Mayor Eric Adams is set to visit North Shore Towers, a co-op apartment complex in Floral Park in Queens bordering Nassau County to discuss how the state’s green initiative will impact residents.
“A ‘going green initiative,’ everyone’s for that. But things have to be rolled out in a reasonable manner,” said Martin Schwartzman, the complex’s board president.
Schwartzman said many politicians have visited the complex in the past when petitioning. When Adams visited the residents most recently, the co-op’s board members approached him about doing a town hall-style discussion about how recent unfunded mandates have affected the unit’s residents.
The North Shore Towers comprise three 33-story buildings with almost 1,900 units.
Schwartzman said Local Law 97, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction, will cost co-op buildings millions of dollars in upgrades and likely still result in millions in fines for compliance issues.
The law, passed in 2019, required buildings over 25,000 square feet to meet new greenhouse gas emission limits beginning in 2024, with stricter regulations coming in 2030, according to the city’s website.
“It is breaking the backs of co-ops,” he said.
Schwartzman said North Shore Towers has its own “self-sufficient power plant” and is not hooked up to the Con Edison grid. He said the complex’s power source is more efficient than the Con Edison grid, but the city requires that the complex hook up to their lines.
He said North Shore Towers would be financially responsible for connecting to the grid, which would cost them millions, especially considering any subsequent fines.
“It’s an unworkable plan, and it’s unfunded,” Schwartzman said.
He said the board approached Adams to coordinate a time to speak with him regarding the act’s intricacies and complications. He said a town hall meeting is on the horizon, although a date has not yet been set.
“We’re asking him for help,” Schwartzman said.
