Local Law 97 fines started landing on buildings over 25,000 square feet this year, and the penalty clock does not stop for a building that is "working on it." The law sets carbon caps for most buildings over that size, with the first compliance period covering 2024 through 2029, and the city can fine an owner $268 per metric ton over the cap, assessed annually.
CooperatorNews New York laid out the compliance path co-op and condo boards are actually walking: get an energy audit and benchmarking report filed first, because without a current emissions number a board is guessing at its exposure. From there the usual fixes are building envelope work (windows, roof insulation), heating system electrification or upgrades, and lighting and control retrofits — in roughly that order of cost-effectiveness, according to the outlet's reporting.
For a contractor, this is where the next few years of New York retrofit work comes from. A board that waited is now shopping for a GC who can scope envelope and mechanical work fast enough to beat a compliance period, and city financing programs (C-PACE among them) are built around exactly this kind of job. The filing deadline for the 2024–2029 period's emissions reports is May 1, 2025 for the base year, with annual filings after; a board that missed benchmarking is already behind and knows it.
None of this is legal or engineering advice — a board's actual limit and fine exposure depends on its building class and square footage under the law, and an owner should confirm numbers with a Local Law 97 consultant or the DOB's own calculator before signing a contract.