Although we are in the midst of a pandemic, and many businesses, including Coops and Condos are struggling financially, the New York City Council is now considering an amendment to Local Law 97 (“the mother of unfunded mandates”) which could cost thousands of Coops vast sums of money over the next decade. We have just learned that the New York City Council, Committee on Environmental Protection held a hearing on September 22, 2020. One of the agenda items was Intro 1947/ 2020.  

This bill would amend the exemption in Local Law 97 for buildings with rent regulated units and would under this amendment now include dwellings in which 35% or more of the dwelling units are rent regulated. Local Law No 97 of 2019, also known as the Climate Mobilization Act , was passed by the New York City Council in March 2019. This law requires certain existing buildings in New York City, including Coops and Condos, to reduce their emissions by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. 

The current version of the bill exempts Coops with rent regulated units in their building.  This amendment would severely reduce the number of Co-ops that would fall under this exemption. Therefore, if your Co-op has less than 35% rent regulated apartments, your Co-op would be subject to this Amendment. 

If this bill is passed by the New York City Council, many more Cooperatives would then be under the auspices of Local Law 97, resulting in the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to stay in compliance of Local Law 97. We urge you to contact your Council Member and express your opposition to this amendment.