New York City Department of Buildings

At a Glance

Industry

Government/Public Administration

Project Types

Commercial Energy Efficiency, Goals/Targets, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy

Year

2023

Location

New York, NY

Summary

Anastasia Hediger helped the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) develop an initial framework for enforcement of Local Law 97 of 2019 (LL97) through the public-facing reporting platform, DOBNOW.

Goals

The enabling legislation for LL97 assigned the role of implementation and enforcement to DOB. DOB enlisted Climate Corps fellow Anastasia Hediger to help develop a strategy and outline for the enforcement process for LL97, an unprecedented initiative to reduce carbon emissions in New York City’s largest buildings. Anastasia’s primary focus was the reporting process for property owners, requiring research on IT integration, data collection, and opportunities for efficiency and automation. 

Solutions

Anastasia developed a strategy proposal to help DOB finalize an efficient and comprehensive enforcement plan for LL97 including the following major deliverables:

  1. Proposed Scope for DOBNOW and Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM) Integration with LL97
  2. Implementation Action Plan complete with a suggested work schedule from June 2023 to May 1, 2025, the first reporting deadline for LL97
  3. Proposed Data Collection Strategy, detailed in flowcharts and slide decks
  4. Issue & Question Tracker by stakeholder and topic area

Potential Impact

LL97 applies to most buildings over 25,000 square feet, roughly 50,000 buildings in NYC and will be the driving engine to New York City achieving greenhouse gas emissions reductions, including a 40% reduction by 2030 and 80% by 2050. In 2025, approximately 34,000 buildings will need to report their emissions from the previous calendar year in DOB NOW. Anastasia’s work will inform the final process through which DOB assesses compliance in the coming years. 


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