Climate Law Could Shape the Race for New York City’s Next Mayor

Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor has focused on the high cost of living in New York City and the lack of affordable housing.

But Mr. Mamdani’s embrace of an ambitious climate law — called Local Law 97 — could have as much impact on the real estate sector as his better-known plan to freeze the rent on about a million apartments.

Local Law 97, which was approved in 2019, calls for potentially expensive upgrades to the city’s largest buildings in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman, has said he intends to tighten enforcement of the measure. Some critics, however, warn that his approach would create a heavy financial burden on property owners.

“Thousands of buildings are in trouble here, and Local Law 97 and rent freezes will be the end,” said Kenny Burgos, the chief executive of the New York Apartment Association, a landlord advocacy group.

Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist who recently said that he didn’t believe there should be billionaires, has not been shy about asking the city’s affluent to subsidize his platform, which includes free buses and a $30 minimum wage. Mr. Mamdani has also called for freezing the rent on all rent-stabilized apartments, which has sent a chill through some corners of the real estate sector.

He has promised to take the same approach in enforcing Local Law 97, saying in a mayoral forum earlier this year that he would back the measure by “taking on the real estate industry” in the pursuit of “climate justice.”