Beech Hills co-op owners in Douglaston gathered on Monday morning to hear how northeast Queens lawmakers are working to shield them from bearing the brunt of the cost of the city’s ambitious climate law.
Local Law 97 went into effect in 2019 with the goal of net zero carbon emissions from NYC buildings by 2050, but many are referring to it as an “unfunded mandate” that puts the cost of compliance on the middle class. Earlier this year, greenhouse gas limits on 50,000 buildings went into effect.
Since its passage, city council members have introduced legislation to either delay the start of compliance, which if not met will bring hefty fines on building owners, or put additional considerations on garden apartment co-ops which are concentrated in eastern Queens.
But more recently, State Assemblymember Edward Braunstein (D-Bayside) introduced Bill A5050, which would establish an abatement and exemption from property taxes for the capital improvements needed to comply with carbon reductions under Local Law 97.
While the bill is in the early stages, Braunstein says he’s received bipartisan support from half of the state assembly so far. And on Monday morning, his legislation received collective support from co-op presidents and all other elected officials on a city and state level in the Northeast Queens region.
“Our message today, all of us together, is to the city of New York: Stop dragging your feet, come to the table and let’s have a negotiation about how to solve this problem,” said Braunstein in the community room of Beech Hills Co-Ops. “The city of New York has to do something, whether it’s an abatement, whether it’s a delay, maybe just forgo the penalties. But we cannot continue moving forward with Local Law 97 as it is.”
Some co-ops have said that it is more economically feasible for them to simply pay the penalties as opposed to the maintenance costs to reach compliance. But Braunstein pointed out that this type of…
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