New York City is preparing to ban the use of gas in new construction in two to five years, depending on the building’s size.
Real Estate Weekly reported that negotiations for legislation banning gas hookups in new buildings by limiting carbon emissions concluded late on Dec. 7. A final version of the bill is scheduled to be voted on by City Council next week (the week of Dec. 13).
“The bill, Introduction 2317, ends gas use in small buildings under seven stories tall in two years (2023), starting on new permit applications, and ends gas use in large buildings over seven stories in five years (2027),” the publication reported.
Industry associations expressed support for the negotiated law, supported by Mayor BILL de Blasio. Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel of Brooklyn attracted 26 co-sponsors.
“The New York Building Congress (NYBC) remains committed to advancing policies that combat the root causes of climate change and help New York adapt to its inevitable effects,” the organization said in a statement.
“That commitment to a sustainable future drove us to work with the City Council to shape this legislation with targets that are as pragmatic as they are bold,” the NYBC statement said. ”
The new draft of this legislation addresses our concerns about the timeline that affects new buildings and calls on experts to determine what technologies could feasibly make the city’s power systems compliant, reliable and resilient. Its passage is crucial, so that our industry can innovate and develop new solutions to make New York City the leader on sustainability.
“This bill only underscores New York State’s immediate need to clear the transmission bottleneck between clean energy generated upstate and demand downstate. The City of New York must also realize the study mandated under this bill, so that our members have a clear framework on how to maximize this legislation’s full potential.”
