The Law in New York: Close the Door When Running Air Conditioners

It's now illegal for businesses to use air conditioners on the sidewalks of New York City. Some see government overreach—some see common sense energy efficiency measures.

1 minute read

October 9, 2015, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Steven Mufson reports: "Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York city council just sent a chill down the spines of New York businesses: A new law forbids them from leaving their doors open when they have the air conditioning running."

As sampled by Mufson, the new legislation sparked an outcry of criticism from the peanut gallery on Twitter, who questioned the focus of the city's political leadership.

Mufson countered that critiques, anyway: "But there is little debate that letting cool air-conditioned air spill into the streets and skies of New York is a waste of energy, and the legislation in New York — enforcement mechanisms aside — attempts to help the city cut its energy use in the easiest ways possible, like energy efficiency."

Mufson also gave a hat tip to an article by Ana Swanson that provides a history of the country's addiction to air conditioning

Thursday, October 8, 2015 in The Washington Post

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

2 hours ago - Diana Ionescu

Protester at Echo Park Lake, Los Angeles holding sign that says "Housing is a human right"

Photos: In Over a Dozen Cities, Housing Activists Connect HUD Cuts and Local Issues

We share images from six of the cities around the country where members of three national organizing networks took action on May 20 to protest cuts to federal housing funding and lift up local solutions.

1 hour ago - Shelterforce Magazine

White and yellow DART light rail train in Dallas, Texas with brick building in background.

DARTSpace Platform Streamlines Dallas TOD Application Process

The Dallas transit agency hopes a shorter permitting timeline will boost transit-oriented development around rail stations.

3 hours ago - Mass Transit

Traffic in front of Trump Hotel in Manhattan, New York City.

Judge Extends NYC Congestion Pricing Through at Least June 9

A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s effort to kill the program, which remains in limbo as a lawsuit filed by the MTA moves forward.

4 hours ago - Associated Press via KCRA