New York City has embraced a set of controversial policies that push the limits of green experimentation in seeking to reduce emissions from buildings, kitchen appliances, and cars. Critics argue the new policies are likely to be costly and burdensome for the city’s millions of residents.
New York City has drafted rules to slash carbon emissions from its roughly 50,000 buildings by more than 40% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 — an ambitious goal, especially considering buildings in the city are the source of 70% of its total greenhouse gas emissions. Of particular note, the rules would clamp down on gas stoves.
TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY, OR THE MINORITY OF ONE
Last month, the city gained federal approval for a congestion pricing plan, clearing the way for the contentious effort to take effect as early as April 2024, despite sharp opposition from Garden State neighbors. The plan would approve a tax on vehicles entering the central business district in Manhattan.
And the New York City Department of Environmental Protection even finalized a draft rule in June that seeks to crack down on coal-fired or wood-fired pizza ovens in the city, which could affect dozens of restaurants as well as a beloved style of pizza-making in the Big Apple.
These new programs have helped put New York City at the forefront of U.S. climate change-fighting efforts. But critics argue these new programs saddle residents with higher costs, noting that they could force residents to make costly new upgrades if gas-powered appliances in their buildings are down or need repair, while some workers who commute into Manhattan from neighboring New Jersey will be saddled with sky-high toll fees without the same environmental benefits. And others fear changes to the city’s restaurant scene.
The decisions have placed New York City front and center in the country’s broader culture wars over how to curb emissions, and have pitted environmentalists against fossil fuel advocates and others who say making the switch to renewables or all-electric appliances too quickly could come at the cost of reliability, or at a pace that consumers simply cannot afford.
Here’s a breakdown of what the city has done so far.
Congestion pricing
Last month, the Federal Highway Administration granted New York City its final approval for its congestion pricing plan, clearing the way for the city’s Metropolitan Transit Agency to impose new toll rates for drivers, years after the concept was first introduced in 2007 by then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Though the city has yet to finalize a price, one proposal under consideration would impose costs of up to $23 for drivers entering midtown during rush hour and up to $17 during off-peak hours.
The plan has been hailed as a victory by New Yorkers, including Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), who said it will reduce congestion for Manhattan drivers and improve the city’s air quality.
The plan will also help upgrade the city’s metro system, delivering the “modern, reliable, accessible subway” that New Yorkers, commuters, and visitors to the city “need and deserve,” Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for the New York-based Riders Alliance, told the Washington Examiner in an interview.
But it has generated sharp opposition from neighbors in New Jersey, including Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ), a staunch critic of the plan who has argued it was passed without proper environmental approval (the signoff was given on a nearly 1,000-page environmental assessment that included a finding of no significant impact).
Building emissions
Earlier this year, New York became the first state in the country to ban natural gas stoves and furnaces in most new buildings. By the year 2026, the law requires all new buildings under seven stories to have all fully electric appliances, while taller buildings will have until 2029 to make the change.
New York City, for its part, has even stricter standards: Local Law 97, passed in 2018, requires most new buildings under seven stories to have all-electric appliances beginning in 2024, with the requirement extending to most taller buildings beginning in the year 2027.
The city has estimated that roughly 4,000 buildings could fall short of the standards under the emissions rule after it takes effect next year.
And some state lawmakers, even Democrats, have taken issue with the timeline, noting their constituents’ concerns over potential cost increases and reliability fears.
“I would prefer that we incentivize electric buildings, either through tax credits or other proposals, rather than forcing it as an issue because there’s a lot of concern and angst in particular in western New York,” New York Democratic Assemblywoman Monica Wallace said earlier this year.
“We shouldn’t necessarily ban people from pursuing other options if that’s what they want,” she added.
So far, bans on gas stoves and gas furnaces have been passed largely at the state and local level, especially after a federal regulator ignited controversy earlier this year when he suggested in an interview that gas stoves would be banned at the federal level on safety grounds.
In response, lawmakers introduced the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, a bill seeking to prohibit the Department of Energy from implementing any gas stove ban or restriction at the federal level.
Pizza ovens
Other changes could affect New York City’s world-famous pizza scene.
New rules drafted by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection would require restaurants that use coal-fired or wood-fired ovens to slash their carbon emissions by up to 75% — forcing many restaurant owners to make pricey new renovations to their kitchens.
According to the text of the draft rule, any restaurants in the city using coal-fired or wood-fired ovens installed before 2016 would be required to install a special filter to slash the oven’s emissions by 75% and hire an engineer or architect to attest that such a filter indeed achieves the reduction of carbon emissions and particulate matter.
While it’s unclear just how pricey the updates would be, one Brooklyn restaurant owner told the New York Post in June that he had already spent $20,000 on the filter in anticipation of the city’s rule.
As many as 100 restaurants in the city could be affected. Earlier this month, one conservative activist and artist protested the rule by throwing multiple pizzas at New York City Hall, chanting, “Give us pizza or give us death!”
Others in the city have praised the regulation.
“All New Yorkers deserve to breathe healthy air and wood and coal-fired stoves are among the largest contributors of harmful pollutants in neighborhoods with poor air quality,” DEP spokesman Ted Timbers said in a statement last month. “This common-sense rule, developed with restaurant and environmental justice groups, requires a professional review of whether installing emission controls is feasible.”
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Broader climate efforts
New York City also became the first major U.S. city to divest its major pensions from fossil fuels as part of its goal of reaching net-zero emissions across its entire portfolio by 2040. City officials have said it plans to divest roughly $4 billion worth of fossil fuel investments by that date.
In May, three major firms announced a lawsuit against the city’s decision, which also seeks to double their investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency, according to city officials.
