L.L. 2009/053

Enactment date: 8/13/2009

Int. No. 1031-A

By the Speaker (Council Member Quinn) and Council Members Garodnick, Jackson, Gennaro, Koppell, Lappin, Recchia Jr., Stewart, Vallone Jr., White Jr., Gerson, Nelson and Mitchell

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to licensing of pedicabs.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 15. The Commissioner shall have the authority to promulgate any rules necessary for the implementation of this local law.

§ 16. This local law shall take effect immediately, except that section five of this local law shall take effect one hundred days after it shall have become a law, and provided that pedicab businesses may continue to operate without a pedicab business license, and pedicab drivers may continue to operate pedicabs without a registration plate and without a pedicab driver's license, until the expiration of one hundred days of the effective date of this local law, and provided that subdivisions a, b, and d of section 20-251 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by section four of this local law, shall be deemed repealed eighteen months after the sixtieth day of the application period for registration plates.

L.L. 2009/055

Enactment date: 9/3/2009

Int. No. 859-A

By The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum) and Council Members Brewer, James, Liu, Palma, Sanders Jr., Gerson, White Jr., Gioia, Arroyo, Mendez, Gonzalez, Eugene, Rivera, Ferreras, Jackson, Baez, Mark-Viverito, Weprin, Reyna, Sears, Barron, Koppell, de Blasio, Dickens, Stewart, Vann and Nelson

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the provision of language assistance services in pharmacies.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. New York is a multilingual city where more than 150 languages are spoken, almost half of the residents speak a language other than English at home and nearly a quarter do not speak English very well. Prescription medications typically include technical instructions, restrictions and warnings that are critical for the consumer to understand in order to use the product safely. A customer's inability to understand medication labels and instructions easily can cause errors in usage and thereby significantly endanger the health of limited English proficient residents. The difficulties limited English proficient New Yorkers may experience in communicating with their pharmacists could be greatly alleviated by the provision of interpretation services and translated medication labels.

New Yorkers who have limited English proficiency are not receiving the interpretations and translations they need. A 2007 study of pharmacies in New York City by the New York Academy of Medicine found that, although 88 percent of surveyed New York City pharmacists reported serving customers with limited English proficiency daily and 80 percent had the ability to translate medication labels, only 34 percent reported actually translating such labels daily. More than a quarter of the surveyed pharmacists never translate labels.

Thus, the Council finds that the lack of interpretation and translation services in pharmacies inhibits the fair and effective sale of prescription medications, posing a significant risk to the health and safety of New Yorkers and that it would be in the public interest to ensure that all residents, regardless of the language they speak, understand their medication labels and instructions.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. Effect of invalidity; severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or other portion of this local law is, for any reason, declared unconstitutional or invalid, in whole or in part, by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed severable, and such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this local law, which remaining portions shall continue in full force and effect.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect two hundred and seventy days after its enactment into law, provided that the department may promulgate any rules necessary for implementing and carrying out the provisions of this local law prior to its effective date.

L.L. 2009/056

Enactment date: 9/3/2009

Int. No. 890-A

By Council Members White Jr., Comrie, James and Palma

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to regionally significant projects and empire zones.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Statement of legislative findings and intent. Under Section 957(d)(i) of the General Municipal Law, certain business enterprises located outside the boundaries of an Empire Zone may still be eligible for Empire Zone benefits as a "regionally significant project" because the economic activity of such enterprise is of a nature that is encouraged by the State, and the Administrative Board of such Empire Zone authorizes the designation of such business as a regionally significant project. The New York State Department of Economic Development and the South Jamaica Empire Zone Administrative Board have determined that Flying Food Group LLC, a manufacturer and food processing and packaging company serving 85 airlines and nationally known retail food chains is projected to create more than 100 new jobs and has been provisionally approved for Empire Zones benefits as a regionally significant project under Section 957(d)(i) of the General Municipal Law.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law shall take effect immediately.

