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NEW YORK CITY – Landlords are under pressure to get their paperwork in order to meet the New York City Council's Climate Mobilization Act (CMA) passed last year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve efficiency for commercial and residential buildings larger than 25,000 square feet. And if they don't, they're looking at some steep fines, Jarrett Huddleston of CANY, a New York-based architecture and engineering firm, tells GlobeSt.com.

Of the 11 pieces of legislation that are part of the CMA, the centerpiece is Local Law 97 of 2019, which establishes limits for carbon emissions with a deadline in the year 2024 or face fines. For every metric ton of carbon over the limit, a fine of $268 (per metric ton per square foot) will be implemented on an annual basis with additional fines if reports are false or inaccurate. Fines range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for some buildings. In 2029, carbon emission levels requirementS will further decrease in 2029.

Owners of non-compliant buildings are feeling the pressure to resolve outstanding issues, which could entail new HVAC equipment, new roofs, new windows and potentially new facades in certain buildings. This process can be both time consuming and expensive, and CANY proposes an approach that combines compliance with Local Law 11, another pressing legislation that requires façade safety measures to protect pedestrians walking past buildings, according to the city's Façade Safety Inspection Program, and Local Law 97 to control costs and manage remediation.