Legal Blogs and Updates

Town halls are being held throughout Queens, New York, for co-op owners concerned that their maintenance fees will spike as a result of their buildings’ efforts to meet the requirements of a law that sets greenhouse gas emission limits on buildings 25,000 feet or larger.

New York City’s Local Law 97 requires buildings within its purview to meet certain greenhouse gas emission standards by January 2024 or face severe penalties. In many cases, retrofitting buildings to meet the greenhouse gas emission limits that the law requires will be prohibitively expensive. 

We have already discussed one of several bills that state legislators have introduced to make compliance with the law more affordable by providing tax abatements. However, legislation introduced at the city level would help buildings meet Local Law 97 targets by delaying the deadline.

Sponsored by New York City legislators, including Councilmember Vicky Paladino, Council Intro 913 proposes delaying the greenhouse gas emission requirements outlined in Local Law 97 for seven years. Paladino reportedly chose seven years as the length of the delay she’s proposing because—among other reasons—that timeframe would give building owners enough leeway to implement the necessary changes as well as allow enough time for the development of technological advancements that would make the retrofits necessary to comply with Local Law 97 less expensive than they are now. 

With the backing of nine City Council members, including Democratic Council member Linda Lee and Paladino and her fellow Republican Ari Kagan, the bill has bipartisan support. But, for the proposal to move forward, a majority of NYC’s 51 City Council members will need to vote in favor of it.

Council Intro 913 has been referred to NYC Council Committee on Environmental Protection for further review.