Why NYC property owners are worried about
Local Law 97

And how you can avoid hefty fines

Super clear explanation

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LL97 Basic Assessment

– See the penalties assessed for your property

– Know exactly what you need to do to avoid them

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WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
NYC is fighting the good fight – and we’re all in it

If you own or manage property in NYC, you’re drafted to battle global warming. You already know about benchmarking your water and energy usage, required under Local Law 84. And if you manage buildings that are 50,000+ SF, you know about Local Law 87, too. So another green law won’t faze you. True, Local Law 97 is more complex, but if you follow the guidelines, it’s not that big of a deal.

Here’s the 300-foot overview
of Local Law 97

The soon-to-be-enforced Local Law 97 aims to clean air in the city by reducing emissions 40%. The law places carbon caps on most buildings larger than 25,000 SF across NYC. It gives property owners a few short years to implement the operational and physical changes needed to bring down those emissions.

In 2025 you’ll need to submit a report (based on your 2023 energy usage) to prove you’re within the limits allowed for your type of building. In 2029 the cap is lowered further, requiring your building to be even more energy efficient.

To enforce Local Law 97, the city has established steep fines for non-compliers.

3 types of penalties you’ll want to avoid:

3 types of penalties

Worried and wondering who can help you?

EZ does it!

Zero Obligation.

WE’RE HEARING QUESTIONS LIKE THESE:
How can I know if our carbon emissions are too high?
How can I find out if any exemptions will apply to my portfolio?
Is there a way to know which measures will most effectively reduce our carbon emissions?
Watch: A Clear Path to Local Law 97 Compliance

Here at EZ Energy, we’ve been following the NYC legislation closely. We’ve made it our mission to know the ins and outs of every clause. And we created this super-simple visual presentation so you can understand LL97 in minutes!

Watch this video to learn:

Hand 97:

EZ’s LL97 compliance program

We’re here to support you as long as you need us.
There’s never an obligation to move on to the next step. It’s up to you.

Here’s the Hand 97 process:

1. LL84 Done Right
First, we ensure you’re at the highest possible starting point. Your benchmarking report is the baseline the city uses to calculate your carbon emissions. So if the benchmarking rating could be improved, we refile it for you.
2. Projected Local Law 97 Assessment

We will assess your property and provide you with a projected LL97 assessment. This assessment will detail your building’s emissions and potential fines for both the 2025 and 2030 requirements, based on the most recent publicly available data. While seeing the penalty amounts may be worrisome, it is also a relief to know exactly what you are up against and have a clear path forward.

 

If the assessment results show that you need to lower your emissions, you will need to do an on-site inspection to verify this information and pinpoint areas where you can lower your emissions.

3. Inspection

Schedule your on-site inspection

We’ll conduct an on-site audit of your energy use and efficiency. This is known as an Ashrae Level I audit. We’ll focus on the areas that pertain to the 13 prescriptive measures detailed by the DOB as the pathway to lowering carbon emissions.

 

You’ll receive a report of your energy usage along with our recommendations for improving efficiency in that area. It will highlight areas for improvement, costs involved, and possible incentives or grants. Armed with this information, you’ll be empowered to create a compliance plan that is targeted, cost-effective, and efficient.

 

Some buildings, such as non-profit facilities, places of worship, and others, may be partially exempt and can comply using an alternative pathway. We can help you determine how your property is classified and what your next steps should be.

4. Plan

Here’s where we create a customized plan to help you achieve LL97 compliance – and reduce your energy bills – in the most cost-effective way possible.

Operational changes:

Even small day-to-day changes can make a difference. We guide you in educating tenants and maintenance staff and implementing procedures to reduce energy costs.

 

Smart upgrades:
The 13 prescriptive measures outlined by the DOB will be our guide — we’ll walk you through the options that provide the most long-term value. This includes steps such as repairing and upgrading existing systems and installing insulation. Watch this video to learn more about the 13 measures.

 

EZ Sense sensors:
If we need to pinpoint problem areas, we can provide you with our powerful EZ Sense sensors to install on your electric meters. Within days you’ll know exactly which apartments, appliances or equipment are the cause of your high energy usage. There’s no guesswork. We can then decide on a plan of action to address the problems we’ve uncovered.

 

Harnessing available help:
Might there be a city, state, or national program that will help you fund upgrades, like HVAC equipment or LED lighting? We’ll help you apply for any applicable grants, rebates, and incentives.

 

Financing your upgrades:
If you’ve tried applying for a loan via a government program, you know how lengthy the process can be, with multiple assessments and bank approvals. We offer full financing to cover your upgrades, with just a 10-day turnaround. And the best part- it’s unsecured.

Here’s what that looks like in numbers:
This class-A building
3 Executive Campus
Financing your upgrades with an unsecured loan ensures your upgrades are EME, Efficiency Made Easy®. This allows you to invest in energy efficiency upgrades with zero capital upfront. Reach your energy efficiency goals whilst saving on long-term energy costs.
5. Certification
The last step in our Hand 97 approach is to file your report with the DOB. You must have a registered electrical engineer certify that the properties usage and emissions levels are reported correctly.
What will it take to get your portfolio in compliance before the penalties kick in?
Let’s have a look.

Zero Obligation.

You'll like working with the experts at EZ

We’ve been around long before Local Law 97 was even a thought. We work with many NYC buildings just like yours,
to bring supply costs down, and energy ratings and and LTV up.

