279 Sterling Place
Multifamily Housing in New York City, NY · 689 Vanderbilt Avenue · 11238
At a glance
279 Sterling Place is a 41,000-square-foot multifamily housing building at 689 Vanderbilt Avenue in New York City, New York, built in 1924. In its 2024 New York City benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 75 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 65.8 kBtu/ft² and 178 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 57% of the 22,829 scored multifamily housing buildings in New York City.
Local Law 84 (LL84) · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 75 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 65.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 92.9 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 178 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 4.3 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 163,668 kWh |
| Natural gas | 21,401 therms |
| Gross floor area | 41,000 sq ft |
| Source record | nyc:6570848:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 75 | -1 | 65.8 kBtu/ft² | 178 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 76 | -1 | 63.9 kBtu/ft² | 170 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 77 | 68.4 kBtu/ft² | 167 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Local Law 84 (LL84)
Under Local Law 97, buildings over 25,000 sq ft face carbon caps with fines of $268 per metric ton of CO₂e over the limit, phasing in from 2024.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 689 Vanderbilt Avenue
- City
- New York City
- State
- New York
- ZIP
- 11238
- Coordinates
- 40.67624, -73.96936
Within ~1 km
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- 620 Atlantic Avenuescore —
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- Atlantic Centerscore —
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See also: most efficient in New York City · biggest emitters
How does 279 Sterling Place compare with other multifamily housing buildings in New York City?
The latest disclosures cover 33,022 multifamily housing buildings in New York City, out of 48,310 buildings citywide. 279 Sterling Place's ENERGY STAR score of 75 compares with an average of 63 across the 22,829 that report a score; it scores higher than 57% of them and lower than 42%. Its site EUI of 65.8 kBtu/ft² is about 12% below the average of 74.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 4.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 17% below the group average of 5.2 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 41,000 sq ft, it is about 59% below the average floor area of 100,951 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1924, 28 years earlier than the group's average year built (1952). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².
How has 279 Sterling Place's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 3 New York City disclosures for 279 Sterling Place, covering report years 2022–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 77 in 2022 to 75 in 2024 (-2 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 77. Site EUI moved from 68.4 kBtu/ft² (2022) to 65.8 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 4% decrease. Reported emissions went from 167 tCO₂e to 178 tCO₂e over the same span (up 7%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 75 mean?
ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 75 means the building performs better than about 75% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 75 falls in band B — above median (70–84). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In New York City, 43% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.
Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. 279 Sterling Place's 65.8 kBtu/ft² across 41,000 sq ft works out to about 2.7 billion Btu (791 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 92.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 163,668 kWh of electricity and 21,401 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 279 Sterling Place to report its energy use?
279 Sterling Place reports under Local Law 84 (LL84), the legal basis of New York City's Energy and Water Data Disclosure program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record nyc:6570848:2024). Under Local Law 97, buildings over 25,000 sq ft face carbon caps with fines of $268 per metric ton of CO₂e over the limit, phasing in from 2024.
More multifamily housing buildings in New York City
- 1083 Longfellow Avenue: 1083 Longfellow Avenue· 40,998 sq ft · score 63 (C)
- Chestnut - 643 Southern Boulevard· 40,992 sq ft · score 47 (D)
- 651 Southern Boulevard· 40,992 sq ft · score 73 (B)
- 142-27 Barclay Avenue· 40,991 sq ft · score 77 (B)
- Vanderbilt - 142-27 Barclay ave· 40,991 sq ft · score 51 (D)
- 540 West 145th Street· 40,990 sq ft · score 7 (D)
- Multifamily Housing buildings in New York City· 33,022 benchmarked
- All New York City benchmarked buildings· Local Law 84 (LL84)
- Most efficient large buildings in New York City
- Least efficient large buildings in New York City
- Biggest emitters in New York City
Frequently asked questions
What is 279 Sterling Place's energy grade?
279 Sterling Place scores 75 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2024 New York City disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 279 Sterling Place use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 65.8 kBtu/ft² (92.9 kBtu/ft² source) across 41,000 sq ft, including 163,668 kWh of electricity and 21,401 therms of natural gas.
What are 279 Sterling Place's carbon emissions?
279 Sterling Place reported 178 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (4.3 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2024.
Where is 279 Sterling Place?
279 Sterling Place is at 689 Vanderbilt Avenue, in New York City, New York 11238. Its coordinates are 40.67624, -73.96936 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Energy and Water Data Disclosure file.
How big is 279 Sterling Place and when was it built?
279 Sterling Place has 41,000 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1924 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is 279 Sterling Place covered by Local Law 84 (LL84)?
Yes — it appears in the 2024 Energy and Water Data Disclosure disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under Local Law 84 (LL84).
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About this data
Source: Energy and Water Data Disclosure (Local Law 84 (LL84)), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “279 Sterling Place, New York City, New York — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/new-york-city/279-sterling-place-318df2f1 (data as of October 2, 2026).