Mayor Eric Adams is ready to crack down…on building owners with too many carbon emissions.
The Adams administration more than tripled the enforcement staff for Local Law 97, Crain’s reported. The climate legislation is already in effect, but enforcement won’t begin until the deadline for owners’ reports on their carbon emissions, scheduled for May.
The Department of Buildings has a staff of 30 ready to enforce the controversial decarbonization law. The agency is also in the process of onboarding another eight employees and there are 20 open positions the DOB is looking to fill quickly.
The city’s beefing up on enforcement staff comes on the heels of rampant criticism about the understaffing of the unit. At the start of this year, there were only 11 staff members ready to ensure that thousands of city buildings were in compliance with the rules.
The administration allocated $4 million in this year’s budget to add staff to the enforcement unit. This week, the city also landed a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, partially earmarked towards expanding staff.
In the spring, enforcers will start collecting and analyzing building emissions reports, and penalizing owners who don’t hit their carbon emissions goals. Every ton of carbon dioxide over the limit carries a $268 penalty.
The aim of Local Law 97 is for the city to cut emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels.
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Last year, a study commissioned by the Real Estate Board of New York estimated that 3,700 properties could be noncompliant, incurring as much as $900 million in fines annually by 2030.
A lawsuit to block the enforcement of Local Law 97 is working its way through the state court system. This week, a judge delayed the lawsuit until Dec. 9. The city is working to get the case dismissed on appeal. A spokesperson for the Law Department said it was unclear if the case would be resolved by December and if implementation of the rules will proceed in the meantime.