One in three NYC multi-family buildings already meet Local Law 97 requirements

NYC building owners are rushing to meet the emission cap requirements. In 2019, the City Council passed Local Law 97, which sets emission caps for multi-family buildings. The new law covers nearly 27,000 properties across the city and includes large fines for building owners who fail to meet the required standards. However, New York is not the only city with an ambitious climate change policy. Similar law also exists in Washington, DC. 

Local Law 97 aims to combat climate change by imposing strict emission limits on residential and commercial buildings larger than 25,000 square feet. Under this law, building owners have to cut greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2024, with stricter limits coming into effect in 2023. The goal is to reduce emission production by 40 percent by 2030 and by 80 percent by 2050.

New Yorkers will be happy to know that a third of the city's buildings already meet the 2030 emission cap requirements. In its latest study, Urban Green Council looked at 18,000 multi-family buildings across New York City. The report divided NYC buildings into four groups: from properties ready to comply with 2030 caps to those that need to reduce their emission production by more than 40 percent.

“More than one third of multifamily properties already comply with their 2030 LL97 limits,” the report reads. “These buildings are typically newer—built in the last 30-40 years—and taller than the most common residential buildings. These buildings should focus on projects that will get them ready for full electrification, which will likely be required to get them to net-zero by 2050.”

Approximately a quarter of multi-family properties covered by Local Law 97 need to cut their emissions by less than 20 percent to meet 2030 standards. Another quarter must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 40 percent. The remaining 15 percent of NYC multi-family properties have to significantly reduce their carbon emissions – by more than 40 percent. This last category includes mostly pre-war low-rise constructions. 

Resources:

“LL97 in Focus: Multifamily Pathways to 2030,” (Urban Green Council, 2023)

“A third of NYC's multi-family buildings meet 2030 emission caps according to new data,” by Emily Myers (Brick Underground, 2023)