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Torchlight
Getting Down To Work
By: Nancy E. Anderson, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Sallan FoundationIssue: Torchlight #24Date: April, 2009
 
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© 2009 The Sallan Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.http://www.sallan.org
 
 
Torchlight #24
Getting Down To Work
Earth Day 2009 saw the launch of four bills drafted by the Bloomberg Administration that take aimat making New York home to climate-friendly buildings of all ages. Let’s start with a cheer. Lastfall, I wrote about earlier drafts of this “Deep Green Quartet” and it’s thrilling to see these bills inthe light of day. The operation of 950,000 buildings produces 79% of this city’s carbon footprint.The Administration estimates that its deep green quartet will cover the largest 17,000 properties andit expects 2,000 jobs will be linked to the work created by this legislation.Among the four bills is the “benchmarking” legislation. Making owners and tenants aware of howmuch energy and water a building consumes through requirements of the benchmarking bill is afairly straightforward first step. While some building owners are already going much further byvoluntarily upgrading the energy performance of their current portfolios, the number of standingstructures that have undergone such renovations is very small.Consider theEmpire State Building. Its owners, with the support of the Clinton Foundation and theRocky Mountain Institute, will upgrade this Depression-era icon’s energy efficiency by 38% tomake this building, once again, a global poster child. This upgrade could allow owners to chargehigher rents to their commercial tenants while making a smaller carbon footprint. What it will notallow is direct comparison of its energy use to comparable buildings in the City. The benchmarking bill would create a database allowing tenants and prospective tenants or buyers to compare theenergy efficiency of comparable buildings measured in terms of an “Energy Utilization Index”.Despite concern over provisions for the public posting of benchmarking results (something thatmany EU building owners have accepted) because owners have little control over tenants’ “plugload” electricity consumption, in New York’s tough real estate market a good Index rating could provide the desired competitive edge and a poor rating could be the incentive to rethink standardoperating procedures.The benchmarking bill’s explicit enforcement language is unique among the four pieces of legislation. It spells out that failure to file mandatory benchmarking reports by the stipulated duedate makes building owners subject to a Buildings Department notice of a “lesser” violation, which
 
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© 2009 The Sallan Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.http://www.sallan.org
 
 
Torchlight #24
Getting Down To Work
could entail a Commissioner’s Order to correct the problem. Property owners are also required toretain relevant documents that must be available for inspection and audit by the Department.Curiously, there is no language that addresses the filing of false, misleading or incomplete data.Two other bills in the deep green quartet extend further in their reach and impact. One would adoptthe 2007 New York State Energy Code as the City’s own, but unlike the State Code, compliancewith energy requirements would have to be demonstrated for virtually all renovation projects. As a practical matter, the State Energy Code as currently written is a dull tool for making existing buildings more energy efficient.The new energy code bill is clear: “For existing buildings, the State Energy Code only applies whenan alteration leads to the replacement of at least fifty percent of a building’s system or subsystem,meaning there are no energy efficiency requirements for many renovation projects of a lesser magnitude or lower threshold. As a result of this loophole, New York City is failing to reap the benefits of energy improvements as the building fabric is updated in those situations.” Its Statementof Purpose is also clear about the importance of enforcement: “The Council finds that it isreasonable and necessary to promulgate a New York City Energy Conservation Code in order toensure the enforcement of the State Energy Code within New York City”.Just how would enforcement be carried out under this legislation? It’s hard to say because the billsays nothing. Generally, the City’s Administrative Code provisions governing building andconstruction are enforced by issuing notices of violation (NOVs) returnable to EnvironmentalControl Board. If an NOV is not resolved, the file remains open and this could throw up roadblocksif the owner tries to sell or refinance the property. Presumably, this would be the enforcementmechanism for the new energy code bill, too.As well, the City’s current energy codewebpagecarries this notice: “In Spring 2009, the BuildingsDepartment will begin auditing New Building and Alteration applications for ECCCNYS [StateEnergy Code] compliance and, when appropriate, issuing objections and notices of revocation for 
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