Page 11 - The NY Cooperator September 2019

COOPERATOR.COM THE COOPERATOR — SEPTEMBER 2019 11 Make the Right Mortgage Choice. $170,000 Brooklyn, NY Residential Underlying Co-Op $300,000 New York, NY Residential Underlying Co-Op/Retail $250,000 Brooklyn, NY Residential Underlying Co-Op 220 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556 • www.FlushingBank.com Patrick Akosah 718.512.2798 MLO #674966 Patrick Dolan 718.512.2817 MLO #1016524 Cindy Lam 718.512.2816 MLO #410081 Daniel Lee 718.593.8067 MLO #64756 Anthony Montalbano 718.512.2731 MLO #1180405 Christopher O’Hara 718.512.2809 MLO #673112 Michael Pollis 718.512.2911 MLO #1703994 Community lending expertise with personal service. At Flushing Bank, we are focused on exceeding your goals. Composed of experienced lenders with local market knowledge, Flushing Bank’s Real Estate Lending team is ready to help you with your real estate mortgage solution. As a leader in community lending, we provide competitive rates, including long-term, fixed-rate loan programs. Call us today to discuss a mortgage solution that is right for you. Flushing Bank is a registered trademark FB 952 - RMU Cooperator UPDATE.indd 1 12/13/18 11:13 AM ing has implemented a co-generation in 40 years ago. So what’s our return on adjusting a structure’s carbon emissions • Conduct an audit to better understand system, switched to LED lighting, and investment? In a 300-unit building with number. “If you’ve applied for PACE fi- reduced the amount of energy used by its an average of nine windows in an apart- elevators when they’re not in operation. ment, you’re looking at a hell of a lot of means to fund this project but were de- “\[The new law\] is putting a real impact on windows.” the budgets of co-ops and condominiums throughout the city,” Grogan says, “be- cause these are things that they weren’t stream for the city. “I don’t want your considered. OBEEP will factor all of these • Begin to execute your strategy, focusing prepared for. So it’s putting a little bit of money, I want your carbon,” he says. “This into consideration before deciding on a fiscal stress on the buildings.” He doesn’t know how much his fel- low owners will have to pay in increased maintenance charges as a result of the emissions law: To him, it comes town to statistics.“There are no...numbers that can show you ‘Hey, if you reduce your carbon footprint, you’re going to be sav- ing X-many dollars on your utility costs.’ So that’s the difficult part. There’s also the insurance aspect of it, because now you’re taking on liabilities for the re- sponsibility of doing certain things, and there are penalties that are involved that are really going to be steep and difficult to absorb. It’s fast and furious right now.” As his building has utilized co-gen and not the cost of doing business. We also of things out of their control. “ changed over to gas, Grogan says there’s believe they equal the cost of upgrades, so not much more that can be done, other not doing the retrofits and simply paying than costly window replacement. “I don’t the fines means you have an ideological ings are at risk of not meeting the emis- know what the payback period on chang- ing windows is. We haven’t looked at that aspect yet, because that’s part of the whole account buildings’ good faith efforts to New York City building automation com- retrofit process...These windows were put meet the caps before issuing a penalty or pany, suggested the following: Constantinides insists that the penal- ties are not intended to provide a revenue still hasn’t hit the number, that will be was designed in a way that the targets can fine. We wanted to make sure that flex- actually be hit. The fines are there to make ibility was there for those who have tried sure this bill has teeth, and that they’re to make the upgrade but couldn’t because gy usage, and then translate that energy opposition to climate change.” He also says the OBEEP will take into pliant with the law. Sentient Buildings, a lower their emissions to a certain level.” nancing, a NYSERDA grant, or other • Based on data from this audit, identify nied, that’ll be considered by OBEEP. And if an owner has attempted retrofits but • Adopt a long-term plan to eliminate en- Plan Now Condo and co-op owners whose build- sions limits can start preparing to be com- your building’s energy usage the most critical problem areas to focus on first ergy waste and increase efficiency on solutions that can lower operating costs in addition to reduce carbon emis- sions “Most buildings in New York City of about 50,000 square feet have been con- ducting an annual benchmarking,” says Sentient Buildings president David Un- ger. “They’ve been performing annual benchmarking work where they’ve been submitting their utility bills to a portfo- lio manager and getting what’s called an energy usage index (EUI) of how well they’re doing.” From a planning standpoint, Unger says the first step for building owners is to understand their building’s past ener- usage into a carbon emissions index and compare that to what the requirements are going to be for the building, “Because the expectations are going to be set in 2024 that buildings are going to have to “Buildings can reduce their carbon emissions by 40 pecent by 2030. But there needs to be a variety of compliance options and fi nancing assistance. Only the rules will clarify whether the City will address those two issues.” — Christopher Rizzo continued on page 14