City Councilmember Lincoln Restler of Brooklyn, who confirmed the news with Gothamist on Wednesday, said he plans to introduce his bill during Thursday’s stated meeting. The bill is intended to mimic current local law requiring landlords to provide tenants with heat during the winter months by requiring them to ensure tenants can cool their homes to at least 78 degrees when it is 82 degrees or warmer during the summer, Restler said. — Gothamist
Councilmember Restler, who argues that the new legislation is tantamount to requiring heating in the winter, also told the New York Times it will "save lives as we reckon with the challenges of the climate crisis." Landlords would have a maximum of four years to comply with the mandate.
The Thursday vote comes as meteorologists are saying 2024 is likely on pace to be the hottest year on record.
5 Comments
This seems pretty poorly considered. I have some questions:
1. - The grid can barely cope with excess demand during heatwaves as it stands. Will there be upgrades in the pipeline?
2. - One of the trends in responding to the climate crisis has been to design more smartly, i.e. use passive design measures to reduce heat loads. This law appears to be a handout to the mechanical services industry, and to promote an increase in the burning of fossil fuels. Would a more holistic look at a combination of measures passive and active not make more sense?
3. - Is this law punitive and reactive or proactive? Too often NYC uses punitive measures and restrictions to guide development and change. Is it not better to have a system of incentives as opposed to require landlords to do something? The cost will just be passed on to tenants.
4. - Heat islands and social justice
It is well known that heat islands occur most in historically disadvantaged communities. This is a legacy of redlining and underinvestment in green spaces for which NYC is partly to blame. These are also the areas where landlords will have more difficulty responding to a law like this. Investment in outdoor green spaces is a more efficient way of using taxpayers money than sticking more AC systems on buildings, a measure which increases the ambient temperature in cities.
How is a measure of equity built in? How does the city of new york propose to reduce the ambient temperatures in predominantly black and brown communities in the urban environment?
Agree with 1, 2 and 3 above. 4 doesn't really apply to NYC, everyone is roughly in the same boat as far as abundance of public amenities like parks.
Investing billions of public dollars in air conditioning for about three weeks of above 90 degree weather is a huge waste of money, and bad for the environment. NYC also spends billions on air-conditioned libraries, green parks, and other amenities. It's late July and 83 degrees right now. Comfortable with a fan.
#4 has been well studied. There is a correlation between historically disadvantaged communities, race, and the lack of provision of green amenities, which exacerbates the heat island effect.
https://www.weact.org/2021/07/...
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I wish modern urban design history was more mainstream. The correlation is due mostly to wealthy WASPs getting a head start in moving to the suburbs in the 1930s-60s, the great migration into urban north, and the stagnation since the 70s. This correlation is misleading (by self-serving 'environmental justice' orgs), when cities vary widely in resources from New York to Minneapolis to St. Louis to LA to Jackson.
Either way, it's a good case for the design superiority of tree lined, walkable suburbs. Either way, NYC has much stronger libraries, parks and cool spaces than most cities.
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