NYC Introduces Legislation Mandating Green Upgrades to Large Buildings
April 22, 2009 — New York City Council today introduced environmental legislation that, if passed, will mandate some of the most sweeping upgrades to buildings since the fire and safety regulations of the previous century.
Most affected by the proposals are buildings of 50,000 square feet or more, which will be required to conduct an energy audit every decade, with results triggering proscribed upgrades.
Habitatmag.com in conjunction with PropertyShark.com has compiled a list of all city cooperatives and condominium buildings of that size, totally approximately 2,200 buildings. Click here to see if your building is on the list.
The bills specify that upgrades will be required only if they are projected to pay for themselves in energy savings within seven years. The city plans to establish a $16 million fund with federal stimulus money to provide loans to property owners for upgrades.
Other city proposals include the requirement of energy-efficient lighting, and of energy-efficient upgrades when any renovation takes places, as compared with the current standard of a renovation of 50 percent or more.
The legislative package, introduced by Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Environmental Protection Committee Chair James Gennaro and council members Daniel R. Garodnick, Dominic Recchia and Melissa Mark-Viverito, aims at reducing the city's greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030, according to a Council press release.
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The bills introduced today include "Bringing the Past into the Future," requiring owners of existing buildings over 50,000 square feet "to make cost-effective energy efficiency improvements to their buildings once every ten years by conducting an audit, retro-commissioning, and retrofitting their building."
Another bill, "Lighting the Way," would require "that lighting systems in large buildings be upgraded to meet the requirements of the New York City Energy Conservation Code."
Hearings on the legislative package, which also includes a bill mandating a "benchmarking" standard for building energy-efficiency and another closing what a council calls "a loophole that allows buildings to skirt the energy code if they are not taking on massive renovations," are planned for June.