Library buildings in New York City
110 library buildings benchmarked under Local Law 84 (LL84), graded by ENERGY STAR score.
At a glance
110 library buildings in New York City disclose their energy use under Local Law 84 (LL84), 0% of the city's 48,310 benchmarked buildings and its 29th-largest property type. They average a site EUI of 77.5 kBtu/ft².
Top of the class
Most efficient
| Building | Score | Site EUI | Floor area |
|---|
Penalty exposure
Least efficient
| Building | Score | Site EUI | Floor area |
|---|
Scale
Largest
| Building | Score | Site EUI | Floor area |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYPL_4598_Central Library - Stephen A. Schwartzman Building | –— | 137.0 kBtu/ft² | 646,680 sq ft |
| Benchmarking Group - 227 | –— | 46.7 kBtu/ft² | 354,337 sq ft |
| BPL_231_Central Library and Learning Center | –— | 46.6 kBtu/ft² | 352,745 sq ft |
| CUNY SC > BAC_55_Baruch College: Information and Technology Building | –— | 87.4 kBtu/ft² | 339,255 sq ft |
| Zysman Gottesman | –— | 81.2 kBtu/ft² | 330,671 sq ft |
| CUNY SC > QC_483_Queens College: Benjamin Rosenthal Library | –— | — | 241,178 sq ft |
| RH. Walsh Library | –— | — | 240,002 sq ft |
| RH. Walsh Library | –— | — | 240,002 sq ft |
| QPL_4756_Queens Central Library | –— | 88.9 kBtu/ft² | 239,750 sq ft |
| 2520 Amsterdam Avenue | –— | 19.6 kBtu/ft² | 187,013 sq ft |
How do New York City's library buildings compare with the rest of the city?
Average site EUI is 77.5 kBtu/ft², roughly in line with the city's 77.0 kBtu/ft² across all property types. Emissions intensity averages 6.5 kgCO₂e/ft², about 14% above the citywide 5.7. Together they reported 33,547 tCO₂e in their latest years, 0% of the city's disclosed building emissions.
How do New York City's library buildings compare nationally?
New York City has the most library buildings of the 4 jurisdictions with at least 25.
How big and how old are New York City's library buildings?
The average library building here has 55,576 sq ft of floor area, about half of the citywide average of 111,236 sq ft. Together they cover 6.1 million square feet. The average year built is 1947, against 1953 for all disclosed buildings in the city. The largest is NYPL_4598_Central Library - Stephen A. Schwartzman Building, at 646,680 sq ft.
More on New York City's buildings
- All New York City benchmarked buildings· Local Law 84 (LL84)
- Multifamily Housing buildings in New York City· 33,022 buildings
- Office buildings in New York City· 3,384 buildings
- K-12 School buildings in New York City· 2,301 buildings
- Hotel buildings in New York City· 970 buildings
- Non-Refrigerated Warehouse buildings in New York City· 639 buildings
- Manufacturing/Industrial Plant buildings in New York City· 592 buildings
- Library buildings in California· 49 buildings
- Library buildings in Washington, DC· 36 buildings
- Library buildings in Boston· 26 buildings
- Most efficient large buildings in New York City
- Biggest emitters in New York City
Frequently asked questions
How efficient are New York City's library buildings?
The 110 benchmarked library buildings in New York City report no ENERGY STAR scores and a site energy-use intensity of 77.5 kBtu/ft² in their latest disclosures under Local Law 84 (LL84).
What is the largest library building in New York City?
NYPL_4598_Central Library - Stephen A. Schwartzman Building, with 646,680 sq ft of gross floor area in its latest disclosure.
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, “Library buildings in New York City”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/new-york-city/type/library (data as of October 2, 2026).