As humanity faces serious threats from climate change, the NYC DOB makes a GREEN NEW DEAL. On Wednesday, May 12, 2021 the NYC DOB released new digital tools to help building owners comply with mandatory greenhouse gas emission.
Building owners can now check how to comply with this new green deal rule by visiting NYC Sustainable Building website. The website provides one-stop portal for Emissions Reductions; Interactive Maps that show all buildings that must comply with energy Retrofits and Energy grades.
The DOB released this new resources to help building owners to comply with NYC Building Sustainability requirements. It is a new website “NYC Sustainable Buildings,” that serves as a one-stop portal for owners and managers for buildings that are under Local Law 97 of 2019. This law requires buildings greater than 25,000 gross square feet to meet stringent greenhouse gas emissions limits and may need to make energy efficiency retrofits to meet those targets.
For further transparency, the DOB provides new maps that allow the public to see the location of all large buildings in the city that must meet new greenhouse gas emission limits, as well as the energy grades of those that are required to provide benchmarking information on their energy and water consumption.
Expectedly, some officials spoke to accentuate the importance and urgency to take actions against climate change.
Buildings Commissioner Melanie E. La Rocca said: “We must meet our aggressive climate change goals, and these new digital tools put information in the hands of the public and building owners to make that a reality”. “We’re pleased to bring greater transparency to how our Green New Deal tackles the city’s largest source of emissions, our buildings.”
Also, Deputy Mayor for Operations Laura Anglin said: “Making our buildings more energy efficient is a critical tool to fight climate change and ensure a sustainable future for New York City. Property owners deserve easy, accessible resources to comply with City regulations, and I’m excited to see the Department of Buildings making climate action easier than ever” .
Moreover, the website provides information to owners how they can comply with the Local Law 97. Also, owners can find answers to frequently asked questions and resources to help with building retrofits emissions, including information about compliance metrics, adjustment programs, and financial assistance.
In addition, there will be updates more frequently for new information and recommendations. Thus owners and managers of buildings should follow the new sustainability-focused newsletter to facilitate direct outreach as those recommendations are released and new tools are developed.
Local Law 97 of 2019 is the centerpiece of Mayor de Blasio’s landmark NYC Green New Deal. Buildings greater than 25,000 gross square feet must begin to meet stringent greenhouse gas emissions limits by 2024 or be subject to violations. By 2030, emissions from these covered buildings must be reduced by 40 percent, and by 2050, further reduced to 80 percent.
Now, as difficult this requirement may seem, the DOB provides enough assistance to make it easier for building owners to comply with the stringent greenhouse gas emission limits. As we can read in the following, the official reassure building owners:
“To building owners wondering how they can take action on climate: help is on the way,” said Ben Furnas, Director of the Mayor’s Office for Climate and Sustainability. “Getting to carbon neutrality by 2050 will require us to dramatically cut buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions across the five boroughs. The DOB’s Sustainable Buildings website, alongside our NYC Accelerator program, will provide property owners and managers the tools they need to meet Local Law 97 requirements, retrofit their buildings for energy efficiency, and improve tenants’ comfort.”
“Local Law 97 will ensure that New York City’s largest buildings can make meaningful changes to reduce their greenhouse emissions. With the Departments of Building’s new digital toolkit it will be easier for building owners and managers to plan for the future and make their buildings greener and meet the new stringent standards,” said Assemblymember Robert Carroll.
“The success of Local Law 97 will be guided by transparent requirements and tools for building owners to take action. DOB’s new sustainable buildings website provides just that and is an important step to help deliver the carbon savings we need,” said John Mandyck, CEO of Urban Green Council.
“Building decarbonization plays a critical role in addressing the climate crisis and meeting the city’s ambitious climate goals,” said Donna De Costanzo, Director, Eastern Region, Climate and Clean Energy Program at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “Educational outreach and resources to assist with compliance are key to ensuring the success of Local Law 97 and achieving a future where New Yorkers live and work in healthier, less polluting and more efficient buildings. The new NYC Sustainable Buildings website will be an important tool to help building owners understand and implement needed improvements to their buildings.”
Moreover, the DOB has a strong support from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of New York for their initiative to make NCY greener in the years to come.
“New York’s professional engineering community is strongly committed to helping the city achieve sustainability, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission reductions. It will take unprecedented effort and coordination among building owners, operators, design professionals and our partners in government to implement the reductions required by Local Law 97. On behalf of the engineering industry, ACEC New York commends the NYC Department of Buildings for launching these new digital tools and resources, which will facilitate achieving this goal,” said Jay Simson, President & CEO, American Council of Engineering Companies of New York.
SOURCE: Press Release (nyc.gov)
