NYC Introduces Legislation Mandating Green Upgrades to Large Buildings

Other city proposals include the requirement of energy-efficient lighting, and of energy-efficient upgrades when any renovation takes places, as compared with the current standard of a renovation of 50 percent or more.

The legislative package, introduced by Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Environmental Protection Committee Chair James Gennaro and council members Daniel R. Garodnick, Dominic Recchia and Melissa Mark-Viverito, aims at reducing the city's greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030, according to a Council press release.

The bills introduced today include "Bringing the Past into the Future," requiring owners of existing buildings over 50,000 square feet "to make cost-effective energy efficiency improvements to their buildings once every ten years by conducting an audit, retro-commissioning, and retrofitting their building."

Another bill, "Lighting the Way," would require "that lighting systems in large buildings be upgraded to meet the requirements of the New York City Energy Conservation Code."

Hearings on the legislative package, which also includes a bill mandating a "benchmarking" standard for building energy-efficiency and another closing what a council calls "a loophole that allows buildings to skirt the energy code if they are not taking on massive renovations," are planned for June.