FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MULTI-FAMILY BUILDING OWNERS and managers

Available Programs

What is Local Law 97?

In April 2019, New York City passed the 'NYC Climate Mobilization Act.' As part of this legislation, Local Law 97 requires some buildings over 25,000 GSF to meet carbon emission caps by 2024 or pay steep fines. LL97 fines, which can exceed $1,000,000 per year for the worse polluters, will push approximately 30,000 buildings in NYC to make upgrades. Carbon emission caps will be revised in 2030 and again in 2034 till 2050. Owners should be proactive in establishing a plan for compliance.

How can we help you?

Paul A. Castrucci Architects provides Energy Master Plans that allow building owners and managers to map out cost effective, short to long term strategies for Local Law 97 Compliance. We are currently working with NYSERDA to secure funding that will offset from 50% to 100% of the cost of the Energy Master Plans through the Flexible Technical Assistance program.

Local Law 97 visualized: carbon emission for existing multifamily buildings, current code build, and carbon emission caps for 2024, 2030 and 2050.

As leaders in implementing sustainable and energy efficient measures in building design, Paul A. Castrucci, Architects (PCA) seeks to leverage our clients’ capital investments to maximize their economic, sustainability and quality of life value. With 30 years experience as architects and designers in New York City, and with our in-house energy analysis services, we are able to view our projects holistically, and use iterative design and analysis to find common sense solutions for our clients.

As part of our services, we seek to identify potential funding opportunities to offset the cost of energy efficiency upgrades. Below, we have listed some of the funding opportunities currently available. We would be pleased to discuss a strategy for energy efficiency improvements and LL 97 compliance with you and your team. Please reach out to us at any of the contacts below with questions, comments, or to set up a time to discuss in more detail:

1. NYSERDA Flextech Program

NYSERDA offers cost-sharing to develop an Energy Master Plan. Owners may be eligible for up to 50% cost-sharing of this study through the NYSERDA Flexible Technical Assistance (FlexTech) Program.

NYSERDA may also cover the remaining 50% of the study if the owner implements one or more energy conservation measures recommended through the Energy Master Plan. To secure this funding, building owners must apply before June 30th, 2021.

2. NYSERDA Multifamily Performance Program (MPP)

Funding opportunities are also available for affordable multifamily customers through the NYSERDA Multifamily Performance Program (MPP) when retrofitting a building. The program caps funding at $1500 per dwelling unit.

3. NYSERDA Enhanced Heat Pump Incentives

These incentives may be available to some multifamily customers who install heat pumps.

Air Source Heat Pumps – $2,000 per dwelling unit
Ground Source Heat Pumps – $4,000 per dwelling unit
Heat Pump Water Heaters – $900 per dwelling unit
Electrical Service Upgrade – $1,500 per dwelling unit

Additional funding for installing heat pumps is also available through your utility provider.

4. Solar Systems Funding

Funding for installing Solar Systems is available through multiple sources.

NY SUN incentives (NYSERDA) cover up to 20 to 25% of the project cost.
Federal tax credits cover an additional 22 to 30% of the upfront cost to owners.
Owners can also apply for depreciation tax credits for their solar system.

5. On-Site Energy Manager Program (OSEM)

Energy managers are responsible for creating efficient processes that decrease cost and waste—helping owners achieve leaner operations. NYSERDA's OSEM program offers a 75 percent cost-share for multifamily buildings to hire a dedicated, full-time on-site energy manager.

Exterior photo of 544 E 13th Street. Paul A. Castrucci Architects retrofitted 544 E 13th Street and 377 E 10th Street, two multifamily projects with over 10,000 SF in 2018. Our benchmarked data that puts our retrofit building’s energy performance within the top 5% in the city for its energy use.

39 Lawrence Street was the site of an old turn-of-the-century industrial factory space retrofitted using the Passive House Standard to become a workspace, gallery, and living space of an artist couple.