Some residential managers are not waiting for the last minute to get their buildings ready local law 97Which begins at the end of the year and requires a comprehensive overhaul of the heating system.
As we pointed out, the law asks most city buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to certain levels or face hefty fines.
Argo Real Estate manages 130 buildings with 13,000 apartments in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. Executive Vice President Gustavo Rusconi said they are “working together [co-op and condo] Board since 2019, when the law was passed.
Today, Rusconi said, “I’m pleased to say that only six of our buildings are not yet in compliance.”
He said that while Not easy or cheap to conform to LL 97It is far from impossible.
No Argo-managed buildings switched to electric heat. “It’s cost prohibitive,” Rusconi said. But they have helped customers find ways to significantly reduce emissions by adapting old boilers to new requirements. The purpose was to avoid getting a new boiler, which could cost as much as $250,000 for a 100-unit building.
In some cases, the trick was to adapt the boilers to dual-fuel systems using both oil and gas.
Or, “Where the boilers were in good condition, we changed the burners from No. 6 oil to No. 2 oil.” Rusconi explained, “No. 6 is a high pollutant, much like tar. Number 2 is less polluting.”
Argo worked with engineers “to see that the boilers were operating properly,” critical to reducing emissions. One step was to install sensors that monitor temperature and reduce the number of times the boiler has to be turned on and off.
Rusconi said most of the upgrades were paid for through assessments. “But we also worked with the heating companies to finance part of the installations and in some cases refinance the mortgage.”