City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York City
New York Moves Forward in Banning Gas Equipment in New Construction—For Now
The state just updated its building code to green-light the forthcoming “all-electric” law that will prohibit the use of gas equipment in new buildings. Meanwhile, a court for the Northern District of New York rejected a legal challenge from fossil fuel industry groups looking to get rid of it.
The law aims to curb the spread of planet-warming gasses from buildings, which are responsible for approximately 30 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas pollution (and 70 percent of the city's, which has had its own ban in place since last year for smaller new properties, while new large buildings will have to abide by the rule come 2027).
Opinion: A Storm is Coming. The State Must Act Now to Make Basement Apartments Safe.
“By refusing to include the hardest-hit neighborhoods in the revamped pilot, New York State is complicit in the ongoing danger facing these residents. Basement safety is not a luxury, it’s a matter of life or death and we need to right this wrong.”
