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50K NYC buildings need climate law compliance reviews. 11 DOB staffers have to do it.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Feb 4, 2024
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Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Feb 4, 2024
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Just 11 Department of Buildings staff members will be in charge of enforcing the city's landmark new climate law that restricts carbon emissions.
Watchdogs and experts say that's not nearly enough to implement the rules going into effect this year. The staffers have a daunting workload that will only grow as Local Law 97’s requirements are phased in over the coming years.
By the end of 2024, the owners of roughly 50,000 of the city’s largest buildings are required to make certain energy conservation upgrades, such as insulating pipes and installing more efficient windows. Starting next year, those landlords must also submit annual emissions reports detailing fossil fuel use.
The bulk of the work done by the DOB team dedicated to Local Law 97 involves reviewing and auditing landlords’ reports for accuracy and pursuing enforcement when necessary.
Currently, 10% of large buildings are out of compliance with energy efficiency upgrades that must be made this year, according to the buildings department.
Raya Salter, an environmental lawyer on the state’s Climate Action Council, wondered if the promise of the city’s climate laws can be realized with such a small team in charge of enforcing the rules.
“When you look at the number of buildings and all the paperwork and substantive work that needs to be done, it could take a small army to make sure that we get this done,” Salter said.
Local Law 97 was passed nearly five years ago and requires landlords to reduce carbon pollution from their buildings by 40% by 2030, with a goal of making them emissions-free by 2050.
The Adams administration rolled out a plan last year that focused on implementation and compliance with the law. Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi said the administration’s plan “puts New York City on the cutting-edge of real climate policy implementation."
But analysis by the city found that the majority of buildings are not in compliance with benchmarks that go into effect at the end of the decade, when the rules become more stringent.
“We've got a climate bomb that's ticking, and we've got billions of dollars coming out of the federal government and that clock is ticking too,” Salter said. “We need for our local officials to be focused on this."
There are seven unfilled positions on the squad dedicated to carrying out Local Law 97 at the buildings department, according to a DOB spokesperson. But the agency says competition from the private sector has made it difficult to fill certain positions requiring architects and engineers with backgrounds in sustainability.
Buildings spokesperson Andrew Rudansky said in a statement that the agency is looking to hire design professionals with technical expertise in building energy use, conservation and emissions. Applicants should also be familiar with New York City’s sustainability codes.
The department is also looking to fill positions for enforcement attorneys and support staff to assist with processing compliance reports and penalties. The agency plans to lean on its 62-member sustainability bureau for support. That team has been involved in implementing the climate law, including through rule-making and conducting public outreach to property owners.
But the sustainability bureau has its own workload, including enforcing laws and codes pertaining to building electrification, sustainable roofs, energy audits and efficiency – just to name a few. Overall, the buildings department is operating with 13% of its job positions unfilled. The department plans to eliminate 207 vacant positions by the end of the coming fiscal year and cut $22 million from its $204 million budget.
A preliminary Mayor’s Management Report released earlier this week showed the buildings department’s response time to non-emergency complaints such as illegal conversions and work without a permit increased by two full days compared to the same period last year. The agency attributed the delay to understaffing.
Pete Sikora, climate and inequality campaigns director at New York Communities for Change, said that a small team of well-managed and highly qualified DOB professionals could handle a streamlined process of emissions reports. But he said more staff members are needed to manage additional paperwork from building owners submitting individualized plans in connection with requests for an extension on the compliance benchmarks.
“I don’t know how they seriously plan to evaluate, judge and then watchdog the implementation of all of those [decarbonization] plans that would also take a lot of talented staffing and follow up,” Sikora said. “I think they’ll just rubber stamp the plans they get and not be able to seriously evaluate them.”
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Health and Science
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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