How Will New York City Be Affected By The 2019 Climate Mobilization Act?
How Will New York City Be Affected By The 2019 Climate Mobilization Act?
Abstract
What individuals would be directly affected by the Climate Mobilization Act? The CMA would directly affect New York City real estate participants such as real estate investors, owners of commercial buildings, as well as condominium and co-op owners and all other stakeholders who make a significant financial investment in NYC residential and commercial high end luxury buildings. Who would be covered under the law? Local Law 97 would cover real estate buildings and projects in NYC that exceed 25,000 square feet or two or more real estate buildings in the same lot that exceed 50,000 square feet. What would Local Law 97 effectively do to enforce environmental standards? It would set up annual emissions standards based on each building's square footage, requiring owners to make energy efficient improvements to lower energy usage in the building. How would annual emission limits for each building be calculated? The law provides a formula through which a building's annual emissions limit is calculated using emissions intensity factors. Owners will have to make major renovations to their buildings' ceilings, glass structures, boiler rooms and energy equipment systems to make the buildings more compliant with new energy efficiency requirements. What environmental, health and wellness certifications are building owners required to comply with under the new CMA law? Building owners are required to adhere to various rating systems to show compliance with retrofitting operations and maintenance certifications. What contractual protections are generally available to building owners? Building owners and real estate investors would be wise to draft energy consulting agreements to address green retrofitting requirements with which they have complied.