The Executive Committee of the President’s Co-op & Condo Council is pleased to advise that Intro 1197/2023, the “Co-op/Condo Rescue Act”, has now been reintroduced in the new legislative session of the New York City Council as Intro 0772/2024.  This bill provides crucial elements to protect working and middle-class Co-op and Condo homeowners from some of the potential financial devastation of Local Law 97. This bill is a common sense approach to helping working and middle-class homeowners to comply with the onerous mandates under Local Law 97. The law is targeted for working and middle-class Co-op/Condo homeowners and studies have shown its’ passage would have little or no impact on the environment in New York City. It affects less than 3% of the covered buildings under Local Law 97.

 Key provisions of the bill include:

·     Taking into consideration open and green spaces as part of a building’s gross floor area when calculating greenhouse gas emissions limits.

·     Offering adjustments to annual greenhouse gas emissions limits if buildings have made prior retrofits to reduce emissions, such as oil-to-gas conversions or the installation of solar panels.

·     Implementing a more gradual penalty schedule for buildings with an Average Assessed Value of $65,000 or less.

·     Mandating courts to regard the median property value of units in a building as a mitigating factor when deciding on penalties.