L.L. 2009/063

Enactment date: 10/7/2009

Int. No. 986-A

By Council Member Gentile, the Speaker (Council Member Quinn), Baez, Vallone, Avella, Fidler, Gonzalez, James, Koppell, Liu, Nelson, Sanders, Weprin, Gerson, Lappin, Eugene, Gennaro, Jackson and Sears (in conjunction with the Mayor).

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the New York city building code, in relation to hydrostatic pressure testing of standpipes and sprinklers.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. Within 120 days of enactment, the department of buildings shall promulgate rules pursuant to section 28-103.19 of the administrative code amending NPFA 14 and establishing the minimum standards for hydrostatic pressure tests of standpipe systems under sections 1704.22.1.1 and 1704.22.1.2 of this code at not less than 20.7 bar (300 psi) of pressure for one hour.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect 120 days after enactment except that the commissioner of buildings may promulgate rules or take other administrative actions for the implementation of this local law prior to such effective date.

L.L. 2009/067

Enactment date: 10/7/2009

Int. No. 1065

By Council Members Lappin, Garodnick, the Speaker (Council Member Quinn), Brewer, Comrie, Fidler, Gentile, Gerson, James, Stewart, Weprin, Nelson, Dilan, Gennaro, Jackson and Sears

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to providing a biotechnology credit against the general corporation tax, and the unincorporated business tax.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. The aggregate amount of tax credits allowed under this local law in any calendar year shall be 3 million dollars. Such aggregate amount of credits shall be allocated by the department of finance of the city of New York among eligible taxpayers on a pro rata basis. Taxpayers eligible for such pro rata allocation shall be determined by the department of finance of the city of New York no later than February twenty-eighth of the succeeding calendar year in which the credit provided in this local law is applied.

§ 4. The department of finance of the city of New York shall establish by rule by October 31, 2009 procedures for the allocation of tax credits as required by section 3 of this local law. Such rules shall include provisions describing the application process, the due dates for such applications, the standards that shall be used to evaluate the applications, the documentation that will be provided to taxpayers to substantiate the amount of tax credits allocated to such taxpayers, and such other provisions as deemed necessary and appropriate.

§ 5. This local law shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that this local law shall apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2010 and before January 1, 2013.

L.L. 2009/068

Enactment date: 10/28/2009

Int. No. 396-A

By Council Members Gentile, Jackson, de Blasio, The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum), Koppell, Recchia Jr., Weprin, Gonzalez, Gennaro, Dickens, Fidler, Lappin, Palma, Vacca, Foster, Sears, Mark-Viverito, Gerson, Brewer, Reyna, Garodnick, Comrie, James, Mendez, Nelson, Seabrook, Vann, White Jr., Avella, Barron, Liu, Katz and Mitchell

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter in relation to requiring the New York city Department of Education to report on the implementation of Billy's Law.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. In August of 2005, the New York State Legislature passed "Billy's Law" (§ 483-d of the New York State social services law) to improve State and local monitoring of out-of-state residential facilities that house New York State children who are placed in such facilities for specialized services, including specialized educational services. One such facility was the subject of an investigation by the New York State Department of Education. The investigators' report concluded, among other things, that the facility's use of certain therapies raised health and safety concerns, and that students in the facility did not receive adequate academic and special education instruction. Such findings reinforce the need to monitor allegations of abuse or neglect arising from an out-of-state residential facility placement. It is therefore the Council's intention to improve such monitoring in accord with the goals of Billy's law by requiring biannual reports to the Council on the Department's monitoring of such facilities.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law shall take effect immediately.

L.L. 2009/070

Enactment date: 10/28/2009

Int. No. 1015-A

By Council Members Garodnick, Brewer, Lappin, Gentile, James, Mealy, Nelson, Palma, Sanders Jr., Seabrook, Mark-Viverito, Fidler, White Jr., Arroyo, Jackson Comrie, Vacca, Sears and Weprin (in conjunction with the Mayor)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the safety and security of construction sites at which permitted work has been suspended.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 2. This local law shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to be of no further force and effect after June 30, 2013.

