Be the Life of Your Earth Day Party with DOB's Sustainability Playlist

This year to celebrate Earth Day, DOB is spreading awareness of sustainable building maintenance and operation practices that can help create a greener City for all New Yorkers in the form of a sustainability mixtape.

After listening to this playlist, you'll agree to "Never Ever Ever Get Back Together" with your gas stove, "Soak Up the Sun" by converting to solar power, and want to seek out some "Help!" from our Buildings After Hours team, among other sustainability tips and tricks. By acting together, New Yorkers can have an outsized impact on the sustainability and resiliency of our City!

Don't be a fossil fool, check out the full press release to read all of our sustainability tips.

To listen to our Earth Day building sustainability mixtape, see the playlist here.

Benchmarking Deadline Approaches

The 2023 Benchmarking compliance deadline for calendar year 2022 data reporting is rapidly approaching. Property owners of large buildings, who are required to submit benchmarking reports, must get their 2022 information to DOB by May 1, 2023.

Collected annually every Spring, this data increases transparency regarding properties' annual energy and water usage - the first step for building owners and tenants in making their buildings operate more efficiently - and is what is used to obtain the building's Energy Grade. To date, DOB has already received more than 200,000 reports for buildings throughout the City since the benchmarking requirement first went into effect.

Assistance with benchmarking is available via the NYC Sustainability Help Center, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. by emailing Help@NYCsustainability.org or by calling (212)-566-5584.

Energy Efficiency Report Filing Requirements

As the Department continues its rulemaking process in the implementation of Local Law 97 (New York City's landmark building emissions reduction legislation), DOB personnel have been diligently gathering input from the public on how to best implement the law and help create a sustainable future for New York City. Public input has been a critical component in the implementation of this process.

DOB's Local Law 97 Advisory Board and seven working groups conducted 363 formal meetings, amounting to almost 700 hours of hard work on the continued implementation of the Law.

Additional proposed rules on this important sustainability law will be released in the coming months. The Department will be holding public hearings for these additional proposed rules so we can continue this robust public engagement process. Stay tuned for updates!

Learn more about Local Law 97 and NYC's efforts to reduce the emissions produced by the city's largest buildings

Fossil Fuels in New Construction

With Local Law 154 of 2021, fossil fuels are on their way toward extinction in new buildings, which will become the largest City in the world to phase fossil fuels out of new construction. Building owners are advised that the first compliance deadline for buildings under seven-stories tall is just over seven months away.

LL154 limits carbon emissions for new construction and major renovations by prohibiting fossil fuel systems starting in 2024 for low-rise buildings and 2027 for high-rise buildings. Buildings in which half of units are designated as affordable housing have additional time to comply, with low-rise buildings starting in 2026 and high-rise buildings in 2028.

Learn more about LL154 and the looming deadline from the NYC Accelerator.

DOB Sustainability Bureau Visits the 'Windy City'

Members of DOB's Sustainability Bureau will be joining sustainability and energy leaders from across the country in Chicago, Illinois, next month, for the 2023 National Energy Codes Conference!

At the event, Director of Building Energy and Emissions Performance Emily Hoffman, P.E., will be presenting during "BPS and Codes: Making Sure the Left Hand Knows What the Right Hand is Doing" where she will be discussing the latest in Building Energy Codes and Building Performance Standards, while Chief Sustainability Officer Gina Bocra, R.A., will be a participant in the "Building Performance Standards: Adoption, Implementation, and Lessons Learned" panel.

Find Out More About the 2023 National Energy Codes Conference

Learn more about the agenda and National Energy Codes Conference