The Salem House
Multifamily Housing in New York City, NY · 520 East 81st Street · 10028
At a glance
The Salem House is a 111,177-square-foot multifamily housing building at 520 East 81st Street in New York City, New York, built in 1955. In its 2023 New York City benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 66 out of 100 (grade C), a site energy-use intensity of 86.6 kBtu/ft² and 587 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 46% 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 | 66 (band C) |
| Site EUI | 86.6 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 112.2 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 587 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 5.3 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 396,848 kWh |
| Natural gas | 82,722 therms |
| Water use | 3,848 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 111,177 sq ft |
| Source record | nyc:5019047:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 66 | -9 | 86.6 kBtu/ft² | 587 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 75 | 85.8 kBtu/ft² | 549 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
- 520 East 81st Street
- City
- New York City
- State
- New York
- ZIP
- 10028
- Coordinates
- 40.77222, -73.94836
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in New York City · biggest emitters
How does The Salem House 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. The Salem House's ENERGY STAR score of 66 compares with an average of 63 across the 22,829 that report a score; it scores higher than 46% of them and lower than 52%. Its site EUI of 86.6 kBtu/ft² is about 16% above the average of 74.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 5.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 5.2 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 111,177 sq ft, it is about 10% above the average floor area of 100,951 sq ft for those buildings. Its 1955 construction date is close to 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 The Salem House's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 2 New York City disclosures for The Salem House, covering report years 2022–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 75 in 2022 to 66 in 2023 (-9 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 75. Site EUI moved from 85.8 kBtu/ft² (2022) to 86.6 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 1% increase. Reported emissions went from 549 tCO₂e to 587 tCO₂e over the same span (up 7%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 66 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 66 means the building performs better than about 66% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 66 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 9 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 Salem House's 86.6 kBtu/ft² across 111,177 sq ft works out to about 9.6 billion Btu (2,822 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 112.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 396,848 kWh of electricity, 82,722 therms of natural gas and 3,848 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires The Salem House to report its energy use?
The Salem House 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:5019047:2023). 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
- Wavecrest - 508 East 163rd Street· 111,173 sq ft · score 74 (B)
- MINS· 111,168 sq ft · score 49 (D)
- 378 FLUSHING AVENUE· 111,166 sq ft · score 76 (B)
- David:378 FLUSHING AVENUE· 111,166 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- (4171) - 32 East 64th St Corp (32 East 64th Street)· 111,163 sq ft · score 37 (D)
- 160 5th Avenue - data· 111,163 sq ft
- 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 The Salem House's energy grade?
The Salem House scores 66 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 The Salem House use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 86.6 kBtu/ft² (112.2 kBtu/ft² source) across 111,177 sq ft, including 396,848 kWh of electricity and 82,722 therms of natural gas.
What are The Salem House's carbon emissions?
The Salem House reported 587 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (5.3 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is The Salem House?
The Salem House is at 520 East 81st Street, in New York City, New York 10028. Its coordinates are 40.77222, -73.94836 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Energy and Water Data Disclosure file.
How big is The Salem House and when was it built?
The Salem House has 111,177 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1955 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is The Salem House 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, “The Salem House, New York City, New York — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/new-york-city/the-salem-house-4359226d (data as of October 2, 2026).