Bethune Towers
Multifamily Housing in New York City, NY · 650 Lenox Avenue · 10037
At a glance
Bethune Towers is a 129,386-square-foot multifamily housing building at 650 Lenox Avenue in New York City, New York, built in 1970. In its 2023 New York City benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 60 out of 100 (grade C), a site energy-use intensity of 79.2 kBtu/ft² and 822 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 41% of the 22,829 scored multifamily housing buildings in New York City.
Local Law 84 (LL84) · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 60 (band C) |
| Site EUI | 79.2 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 108.7 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 822 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 6.4 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 604,794 kWh |
| Natural gas | 4,518 therms |
| Gross floor area | 129,386 sq ft |
| Source record | nyc:19920669:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 60 | -40 | 79.2 kBtu/ft² | 822 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 100 | 20.5 kBtu/ft² | 210 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
- 650 Lenox Avenue
- City
- New York City
- State
- New York
- ZIP
- 10037
- Coordinates
- 40.81878, -73.93675
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in New York City · biggest emitters
How does Bethune Towers 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. Bethune Towers's ENERGY STAR score of 60 compares with an average of 63 across the 22,829 that report a score; it scores higher than 41% of them and lower than 58%. Its site EUI of 79.2 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 74.9 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 6.4 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 23% above the group average of 5.2 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 129,386 sq ft, it is about 28% above the average floor area of 100,951 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1970, 18 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.
How has Bethune Towers's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 2 New York City disclosures for Bethune Towers, covering report years 2022–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 100 in 2022 to 60 in 2023 (-40 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 100. Site EUI moved from 20.5 kBtu/ft² (2022) to 79.2 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 286% increase. Reported emissions went from 210 tCO₂e to 822 tCO₂e over the same span (up 292%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 60 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 60 means the building performs better than about 60% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 60 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 15 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. Bethune Towers's 79.2 kBtu/ft² across 129,386 sq ft works out to about 10.2 billion Btu (3,003 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 108.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 604,794 kWh of electricity and 4,518 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Bethune Towers to report its energy use?
Bethune Towers 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 2023 disclosure (source record nyc:19920669:2023). 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
- M&R Management: 2365 East 13 Street· 129,330 sq ft · score 75 (B)
- The Novo Condominium (353 4 AVENUE)· 129,312 sq ft · score 47 (D)
- 215 North 10th Street Condominium (215 North 10th Street)· 129,298 sq ft · score 94 (A)
- 805 Columbus Avenue· 129,297 sq ft · score 6 (D)
- Century - 1720 Mayflower Avenue· 129,290 sq ft · score 70 (B)
- DEPM 4050 - 205-215 East 22nd St· 129,223 sq ft · EUI 36.0 kBtu/ft²
- 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 Bethune Towers's energy grade?
Bethune Towers scores 60 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band C, below median (55–69) — in its 2023 New York City disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Bethune Towers use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 79.2 kBtu/ft² (108.7 kBtu/ft² source) across 129,386 sq ft, including 604,794 kWh of electricity and 4,518 therms of natural gas.
What are Bethune Towers's carbon emissions?
Bethune Towers reported 822 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (6.4 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Bethune Towers?
Bethune Towers is at 650 Lenox Avenue, in New York City, New York 10037. Its coordinates are 40.81878, -73.93675 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Energy and Water Data Disclosure file.
How big is Bethune Towers and when was it built?
Bethune Towers has 129,386 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1970 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is Bethune Towers covered by Local Law 84 (LL84)?
Yes — it appears in the 2023 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, “Bethune Towers, New York City, New York — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/new-york-city/bethune-towers-06058cd1 (data as of October 2, 2026).