Don’t feel bad, most people outside of New York City haven’t heard of it either.
Local Law 97, one of the most ambitious climate legislations for buildings enacted by any city in the world, means the city’s largest buildings will have to cut their emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.
According to Steve Cuozzo, writer for the New York Post, the bozos who run our city came up with a new way to make New Yorkers hesitant about moving to Florida take the plunge:
Freeze ‘em out.
Among the disastrous effects of the folly called Local Law 97, which requires most apartment buildings to change their heating systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is that electric heat – the city’s preference – doesn’t work as well as boilers that burn fossil fuels.
Bob Friedrich, board president of Glen Oaks Village in northeastern Queens, the city’s largest garden-apartment complex, warns that heat pumps for electrical systems “are only efficient for temperatures in the 30s and 40s. Below that they become less efficient to heat a home.”
In other words, he said, “Get out the heavy coat and gloves.”
The law to take effect at the end of the year can only drive more middle- and working-class homeowners owners out of town. Friedrich calls it “insane.”
Residents of Glen Oaks Village and the Bay Terrace Cooperative, both in Queens, face staggering future costs for “environmental” overhauls.
The loony law spells financial ruin for many of the city’s 3,700 co-op and condo buildings, which are home to 800,000 apartments. It requires buildings with more than 25,000 square feet to either switch to electric heat or replace their boilers so as to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.
Unlike rental apartment towers owned by real estate companies with substantial revenue bases, the costs of heating conversions in co-ops and condos will be borne by individual shareholders and owners either as assessments or whopping hikes in monthly maintenance costs.
But do it, the city demands — or face gargantuan fines. The Real Estate Board of New York estimates that affected buildings would face more than $200 million in penalties if they can’t comply with the changes, rising to $900 million by 2030 when emission rules would be even tougher.
CLICK HERE to read the entire Steve Cuozzo article
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder magazine. Email at [email protected]
