We’re here to help you find practical, cost-efficient solutions to electrify your building, and meet the benchmarks set by New York’s ambitious Local Law 97 (LL97). *
KESTREL ENERGY COMPLIANCE works with your NYC coop or condo board to devise and implement a strategy to tackle the challenge of New York’s ambitious Local Law 97 (LL97).* We help you chart a course that uses all of the time allotted, until 2050, with an approach tailored to your individual needs and management style.
We do this by:
Assessing your building’s current energy standing to determine what immediate goals need to be met in order to comply with LL97.
Creating a viable action plan and timeline for your building, customized to its current energy profile and budget, including short-, mid- and long-term goals that will keep you on pace to achieve legal compliance.
Providing an analysis of your building’s capital plan as it relates to the 25-year span of the Climate Mobilization Act (CMA).
Helping you connect with, and retain, the best vendors to complete the energy upgrades your building needs.
Best of all, when your building follows an achievable and affordable plan toward energy efficiency and decarbonization, your home will be more comfortable and the world will be a better place.
* Scroll down for detailed information about LL97.
About Us
Through 16 years of leading his own coop board and working with other residential buildings, Thom Ostrowski has gained considerable expertise in guiding coop and condo boards through the complex process of finding energy solutions in a rapidly changing landscape.
Thom’s expertise in the decarbonization of buildings, and his grasp of emerging technologies, comes from hands-on experience as well as frequent discussions with thought leaders in the space. By keeping up to date with the ever-shifting array of city, state and federal incentive programs, as well as little-known financing options available to coops and condos, he can optimize financial savings for buildings. His goal is to help boards tackle mandated energy upgrades while performing regularly planned upkeep.
Thom holds a Certificate in Business and Environmental Sustainability from SUNY Empire College, and has participated in numerous Building Energy Exchange panels exploring decarbonization pathways for coops and condos. Thom is deeply committed to staying abreast of evolving trends and technology, and finding ways to tailor them to the needs of the coop and condo sector.
Our Philosophy
Local Law 97 (LL97) requires New York building owners to find an efficient pathway to full electrification by the year 2050. Because coops and condos follow a unique ownership model — one where responsibility and decision-making is shared by a group rather than a single owner — their elected boards face unique challenges from this new law.
There are lots of solutions to better energy efficiency, but there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Your building — depending on its size, its age, its current systems and the sustainability work already undertaken — demands a customized and particular plan. Kestrel Energy Compliance can help coop and condo boards identify the solutions that best suit your building’s particular style and needs.
Kestrel Energy Compliance helps coop and condo boards navigate and integrate the Climate Mobilization Act into their ongoing operations, those system upgrades (new boiler, new roof, window maintenance, etc.) that every building undertakes. We work directly with boards and their building managers to find the best pathways towards compliance with LL97, this new requirement to building ownership.
Our commitment to sustainability does not blind us to the realities of collective ownership. We work hard to strike a balance between high-minded environmental ideals and pragmatism. The resulting plans make the way forward to compliance proactive. We will help you integrate necessary energy upgrades into planned and unplanned building projects.
Once we Identify your building’s specific needs, we match them to the resources currently on offer. The landscape shifts according to available funding, discounts and grants so we’re dedicated to staying on top of the current “climate” climate. This attention to detail is key to navigating the CMA and its increasingly strict limits on emissions over the next twenty-five years.
Factoring your building’s annual budget — as well as current and projected maintenance fees and common costs — into the mix, Kestrel Energy Compliance will create a holistic plan for your board. The plan, which can be short-, mid-term or extend through the 2050 LL97 deadline, can help your building stay on track and on budget, as well as taking advantage of funding opportunities and regular building upkeep.
*About NYC Local Law 97 (LL97)
Buildings account for approximately two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions in New York City, and both Mayor Adams as well as prior mayors have pledged to address these emissions as part of their plans to make the city carbon neutral by 2050.
Local Law 97 is one of the most ambitious plans for reducing emissions in the nation. Local Law 97 was included in the Climate Mobilization Act, passed by the City Council in April 2019 as part of the Mayor’s New York City Green New Deal.
Under this groundbreaking law, most buildings over 25,000 square feet are required to meet new energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions limits as of 2024, with stricter limits coming into effect in 2030. The goal is to reduce the emissions produced by the city’s largest buildings 40 percent by 2030 and net zero by 2050. The law also established the Local Law 97 Advisory Board and Climate Working Groups to advise the city on how best to meet these aggressive sustainability goals.
Local Law 97 generally covers, with some exceptions:
Buildings that exceed 25,000 gross square feet;
Two or more buildings on the same tax lot that together exceed 50,000 square feet;
Two or more buildings owned by a condo association that are governed by the same board of managers and that together exceed 50,000 square feet.
Further details regarding emissions limits, as well as information on buildings that are exempt from Local Law 97 requirements can be found at the Department of Buildings (DOB) Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting website. Local Law 97 of 2019 was amended by Local Law 147 of 2019, and additional amendments have followed. The amended version of Local Law 97 of 2019 can be reviewed in §28-320 and §28-321 of the Administrative Code.
Please visit New York City’s Sustainable Buildings website regularly for updated information. For additional information on the Department of Buildings’ sustainability efforts, visit the Department of Buildings Sustainability page.
Additional Resources
CLICK HERE for a link to New York City’s LL97 Information Page
CLICK HERE for a link to BEEx (NYC Building Department’s Energy Exchange Information Page)
Building Energy Exchange has many handy resources. This calculator lets you see where your building stands in regards to meeting benchmark requirements. Be sure to read the instructions: there is a handy “Find Your Building” function in the pull down menu on the upper right hand side. No need to manually fill in the information required!
The NYC Accelerator is a free service set up by the city to help building find pathways to compliance.
