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NYC Local Law 97 (LL97) in Scaler

NYC Local Law 97 (LL97) in Scaler

How Scaler identifies, maps, and evaluates compliance with New York City Local Law 97 (LL97), a Building Performance Standard.

Last updated on December 30, 2025

Purpose

This article explains how Local Law 97 (LL97) is represented in Scaler, including which buildings are considered in scope, how emissions performance is evaluated, and how LL97 analytics can be used to support compliance monitoring and decision-making.

Overview

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are regulations that require large buildings to meet progressively stricter energy or carbon emissions limits over time.

New York City’s Local Law 97 (LL97) is a prominent example, mandating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions for large buildings and penalising owners that exceed defined emissions thresholds.

Scaler supports LL97 by calculating emissions intensity, assigning applicable thresholds, and visualising compliance status for eligible assets.

LL97 building coverage in Scaler

Local Law 97 applies to buildings that meet one of the following criteria:

  • A single building exceeding 25,000 gross square feet
  • Two or more buildings on the same tax lot that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet
  • Two or more buildings owned by a condominium association governed by the same board that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet

Note: Scaler does not currently evaluate LL97 applicability across tax lots or condominium ownership structures automatically.

Scaler implements only the first criterion (single building > 25,000 gross square feet).

How Scaler maps LL97 to assets

LL97 applicability and compliance are determined using asset-level and building-unit-level data entered in Scaler.

Key fields used include:

  • Country
  • City
  • Postal code
  • Gross floor area
  • ESPM Property type
  • Building Unit Unit floor area

Building unit coverage requirement

LL97 thresholds are assigned based on Building Unit property types.

To calculate LL97 compliance:

  • Building Units must collectively cover 100% of the asset’s GFA – Tenant area
  • If Building Unit coverage is incomplete, Scaler cannot calculate LL97 compliance

Weighted thresholds for mixed-use buildings

For assets with multiple ESPM property types, Scaler calculates a weighted LL97 emissions intensity threshold based on Building Unit floor area. This ensures mixed-use buildings are evaluated proportionally across their constituent uses.

WeightedTarget = Σ(UnitArea × LL97ThresholdForUnitType) ÷ Σ(UnitArea)

How Scaler determines LL97 applicability

Step 1 — Location rules

An asset is considered subject to LL97 if:

  • Country = United States, and
  • Postal code corresponds to New York City:
    • Manhattan: 10001–10292
    • Staten Island: 10301–10314
    • Bronx: 10451–10475
    • Brooklyn: 11201–11256
    • Queens: 11354–11697

If postal code is missing, Scaler may infer location from City or borough name.

Step 2 — Size threshold

LL97 applies only if the asset’s Gross floor area exceeds statutory minimums for the first criterion:

  • A single building exceeding 25,000 gross square feet

Step 3 — Assigning LL97 thresholds

Thresholds are assigned based on Building Unit property types:

  • Single-use assets → single LL97 threshold
  • Mixed-use assets → weighted LL97 threshold

Step 4 — Compliance calculation

Compliance status is determined by comparing:

  • ghg_emissions_intensity_kgco2e_m2_yr (actual)
  • Weighted LL97 emissions intensity limit (target)

Result categories:

  • Compliant
  • Non-compliant
  • Insufficient data

Where LL97 information appears in Scaler

Data Collection Portal

  • Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Asset List → edit → Building Units
    • Define ESPM Property type
    • Enter Unit floor area
    • Ensure full coverage of GFA – Tenant area via one or more units
  • Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Asset → Overview
    • LL97 applicability indicators
    • Missing-data warnings

Analytics Portal

At Portfolio and Asset levels, Scaler displays:

  • LL97 applicability
  • LL97 emissions thresholds
  • Actual GHGi vs. LL97 targets
  • Compliance status
  • Visualisations in Roadmap → GHG emissions

Required data for LL97 evaluation

To calculate LL97 compliance, populate:

Required

  • Country
  • City
  • Postal code
  • Gross floor area
  • Building Unit:
    • ESPM Property type
    • Unit floor area

Recommended

  • Clear Building Unit names
  • Confirmation that Building Unit totals equal GFA – Tenant area

Common reasons LL97 does not calculate

If LL97 compliance does not appear for an asset, it is typically due to one or more of the following:

  • Incomplete Building Unit coverage

      • Building Units do not collectively cover 100% of GFA – Tenant area. LL97 thresholds cannot be assigned without full coverage.

  • Missing or invalid location data

      • One or more of the following fields is missing or inconsistent:

    • Country
    • City
    • Postal code

        • If postal code is unavailable, Scaler attempts to infer location from city or borough name.

  • Asset does not meet Scaler’s implemented size criterion

      • Scaler currently evaluates LL97 only for:

    • Single buildings exceeding 25,000 gross square feet

        • Assets that qualify only under tax-lot aggregation or condominium ownership criteria are not evaluated.

  • Building Unit property types not LL97-mapped

      • Building Units must use ESPM-included property types that can be mapped to LL97 thresholds.

  • Missing emissions intensity data

      • Actual ghg_emissions_intensity_kgco2e_m2_yr cannot be calculated due to incomplete energy or emissions data.

  • Asset marked inactive for analytics

      • Assets inactive in analytics are excluded from LL97 calculations and visualisations.

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