Middle-class co-op and condo building owners covering 800,000-plus apartments are rebelling against a massive city climate mandate — a green tax they claim will substantially hike housing maintenance bills to either pay for millions of dollars in upgrades or face gigantic fines beginning next year.
Homeowners for a Stronger New York is battling the terms of the city’s Climate Mobilization Emissions Law of 2019 — Local Law 97 — by next year while backing state legislation introduced by state Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Queens) and Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) to require the city to provide property tax breaks to help alleviate the costs.
While supporting the goal of the Climate Change law, co-ops and condo owners said they need assistance to meet the new cleaner energy standards in what they called the “largest unfunded mandate in New York City history.”
The law is more stringent than Gov. Kathy Hochul’s ban on gas stoves, which only applies to new construction.
The city law covers existing buildings, which account for two-thirds or most of the carbon emissions in the city.
The group is launching a six-figure digital and TV ad and mailing campaign urging elected officials that New York can have “affordability and sustainability” — targeting 18 Assembly districts in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx with a concentration of co-ops and condos likely to face the steepest fines.
Co-op and condo owners also want a fair appeals process to challenge the estimated $200 million in fines that could be levied next year.
They’ve gained an important ally — Queens Borough President Donovan Richards — who backs Local Law 97 but agrees middle and working class co-op and condo owners need tax relief in order to comply with the law.
“Co-ops and condos have a legitimate gripe. It’s very important that we don’t want to exacerbate the affordable housing crisis,” Richard told The Post on Sunday.
“Something needs to be done to relieve the pressure on these middle class homeowners. The costs of any fines will be passed on to the shareholders. We don’t want to see mortgage foreclosures.”
Richards said he’s had preliminary discussions with Mayor Eric Adams’ administration about providing tax relief to help co-ops and condos adhere to the law.
The law sets limits on the greenhouse gas emissions of buildings starting in 2024 to help New York City reach the goal of a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by the year 2030 and 80 percent reduction in citywide emissions by calendar year 2050.
It requires buildings with more than 25,000 square feet to replace their old heating oil and natural gas boilers and switch to electric heat so as to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.
One study conducted for the Real Estate Board of New York concluded 20% or more of the buildings of more than 25,000 square feet will not be in compliance next year– many of them small and mid-sized co-ops and condos that house teachers, nurses, civil servants and senior citizens unable to absorb the cost.
“Hardworking homeowners are becoming more and more aware of the challenges of meeting the City’s sustainability mandates,” says Geoff Mazel, board member and an attorney for Homeowners for a Stronger New York, representing cooperative boards.
‘Unfortunately, our shared climate goals will not be achieved unless our leaders put forward practical solutions instead of counterproductive penalties that will harm instead of help homeowners comply with these mandates. Otherwise, the costs of owning a home for middle class New Yorkers will just get further out of reach.”
There are approximately 12,000 co-op and condo buildings citywide, encompassing over 832,000 apartments.
Of those 12,000 buildings, 5,540 must comply with Local Law 97, according to the co-op/condo group.
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.
Buildings that failed to comply with the law next year face average fines of $56,867, based on a recent study conducted by the consulting firm Level Infrastructure.
The same study found that 3,700 properties could be out of compliance and face more than $200 million per year in penalties.
By 2030, this number grows to over 13,500 properties that cumulatively could face penalties as high as $900 million each year, as the law ratchets up the threshold to curb greenhouse emissions.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens) is holding a forum Tuesday with the Presidents of Co-Op and Condo Council/Homeowners for a Stronger New York to discuss the green mandate.
About 400 co-op and condo owners showed up at the last meeting, sources said.
“The impending enforcement and penalties under Local Law 97 are one of the greatest challenges to Co-op and Condo Homeowners in a generation. The PCCC is working with many elected officials and stakeholders to try to ease the impact of the largest unfunded mandate in New York City history,” the group said.
Meanwhile, Braunstein-Parker bill, if approved, would require the city to provide a tax break based on the reduction of greenhouse emissions for 10 years or an exemption for any increased assessment for the green capital upgrades for 20 years.
“This type of tool is needed to ensure that buildings make the kinds of investments that will be needed to combine energy efficiency with electrification as those investments may not make financial sense in the absence of an incentive,” the lawmakers said.
A rep for Adams said the administration is working with building owners to comply with the law, not penalize them.
“Since it was signed into law under the last administration [former Mayor Bill de Blasio], Local Law 97 has been a critical piece of the city’s efforts to protect New Yorkers from the urgent climate crisis, and our administration has worked tirelessly with thousands of co-ops and building owners across the city to help them upgrade their buildings. The Adams administration is focused on helping building owners, not penalizing them, and we encourage any building owner to take advantage of the NYC Accelerator and get the support and guidance they need to make necessary improvements,” the mayoral spokesman said.
The Adams administration set up an NYC Accelerator website that provides guidance to building owners on how to comply with Local Law 97, which includes one-on-one guidance and access to financial resources.
Accelerator has helped 10,000 buildings thus far, city officials said.
City officials also emphasized that bringing renewable energy and other sustainability measures to the city will create thousands of new jobs, while zoning changes pushed by Adams would make it easier for buildings to make changes to lower carbon emissions, including the installation of solar panels.
https://nypost.com/2023/04/30/co-op-owners-rebel-against-massive-nyc-climate-law-costing-millions/
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