Building owners can meet the Local Law 97 requirements in various ways, with the optimal strategy for each building depending on the age of the building and building systems. Many, perhaps most, buildings will save money over and above the cost of the upgrades the law requires, because their energy costs will decrease. Financing is available to pay for the upgrades needed and the savings from reduced energy usage can help pay for the financing. There are also many NYS and NYC incentive programs to help pay for the costs. The City of New York has established the NYC Accelerator, a free resource, to help buildings learn more about the best path to follow.
What challenges are we anticipating this summer or early fall?
The Department of Buildings is issuing draft rules to guide the implementation of Local Law 97. There are two loopholes which, if included, could threaten Local Law 97:
1. The first would create a loophole that lets landlords “buy out” of upgrading buildings by purchasing “Renewable Energy Credits (RECS).” To ensure that Local Law 97 achieves the goal of reducing emissions (and the benefits of green jobs and clean air) the amount of RECS needs to be limited to no more than 30% of the pollution that exceeds the cap.
2. The second loophole would create an overly broad exception for a “good faith” effort by landlords. While some buildings may face unique circumstances where a good faith exception is fitting, it should be the exception not the rule. Tight enforcement is necessary and achievable to meet the goals.
Segments of the real estate lobby are pushing to gut or severely weaken Local Law 97 in a number of ways, including through the rule-making process.
What can you do to protect and preserve Local Law 97 during the rule-making process?
Be ready to raise your voice for strong enforcement of Local Law 97. This may involve rallies, comments on the draft rules and emails and calls to elected officials. You can start now by contacting your Councilmember to tell them that you support Local Law 97 and want to see it enforced to reduce emissions in line with the original 2019 goals.
Resources to help buildings get started complying with Local Law 97
In May 2023, JCAN NYC members listened to a panel of experts describe how to get started complying with Local Law 97 . As New Yorkers, there are things we can do to help buildings ramp up for compliance. Share this video recording, and the resources below, with your co-op board leaders, property manager, friends and neighbors:
· Fact sheet from Kyra Armstrong, attorney with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI)
· Resources from the NYC Accelerator– the go-to starting point for Local Law 97 compliance, from Gledis Korra, account manager
· Decarbonization Roadmap for Multifamily Affordable Housing from Margaret Perkins, long time advocate with 350NYC.org, who is actively engaging her building on complying with LL97.
-Wendy Seligson, JCAN NYC co-director