LEED® Rating Level Requirement

City-owned and city-funded, non-City-owned projects with an estimated construction cost of $2,000,000* or more involving the construction of a new building, an addition to an existing building, or the substantial reconstruction of an existing building, across most occupancy groups, are required to be designed and constructed to achieve a LEED® Gold or higher rating.

Energy Use Intensity

City-owned projects involving the construction of a new building, an addition to an existing building, or the substantial reconstruction of an existing building that involve substantial work on the building envelope, across most occupancy groups, are required to be designed as a low energy intensity building. In most instances, a low energy intensity building according to the requirements outlined in the law is one designed and constructed such that its energy use intensity is the less stringent the following:

• 50 percent of the energy intensity of a baseline building designed according to ASHRAE 90.1-2013.
• A median source energy use intensity of 38 kBTU/yr per square foot of floor area for new buildings, and for additions to, or substantial reconstructions of, existing buildings, a source energy use intensity of 42 kBTU/yr per square foot of floor area.

City-funded, non-City-owned projects involving the construction of a new building, an addition to an existing building, or the substantial reconstruction of an existing building that involve substantial work on the building envelope, constructed with City funding, and with an estimated construction cost of $12,000,000* or more are required to be designed and constructed to reduce energy use intensity by 25 percent compared to a baseline building minimally compliant with ASHRAE 90.12-2013.; projects with an estimated construction cost of $30,000,000* must reduce energy use intensity by 30 percent.

City-owned and City-funded projects involving the substantial reconstruction of an existing building that does not involve substantial work on the building envelope are required to reduce energy use intensity compared to existing energy performance.

HVAC System Installations and Replacements

Capital projects that are not subject to LEED® or energy use intensity standards and that solely include an HVAC system upgrade at the estimated construction cost of $2,000,000* or more are required to reduce energy use intensity by a minimum of 10 percent compared to a baseline building minimally compliant with current New York City Energy Conservation Code.

Plumbing

Each project involving the installation or replacement of plumbing systems that includes the installation or replacement of plumbing fixtures at an estimated construction cost of $500,000* or more must be designed and constructed to reduce potable water consumption in the aggregate by a minimum of 30 percent, as determined by a methodology not less stringent than that prescribed in LEED water efficiency: indoor water use reduction credit.

*Cost thresholds are based on January 2022 dollars. Please reference US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator to assess a project’s applicable requirements based on its estimated construction cost.

Applicability and Criteria Maps