281 Union Brooklyn
Multifamily Housing in New York City, NY · 281 UNION AVE · 11211
At a glance
281 Union Brooklyn is a 30,893-square-foot multifamily housing building at 281 UNION AVE in New York City, New York, built in 2013. In its 2024 New York City benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 24 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 43.8 kBtu/ft² and 152 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 14% 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 | 24 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 43.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 118.9 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 152 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 4.9 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 376,929 kWh |
| Natural gas | 673 therms |
| Gross floor area | 30,893 sq ft |
| Source record | nyc:21359909:2024 |
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
- 281 UNION AVE
- City
- New York City
- State
- New York
- ZIP
- 11211
- Coordinates
- 40.70871, -73.95076
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in New York City · biggest emitters
How does 281 Union Brooklyn 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. 281 Union Brooklyn's ENERGY STAR score of 24 compares with an average of 63 across the 22,829 that report a score; it scores higher than 14% of them and lower than 85%. Its site EUI of 43.8 kBtu/ft² is about 42% 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 4.9 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 5.2 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 30,893 sq ft, it is about 69% below the average floor area of 100,951 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2013, 61 years later 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.
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 24 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 24 means the building performs better than about 24% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 24 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 51 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. 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. 281 Union Brooklyn's 43.8 kBtu/ft² across 30,893 sq ft works out to about 1.4 billion Btu (397 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 118.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 376,929 kWh of electricity and 673 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 281 Union Brooklyn to report its energy use?
281 Union Brooklyn 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:21359909:2024). 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
- Pinnacle - 660 Riverside Drive· 30,886 sq ft · score 55 (C)
- Crosstown Management : 1560 West 6 Street· 30,884 sq ft · score 96 (A)
- 473 EAST LLC· 30,880 sq ft · score 14 (D)
- Dov Management - 459 East 92nd Street· 30,880 sq ft · score 22 (D)
- Jc Dwight: 109 East 115th St· 30,876 sq ft · EUI 45.6 kBtu/ft²
- Coltown - 137 West 137th Street· 30,876 sq ft · score 81 (B)
- 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 281 Union Brooklyn's energy grade?
281 Union Brooklyn scores 24 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2024 New York City disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 281 Union Brooklyn use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 43.8 kBtu/ft² (118.9 kBtu/ft² source) across 30,893 sq ft, including 376,929 kWh of electricity and 673 therms of natural gas.
What are 281 Union Brooklyn's carbon emissions?
281 Union Brooklyn reported 152 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (4.9 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2024.
Where is 281 Union Brooklyn?
281 Union Brooklyn is at 281 UNION AVE, in New York City, New York 11211. Its coordinates are 40.70871, -73.95076 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Energy and Water Data Disclosure file.
How big is 281 Union Brooklyn and when was it built?
281 Union Brooklyn has 30,893 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2013 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is 281 Union Brooklyn 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, “281 Union Brooklyn, New York City, New York — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/new-york-city/281-union-brooklyn-142f0fed (data as of October 2, 2026).