The Babylonian Talmud tells the story of the righteous man Honi who meets an elderly woman who is planting a carob tree. He asks her when it will bear fruit and she answers that it will bear fruit in 70 years. He asks her if she thinks she’ll live another 70 years, and she replies: Just as my ancestors planted trees for me, I am planting trees for my children and grandchildren so they will have carob to eat.
JCAN NYC members imagine the future for our children and grandchildren and for all New Yorkers. That’s why we support Local Law 97, because it will substantially reduce harmful, climate-polluting emissions for generations to come, and why we oppose Intro 772 which cynically undermines Local Law 97. Last week we joined the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, WEACT For Environmental Justice, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and other members of the Climate Works for All Coalition to submit a Memo of Opposition to Intro 772 to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Add your voice now; call your City Council member (Find your Councilmember here) and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (718-206-2068) and tell them that you join JCAN NYC in opposing Intro 772. If your Councilmember is on the bill, ask them to get off of it. Read on to learn more.
Local Law 97
Local Law 97, the centerpiece of New York’s landmark Climate Mobilization Act, was adopted in 2019. The law requires that buildings over 25,000 square feet decrease their emissions by adopting energy efficiency measures, shift to renewable energy and implement other climate-friendly measures. Buildings are the single largest source of harmful emissions (estimated at 70%) in New York City. The benefits to New Yorkers from Local Law 97 are enormous:
Dramatically cleaner air for all New Yorkers, especially in environmental justice communities overburdened by harmful emissions
Much lower energy and utility bills now and in the long term
Tens of thousands of new, good green jobs to perform the work needed to comply with the law
Drastic reduction in harmful emissions that drive climate change
The law was thoughtfully designed by a wide mix of stakeholders with protections and support for building owners, including residents of co-ops and condos. The law recognizes the need to take things step by step to gradually make the big change we need:
Building owners were given five years after the law was adopted to prepare to comply with the first set of standards, which took effect this year. Owners continue to have time to plan for and comply with progressively higher standards that take effect every five years, so that they can achieve reductions when building systems are replaced and repaired.
The Buildings Department is required by the law to address hardship. In the 2023 rule-setting process, owners were given the option for an additional two years to begin compliance and to purchase unlimited Renewable Energy Credits to help offset the emissions. Active rule-making continues in this area, as does the search for solutions for building owners facing genuine obstacles to compliance when making reasonable efforts.
Resources and support have been developed alongside the rollout of the law. New York City provides free technical assistance through the NYC Accelerator and has created the NYC Energy Efficiency Corporation, Buildings Energy Exchange and CUNY Building Performance Lab to provide help. There are also public and private financing options and state and federal financial incentives.
The law is working. Many buildings have raised their efficiency level. Initially it was estimated that 20% of buildings would not be able to comply with the 2024 standards; it is now estimated at only 10%. Design professionals, contractors, lenders and workers are all helping to shape a new industry to achieve clean energy in New York City.
Intro 772
On the surface, Intro 772 appears to contain technical provisions that amend Local Law 97. But if you dig deeper, you can see just how cynical these amendments are and how they eviscerate Local Law 97. Some experts believe that these changes would effectively exempt most co-ops and condo buildings from Local Law 97.
Intro 772 would include open and green spaces as part of the square footage of condos, co-ops and garden-type maisonette dwellings; this would artificially inflate these building’s performance and undercut the requirements to reduce emissions. By cynically increasing a building’s square footage with open and green space, the building’s emissions will appear to be lower per square foot. Yet, open and green spaces have nothing to do with a building’s emissions or whether the building is experiencing hardship complying with the law.
Co-ops and condos whose average assessed value is less than $65,000 per apartment would benefit from delays and special protections. There are many co-ops and condos that can comply with the law without hardship, including large middle and upper-middle income co-ops, that would qualify for delayed penalties and special protections under this standard. When it comes to standard setting, even J-51 protections are limited to projects where the average assessed value is less than $45,000 per apartment. To protect the integrity of Local Law 97, co-ops and condos should be required to follow the law’s hardship regulations.
Intro 772 would require the NYC Department of Buildings to consider whether to grant an adjustment due to prior work; even though the standards set in Local Law 97 take prior work into account. This would enable certain buildings to double-count the benefit of the work performed.
Local Law 97 puts New York City on the right track to protect future generations from the harms of climate change and yields the immediate benefits of healthier air, lower energy and utility costs and tens of thousands of good green jobs. We can’t be side-tracked by cynical, self-serving attempts to undermine this landmark law. We owe it to those we love and all future generations.