Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Climate protesters arrested at City Hall rally to oppose weakening of major NYC law
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Nov 2, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Rosemary Misdary
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Nov 2, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
New York City police arrested more than 10 climate protesters at City Hall on Thursday afternoon during a rally that blocked the building’s west gate, near Murray Street and Broadway.
More than 50 people attended the rally, which denounced the way Mayor Eric Adams is implementing Local Law 97, a measure that forces buildings over 25,000 square feet to reduce their carbon emissions. In September, the Adams administration proposed enforcement rules under a plan called Getting 97 Done that granted extensions and methods for buying out of compliance.
City Councilmembers Erik Bottcher and Pierina Sanchez joined local groups to call on the mayor and the city’s Department of Buildings to fully implement the law, including penalizing noncompliant landlords.
“There should be thousands of people here right now because the truth is that Local Law 97 is the bare minimum of what we should be doing,” said Bottcher, who represents the West Village and Hell’s Kitchen. “We're talking about rolling back the minimum and marching into catastrophe – eyes open.”
The NYPD dispatched approximately 40 police officers to control the climate rally protesting the proposed enforcement plan for Local Law 97.
Rosemary Misdary
NYPD arrest a protestor outside the west gate to City Hall.
Rosemary Misdary
The small protest formed a line across the entrance to the plaza surrounding City Hall, chanting “No Delay for Durst” – referring to Douglas Durst, who chairs the Real Estate Board of New York, which has advocated for loosening Local Law 97. The Durst Organization owns Bank of America Tower at 1 Bryant Park, one of the largest buildings in the city. There were nearly as many police at the protest as there were protesters.
“[The enforcement plan] stinks to high heaven,” said Pete Sikora, climate and inequality campaigns director at New York Communities for Change, who was also arrested at the rally. “We are willing to get arrested to send him a message loud and clear that he shouldn’t severely weaken New York’s amazing climate.”
Under Getting 97 Done, landlords can get a two-year extension by showing “good faith efforts.” At a recent DOB hearing about the rules, councilmembers opposing the plan said it will create more oversight work for the understaffed DOB. The agency says its current vacancy rate is 13%, or 236 workers.
Eric Weltman, senior organizer for Food & Water Watch, addresses the crowd at the Local Law 97 rally.
Rosemary Misdary
“When 89% of buildings are complying with the 2024 standards, we all know that this is legal and doable,” City Councilmember Christopher Marte said through a megaphone at the rally, referring to the portion of large buildings already in line with Local Law 97. Opponents of tentative regulations have expressed concerns that the Adams administration is weakening the law for the remaining 11% of buildings.
Groups at the protest, including New York Public Interest Research Group and TREEage, also demanded a strict limit on Renewable Energy Credits. These credits allow landlords to pay for the pollution they create instead of eradicating it. The only limits that exist are on buildings that opt for the two-year extension and must submit a decarbonization plan.
But some environmental groups support Getting 97 Done, including The New York League of Conservation Voters, the Urban Green Council and the Regional Plan Association.
“As we’ve said time and time again, we don’t want building owners’ money – we want their carbon,” wrote Andrew Rudansky, press secretary of the DOB, in an email to Gothamist. “‘Getting 97 Done’ will deliver on the promise of Local Law 97, helping building owners hit aggressive decarbonization targets by getting them to put their money into retrofits as opposed to fines.”
A tense exchange happened between protestor Pete Sikora and an NYPD officer at the west entrance to City Hall. Sikora was among those arrested.
Rosemary Misdary
Protestors gathered noon Thursday at City Hall with the intent to blockade its west entrance.
Rosemary Misdary
“We don't give that kind of discretion to disobey the law to anybody else,” said Eric Weltman, senior organizer with Food and Water Watch. “If you get caught jumping a turnstile, it's not like you can say to the police: Oh, let me go, and I promise to obey the law in two years.”
Last week, hundreds attended the DOB’s public hearing that closed out the comment period for Local Law 97's proposed implementation. With a few weeks left before the department plans to finalize the rules, community members called the protest an “act of civil disobedience” to push the mayor not to go ahead with his tentative plans.
If the DOB goes forward with the proposed rules, they will become final by the end of 2023.
Tagged
new york city
environment
climate change
Health and Science
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .