The Freehand Hotel
Hotel in New York City, NY · 23 Lexington Ave · 10010
At a glance
The Freehand Hotel is a 163,311-square-foot hotel at 23 Lexington Ave in New York City, New York, built in 1929. In its 2022 New York City benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 60 out of 100 (grade C), a site energy-use intensity of 77.2 kBtu/ft² and 911 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 60% of the 853 scored hotel buildings in New York City.
Local Law 84 (LL84) · reporting year 2022
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 60 (band C) |
| Site EUI | 77.2 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 163.5 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 911 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 5.6 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 2,256,424 kWh |
| Gross floor area | 163,311 sq ft |
| Source record | nyc:7530319:2022 |
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
- 23 Lexington Ave
- City
- New York City
- State
- New York
- ZIP
- 10010
- Coordinates
- 40.73970, -73.98459
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in New York City · biggest emitters
How does The Freehand Hotel compare with other hotel buildings in New York City?
The latest disclosures cover 970 hotel buildings in New York City, out of 48,310 buildings citywide. The Freehand Hotel's ENERGY STAR score of 60 compares with an average of 50 across the 853 that report a score; it scores higher than 60% of them and lower than 38%. Its site EUI of 77.2 kBtu/ft² is about 18% below the average of 94.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 5.6 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 28% below the group average of 7.8 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 163,311 sq ft, it is about 19% above the average floor area of 137,256 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1929, 46 years earlier than the group's average year built (1975). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 3,812 hotel buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 65 and a site EUI of 77.8 kBtu/ft².
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. The Freehand Hotel's 77.2 kBtu/ft² across 163,311 sq ft works out to about 12.6 billion Btu (3,695 MWh-equivalent) in 2022. Its source EUI of 163.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,256,424 kWh of electricity for the year.
Which law requires The Freehand Hotel to report its energy use?
The Freehand Hotel 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 2022 disclosure (source record nyc:7530319:2022). 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 hotel buildings in New York City
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- Jamaica JFK Airport NY MHR· 160,551 sq ft · score 58 (C)
- NYC-Tribeca NY SHTN· 160,545 sq ft · score 55 (C)
- Graduate Roosevelt Island - 22 North Loop Road· 159,804 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- Evolution - 560 Seventh Avenue (Margaritaville Resort Times Square)· 159,442 sq ft · score 23 (D)
- 1298 The Fifty Sonesta Select New York· 159,200 sq ft · score 45 (D)
- Hotel buildings in New York City· 970 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 The Freehand Hotel's energy grade?
The Freehand Hotel scores 60 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band C, below median (55–69) — in its 2022 New York City disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does The Freehand Hotel use?
Its 2022 site energy-use intensity was 77.2 kBtu/ft² (163.5 kBtu/ft² source) across 163,311 sq ft, including 2,256,424 kWh of electricity.
What are The Freehand Hotel's carbon emissions?
The Freehand Hotel reported 911 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (5.6 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2022.
Where is The Freehand Hotel?
The Freehand Hotel is at 23 Lexington Ave, in New York City, New York 10010. Its coordinates are 40.73970, -73.98459 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Energy and Water Data Disclosure file.
How big is The Freehand Hotel and when was it built?
The Freehand Hotel has 163,311 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2022 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1929 as its year built. It is classed as hotel.
Is The Freehand Hotel covered by Local Law 84 (LL84)?
Yes — it appears in the 2022 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, “The Freehand Hotel, New York City, New York — 2022 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/new-york-city/the-freehand-hotel-2e68748a (data as of October 2, 2026).