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QUEENS WEEKLY, MAY 12, 2019
Co-op group warns green deal could cost them big bucks
BY MAX PARROTT
Astoria Councilman
Costa Constantinides
maintains that the
Climate Mobilization Act
he sponsored in the City
Council aims to make the
city greener — but a group
representing co-op and
condo owners citywide
fears it will hit their bank
accounts quite hard.
The Council of New
York Cooperatives &
Condominiums released
a report to QNS on May
1 detailing astronomical
fines that some Queens
co-ops would have to pay
if they don’t meet the 2025
and 2030 benchmarks
set by the six-bill
environmental package.
Constantinides refuted
both the premise and
findings of the study.
Co-ops pose a unique
challenge to the set of
laws, which imposes
environmental regulations
on buildings of more than
25,000 sq. ft. – those said
to be responsible for 30
percent of the city’s carbon
emissions. The bills,
which passed City Council
in a 45-2 vote on April
18, set emissions limits
that would force these
buildings to make energyefficient
renovations or pay
steep fines.
Based on the
ownership structure of
co-ops, the Council of
New York Cooperatives &
Condominiums believes,
the fines would be imposed
directly on the pockets of
the homeowners.
“In a co-op, people jointly
own the whole corporation.
They pay their share of
the carrying charges, so
that if there were $100,000
fine, the co-op would have
to increase maintenance
fees to all shareholders,”
said Mary Ann Rothman,
president of the Council
of New York Cooperatives
& Condominiums.
The report estimated that
if Queens’ worst-offending
co-ops did not meet the
standards of the law would
have to pay around $70,000-
300,000 per year in 2025
and from $120-700,000 per
year in 2030, based on their
current carbon footprint.
In the highest instances,
this could come out to
fines around $1,500 per
household by 2030.
One complex that
could be hard hit, a 504-
unit Mitchell-Linden coop
at 141-16 25th Road in
Flushing, is projected to be
hit with more than $336,000
in penalties by 2025, with
fines potentially increasing
just under $700,000 by 2030.
The co-op council
further argues that the
broad exemptions the law
grants to city buildings,
rent-regulated buildings
and places of worship,
place an unfair burden on
market-rate residential and
commercial properties.
Constantinides’ office
refuted these results,
pointing to other parts of
his bill that would exempt
five of the 10 coops that the
report included.
In an interview with
QNS, the councilman
argued that the legislation
built in a “financial
hardship exception” that
would prevent many of
these buildings from
being fined.
He said that the premise
of the report misses the
goal of his bill, which is not
to fine people but to provide
them resources through
low-interest loans to make
energy-saving renovations
that will ultimately them
save money on utilities.
“The only way that
someone gets a bill is if
they do nothing and do
not act in good faith,” said
Constantinides. “I’m not
interested in collecting
money. I’m interested in
collecting carbon.”
Rothman did not have
figures for how much
it would cost the co-op
buildings in the report to
comply with the demands
of the legislation.
“We’re only just
learning that, as we each
in our own buildings look
into what it appears to
be needed and how that’s
to be done, how quickly
it can be done, whether
the necessary equipment
is actually available,”
said Rothman.
One of the bills in the
package would provide
building owners with
loans to help them make
repairs and installations
such as window and
door replacement,
lighting, caulking,
weatherstripping, air
sealing, insulation, and
heating and cooling
system upgrades.
Coop boards do not
have the power to force
homeowners to alter the
interior of their apartments,
leaving it up to individuals
to take the initiative to
retrofit their apartments.
However, Rothman said
that it tends to be buildingwide
systems in coops
that need to be adjusted or
replaced.
Rothman said that
the Urban Green Council
worked with the City
Council leading up to
the bill. It suggested an
incremental proposal
for that was based on tax
incentives because she was
concerned about the effect
that punitive measures will
have on co-ops.
“There’s a lot of things
in the bill that doesn’t put
them (co-ops and condos) in
a precarious position if they
are able to show they’re
working on reducing
their carbon imprint,”
said Constantinides.
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by email at mparrott@
schnepsmedia.com or by
calling (718) 224-5863, ext. 226.
City Councilman Costa Constantinides is being criticized by a co-op ownership group for his Climate Mobilization Act.
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
/schnepsmedia.com
