Not a Dumb Law

If you’re unaware of Local Law 97, look it up. But here’s the gist: this groundbreaking legislation was passed as part of the city’s 2019 Climate Mobilization Act, or what’s colloquially known as NYC’s Green New Deal. It would introduce a system of monetary fines for all buildings over 25,000 square feet that do not meet an overall 80 percent carbon reduction by 2050. But the Department of Buildings has yet to publicize its draft rules and regulations. Intent on learning more, I biked over to Vanderbilt Ave in Brooklyn for a debriefing of activists within the New York Communities for Change (NYCC).

I listened in on a conversation that singled out the (surprise) real estate industry as the culprit. If the Adams Administration made any move to enact LL97, people said, then the bloc of developers and landlords, plus their lobbyists, would immediately move to undermine it. Corporate loopholes would be exploited, energy credits would be manipulated and leveraged against. A campaign of fearmongering would ensure. Of all this, the NYCC members present felt convinced; and yet, they evinced a belief that the mandating of upfront retrofit costs or fines would lead to a ruinous outcome for the real estate empires of New York City. What a thought!

Ironically, that puts the activists on the side of the law. “Did we pass a dumb law? No. We are not stupid hippies,” said one presenter. “This law is flexible, which is different from building codes. It sets a cap and tells building owners, ‘You choose how you want to meet it.’” It’s not often that I trailblaze for more rules and regulations in the field of building. But just as we all feel the climate crisis, like suddenly struggling to breathe fresh air, I left the conclave feeling a keen need for curbing our bad behaviors.