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If you appreciate:

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Same-day answers to your most obscure questions
Quick responses when things go wrong
Referrals to excellent contractors

...you’ll appreciate working with our consultants.
EZ Energy is the only professional company that I’ve ever met in this line. They really know their stuff, really care for you, will always be ahead of what’s going on, and save you loads of money. They are honest, and simply the best.
Gabby Goldberger, NY
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Your LL97 questions,
answered clearly

As part of the Climate Mobilization Act, an ambitious plan to combat global warming, NYC has identified over 57,000 rather ancient buildings as chief culprits, responsible for 71% of the city’s carbon emissions. These emissions, also known as greenhouse gas (Ghg) emissions, come from the burning of fossil fuels.

If you’re required to benchmark your energy usage, you’re also subject to Local Law 97. You can check if the addresses are listed on the NYC Covered Buildings List. Sometimes buildings are listed there by error and we’re able to have them removed from the list.

Buildings use several forms of energy, including electricity, natural gas, and types of fuel oil. Carbon emissions come primarily from burning fossil fuels. Different types of fuels emit different levels of carbon.

Calculating a building’s total carbon emissions can be a bit complicated.
To see a building’s annual emissions intensity based on the most recent benchmarking submissions, search by borough-block-lot (BBL) number or type in your street address at Metered.nyc. You’ll see “GHG Emissions / sq.ft.” highlighted in green. To determine annual carbon emissions for the applicable year, multiply that emissions intensity by a building’s total square footage.

 

Then, you can calculate the building’s total emissions. This depends on an “emissions factor” applied to each source of energy (e.g. natural gas, electricity or district steam) based on its associated carbon pollution. You can find updated “emissions factors” for various types of energy on Portfolio Manager, the city’s tool for energy legislation compliance. If all this seems complicated, don’t worry. We can work out the numbers fo ryo and show you how you can reduce the numbers to acceptable levels.

The amount of energy your tenants consume has a huge impact on your building’s overall energy use. Increasing your building's energy benchmark to comply with LL 97 will only be possible with collaboration from your tenants. Offering them incentives to make their spaces energy efficient is a good way to bring down your building’s overall energy usage and aids you in complying with LL 97.

By May 1st, 2025, you’ll need to submit a report showing your carbon emissions for the previous year of 2024. The reporting must be done annually, by a registered professional.

 

About 20% of the city’s carbon emitting buildings will not meet the 2025 limits unless they implement changes speedily. The other 80% of affected buildings will need to reduce emissions by 2029.
There are lots of ways to lower emissions. But if you fail to plan, you must plan to pay.

Your report is filed based on your 2024 usage so energy upgrades need to be completed before the end of 2023. As you know, wheels turn very slowly in the commercial real estate industry. Identifying problems, planning and implementation are a multi-step process, so it's wise to start now.

The 2025 deadline will impact only 20% of the buildings who need to comply with Local Law 97, those that currently have the highest carbon emissions. When the cap is lowered in 2029, those same buildings will need to prove that they’ve further reduced their emissions, along with the remaining 80% of NYC buildings that are currently above those levels.

 

By May 1st 2025, you must submit an annual report, in addition to the benchmarking report you have been filing to comply with Local Law 84. Buildings must pay a penalty of $268 per metric ton that their carbon footprint exceeds the limit, annually. You will also be fined for not submitting a report or for submitting a false report.

The law includes some flexibility for specific cases:

  • Possible Exemptions
    Buildings that cannot meet the target carbon emissions levels and are in specific categories, such as affordable housing, houses of worship, hospitals or city-owned buildings, will have alternative compliance options. Showing that you are taking steps to follow the 13 prescriptive measures will allow you to avoid fines even if you are above your limits. The Department of Buildings will also have the authority to grant exemptions in specific cases of financial hardships or practical constraints (like lack of access to leased areas).
  • Credit Transfers and Purchases
    Your building portfolio will be assessed as a whole. High energy efficiency in one building will earn you credits towards your buildings that have lower ratings. You may also purchase renewable energy credits generated in NYC.

You’ll be fully exempt if your emissions levels in 2025 meet the requirements for 2030. You’ll still need to get certified by a registered design professional.

The most effective way to reduce a building’s carbon emissions is to work on saving energy. An inexpensive first step is training building staff on energy efficiency best practices. Operational changes to equipment schedules, thermostat set points and other characteristics can reduce energy use without added cost. To determine where the energy usage is higher than it should be, we recommend installing EZ Sense sensors.

EZ Sense are EZ Energy trademarked cutting-edge sensors that we use to monitor energy usage across your building. They pick up the exact apartments, appliances or installations with high energy usage so we can hone in on those areas and effectively improve your energy efficiency rating.

There are incentives and grants for upgrades that you can take advantage of to lower your energy usage.

 

EZ Energy also offers full financing to cover your upgrades with unsecured loans. No personal guarantee, no UCC and no lien needed. You then pay the loan back once your building starts saving on their energy bills. It’s EME, efficiency made easy, at its finest.

PACE is a NYC financing mechanism providing loans to property owners to fund energy efficiency upgrades.

 

To date, very few buildings have been approved for PACE loans, due to a complex application process.

 

EZ Energy’s secure loans make it easier and faster to get accepted with no bank approval needed. We take care of the loan application for you.

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