NYC Green New Deal, Income Discrimination Bills Become Law

NEW YORK CITY — A hodgepodge of bills addressing climate change, income discrimination and rental assistance are now New York City law.

Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the raft of bills during a hearing Tuesday with a weary observation that they were the fruit of work beginning before the coronavirus pandemic.

“As we’re dealing with all of the challenges right now, it’s kind of hard to even remember last year,” he said. “But last year something really, really important happened — we passed the New York City Green New Deal.”

The city’s version of the climate change legislation set strict benchmarks for large buildings — such as the Empire State Building — to eventually reducing their emissions 80 percent by 2050. Officials hope the requirement would not only help protect the planet, but also bring ten of thousands of green new jobs to the city.

The bill package that de Blasio signed Tuesday adds 1,000 new buildings and 100,000 tons of CO2 emissions reduced each year by 2030, he said.

It applies to buildings 25,000 square feet or larger with less than 35 percent of units that are rent regulated.

Council Member Costa Constantinides, who shepherded the measures through the City Council, said it guarantees the promises of the largest climate reduction act of any city. New Yorkers will go back to work and landlords will ultimately save money, he said.

“New York City’s Green New Deal will go beyond our time at City Hall,” he said.

De Blasio then turned to bills he said would help bring a fairer society for New Yorkers.

Those included Council Member Stephen Levin’s bill requiring the city to establish an online database for recipients of rental assistance vouchers. The site will allow people to look up the status of their voucher and if payments were submitted on their behalf, he said.

The final piece of legislation was Council Member Keith Power’s bill banning income discrimination for renters in smaller buildings.