Local Law 97 image credit: The Cotocon Group
Controversial take: NYC's new carbon tax on buildings (Local Law 97) will be the best thing to happen to building budgets.
How could new fines on buildings possibly be good for building budgets!?
How does Local Law 97 impact NYC building owners?
For most NYC building owners and operators, Local Law 97 is terrifying.
Everyone is asking themselves, "Am I going to get hit with millions of dollars of Local Law 97 fines starting in 2024?!"
Well, probably not.
In fact, I actually think Local Law 97 may be the best thing to happen to most building budgets, not the worst.
Local Law 97 is the city’s climate legislation that puts caps on carbon output from buildings starting in 2024. Buildings that don’t hit their carbon threshold have to pay big fines.
How many buildings are compliant with the law today?
Eighty-nine percent of buildings in New York City are already compliant through 2024.
The challenge is that less than forty percent of those buildings are compliant through 2030.
I’m in and out of buildings in New York City all the time, and the vast majority of them are wasting tons of energy unnecessarily.
How do you reach compliance with Local Law 97?
Basic things like smart controls, insulation, venting, weatherization, LEDs, and yearly cleaning and tuning of your boiler - things that typically pay for themselves in a matter of months - can get many buildings through Local Law 97 compliance through 2030.
The law is actually just encouraging people to save money on energy.
It’s ironic, right?
You think you’re going to get all these fines, but in reality, if you take the basic steps to reduce your energy usage, in most cases, you’re not only going to get compliant with Local Law 97, you’re also going to save a lot of money in the process.
Utility companies will pay to help you reach compliance.
Utilities offer rebates to help cover a lot of the costs for improving energy efficiency, like with smart controls. You can check to see what if building qualifies with this free tool:
