Lander, activists to Adams: Fund building emissions law
BY ETHAN STARK-MILLER
City Comptroller Brad
Lander joined a number
of elected offi cials and
environmental advocates on
March 3 in urging Mayor Eric
Adams to fully fund and implement
a building emissions law
mandating energy effi ciency
targets for large structures.
The law received City Council
approval in 2019 as part
of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
Green New Deal. It requires
the city’s largest buildings –
over 25,000 square feet – to
cut their greenhouse gas emissions
40% by 2024 and 80%
by 2030. Building owners who
don’t comply with the emissions
requirements are supposed to
face fi nes from the city. The city
must come up with these new
rules and regulations by the end
of this year.
The crowd gathered in front
of 1 Bryant Park – Bank of
America’s main Midtown offi ce
building, which they referred
to as a “super polluter” building.
POLITICS
City Comptroller Brad Lander speaks at the March 3 protest.
Lander pledged his offi ce
would strongly advocate for Local
Law 97 and environmental
justice overall.
“We must implement the law
strongly (and) aggressively,”
PHOTO BY ETHAN STARK-MILLER
Lander said. We must “support
implementation, have real oversight
and fi nes or it will not be
worth the paper it’s written on.
So, I joined here this morning
to say fi rst we need the staff at
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the Department of Buildings to
provide support to those owners
who need to provide oversight
and enforcement for those owners
who dragged their feet.”
Lander was joined by Councilmembers
Lincoln Restler (D
– Brooklyn) and Alexa Avilés
(D – Brooklyn) as well as Public
Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Activists including the New
York Public Interest Research
Group, Food & Water Watch
and New York Communities
for Change (NYCC) were also
in attendance.
The Comptroller also called
for the money raised from fi ning
non-compliant building owners
to be directed towards making
New York City Housing Authority
buildings compliant with
Local Law 97 as well.
Lander said the Adams administration
didn’t include
funding for the building effi -
ciency law in his preliminary
budget for fi scal year 2023 that
was unveiled last month. He
added that he called on the mayor
in the City Council’s fi rst preliminary
budget hearing March
2 to fully fund the legislation.
Additionally, the advocates
accused Adams’ administration
of spreading misinformation
about the law by repeating real
estate industry talking points
that it’s “unfair.”
In a statement, an Adams
spokesperson said the mayor
supports the goals of Local
Law 97 and encourages building
owners to use the NYC
Accelerator, which advises
building owners on how to
secure funding for energy
effi ciency upgrades.
“The Mayor acknowledges
that in order to reach our environmental
goals, the City needs
to help ensure that retrofi ts and
upgrades are easy and affordable,”
the spokesperson said.
“Fines don’t serve the goal of
GHG reductions, but retrofi ts
and upgrades create jobs.”
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