Mayor Eric Adams is expected to visit North Shore Towers, a sprawling co-op complex in eastern Queens, to discuss how the state’s green energy mandates are impacting thousands of city residents, particularly those living in large, self-managed residential buildings like the Towers.
Located on the Queens-Nassau border, North Shore Towers is made up of three 33-story buildings housing nearly 1,900 units. The visit was prompted by concerns raised by the co-op board about the financial burden posed by Local Law 97, a citywide initiative to curb greenhouse gas emissions in large buildings.
“A ‘going green initiative,’ everyone’s for that. But things have to be rolled out in a reasonable manner,” said Martin Schwartzman, president of the North Shore Towers co-op board. “It is breaking the backs of co-ops.”
Schwartzman said board members first approached the mayor during a previous visit to the complex, requesting a town hall-style meeting to address the mounting costs of compliance with Local Law 97 and other sustainability mandates. While a date for the meeting has not yet been set, the mayor’s upcoming visit signals progress toward opening that dialogue.
Passed in 2019, Local Law 97 requires buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to meet strict greenhouse gas emission limits starting in 2024, with even tighter caps set to take effect in 2030. Schwartzman warned that the law could saddle North Shore Towers — and similar co-ops across Queens — with millions in upgrade costs and additional fines, despite their existing investments in energy efficiency.
He noted that North Shore Towers operates its own independent power plant and is not connected to the Con Edison grid. “Our power source is more efficient than Con Edison’s, but the city is telling us to hook into their system anyway,” Schwartzman said. “It’s an unworkable plan, and it’s unfunded.”
The prospect of being forced to connect to the city’s power infrastructure — at a cost of millions — has fueled anxiety among residents of the decades-old co-op, many of whom are older adults living on fixed incomes.
Queens elected officials have regularly visited the complex during campaign seasons, Schwartzman said, but the current situation calls for long-term policy solutions, not political gestures. “We’re asking [Mayor Adams] for help,” he said.
The issue is expected to resonate in other parts of Queens, where aging co-ops and condo buildings face similar challenges complying with Local Law 97. As the city advances toward its climate goals, residents at North Shore Towers are hoping their concerns help shape a more practical path forward.
