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Adjustments – updated deadline of January 1, 2025
Building owners will be allowed to submit requests for certain adjustments to their building emissions limits under Local Law 97. Owners may submit applications to the Department of Buildings (DOB) for adjustments due to excessive emissions and special uses, or for adjustments for not-for-profit healthcare or hospital facilities. Other adjustments pursuant to the law will be available at a later date.
How to file for an adjustment
Adjustment applications are submitted through DOB NOW Safety. See the Service Update for details on how to open an application for an adjustment in DOB NOW.
LL97 Adjustments Application Filing Guide
To assist Registered Design Professionals and Owners, the LL97 Adjustments Filing Guide covers the technical requirements for completing an adjustment application. Both adjustments for excess emissions due to a special circumstance (Article 320.8) and adjustments for not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare facilities (Article 320.9) are covered in the Filing Guide.
EN97A Calculations Workbook and Instructions
Each application must be accompanied by an excel workbook containing the necessary information about the building’s usage, energy consumption and emissions, the EN97A workbook and instructions on how to complete this workbook.
Questions on adjustments applications should be submitted to GHGEmissions@buildings.nyc.gov. Questions about the DOB NOW portal should be directed to www.nyc.gov/dobhelp.
Adjustments to emissions limits for buildings with Special Circumstances
Some buildings have special circumstances that may increase their energy usage, and may be able to apply for an adjustment to their emissions limits. Special circumstances may include, but are not limited to:
- 24 hour operations;
- Operations critical to human health and safety;
- High density occupancy;
- Energy intensive communications technologies or operations;
- Energy-intensive industrial processes typically classified as an un-regulated load under the Energy Code.
The adjustment to the annual building emissions limit for 2024-2029 will be equal to 70% of the 2018 building emissions. To be eligible for this adjustment, an applicant must show that the covered building’s emissions for 2018 exceed the 2024 building emissions limit by more than 40%. The excess building emissions also must be attributable to a special circumstance, as listed above, related to the use of the building. The covered building’s energy performance also needs to be equivalent to that of a similar building in compliance with the 2014 New York City Energy Conservation Code (NYCECC). A plan indicating the covered building’s path to reduce the actual building emissions to comply with building emissions limits for 2030-2035 must also be submitted.
Excessive Emissions due to Special Circumstance is effective for building emissions reports during reporting years 2025-2030, provided that the certificate of occupancy has not been amended after December 31, 2018. Applications for buildings eligible for this adjustment are due by January 1, 2025.
Adjustments to emissions limits for Not-for-profit Hospital and Healthcare Facilities
An adjustment to the building emissions limit for both 2024-2029 and 2030-2034 may be granted to not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare facilities. Those facilities must have been in existence and attained their not-for-profit status by November 15, 2019, and for each year that an adjustment is sought.
Not-for-profit classification includes spaces owned or occupied by a not-for-profit hospital or healthcare facility. For 2024-2029 the adjustment to the annual building emissions will equal 85% of the 2018 reported building emissions. For calendar years 2030-2034 the adjustment to the annual building emissions will equal 70% of the 2018 reported building emissions.
Applications for buildings eligible for this adjustment are due by January 1, 2025.