L.L. 2009/074

Enactment date: 11/17/2009

Int. No. 1070-A

By Council Members Sanders Jr., Comrie, Gerson, Nelson, White, Arroyo, Lappin, Jackson, Barron, Koppell, Liu, Gennaro, Mitchell and Weprin

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to distressed property consultants.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative Findings. The country is currently in the midst of a foreclosure crisis, with thousands of homes being foreclosed upon monthly. Foreclosures in New York City increased steadily throughout 2008, with the highest rates of foreclosure in The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Increasing rates of foreclosures and defaults on home loans created an industry of distressed property consultants, or individuals who market themselves as uniquely able to help homeowners negotiate with their lenders. The Council finds that unfortunately, homeowners already in precarious situations find themselves in even worse positions as unscrupulous consultants take their money and do nothing on their behalf. In an effort to combat the perceived wide-spread fraud in this industry, New York State enacted a law in August 2008 that prohibited distressed property consultants from collecting any funds prior to rendering services or taking power of attorney from a homeowner and mandated the parties enter into a fully executed, written contract prior to rendering services. Additionally, consultants are required to notify potential clients that they should consider consulting an independent attorney or government-approved housing counselor prior to signing any documents pertaining to their home and must provide the homeowner with information about how to locate a government-approved housing counselor.

The Council finds that while the state law seeks to prevent fraud by unscrupulous distressed property consultants, distressed property consultants continue to solicit business in communities with high foreclosure rates throughout the City. Many local non-profits offer foreclosure prevention or loan modification services for free, but as long as for-profit distressed property consultants exist, it behooves City residents to be aware of the legal constraints placed on consultants under state law. Therefore, the Council finds it necessary to mandate disclosure requirements in advertisements placed by distressed property consultants. These disclosures will ensure New York City residents are aware of their rights when paying for distressed property consulting services.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law shall take effect 90 days after its enactment into law; provided, however, that the commissioner of consumer affairs shall take any actions necessary prior to such effective date for the implementation of this local law including, but not limited to, the adoption of any necessary rules.

L.L. 2009/076

Enactment date: 12/7/2009

Int. No. 935-A

By Council Members Gennaro, Comrie, Fidler, James, Koppell, Nelson, Weprin, Gerson, White Jr., Jackson, Recchia Jr., Vallone Jr., Liu, Sears, Crowley and Eugene.

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to backflow prevention device reporting and certification.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The Council finds that plumbing cross-connections, points in the plumbing system where it is possible for wastewater, industrial fluids, gas or substances other than the intended potable water, to come into contact with the potable drinking water supply, are a significant public health risk. Backflow of non-potable water or other substances from cross connections may take place when water flows in the opposite direction than that intended because a potable system is connected to a nonpotable supply under higher pressure than the distribution system as a result of a pump, boiler or elevation difference. Backsiphonage of nonpotable water from cross connections may take place when negative pressure in a portion of the distribution system is below ambient pressure in the distribution system as a result of water main breaks, firefighting efforts or any high demand situation.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plumbing is often installed by persons who are "unaware of the inherent dangers of cross connections". Backflow and backsiphonage into the public water distribution system can be prevented by not creating cross-connections, by eliminating existing cross connections, and by educating the public to prevent cross-connections. However, because new cross-connections are routinely created, it is also useful to create impediments to backflow or backsiphonage by installation of backflow prevention devices and assemblies. The Council further finds that an annual filing of proof that an approved backflow prevention device was installed by any owner or operator of a facility that uses hazardous materials or that is legally required to install such a device would help to reduce the potential adverse impacts from cross-connections.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law shall take effect ninety days after enactment.

L.L. 2009/083

Enactment date: 12/28/2009

Int. No. 240-A

By Council Members Vann, Weprin, Arroyo, Brewer, Comrie, Foster, Gennaro, James, Koppell, Mark-Viverito, Nelson, Stewart, Liu, Vallone, Jr., Rivera, Jackson, White, Jr., Recchia, Garodnick, Mealy, Rodriguez and Lappin

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the penalties associated with the sale of toy guns.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Findings and Intent. Toy manufacturers and retailers in New York City and around the nation produce and sell imitation firearms bearing a striking resemblance to real weapons, whether in size, shape, or overall appearance. Therefore, New York City presently prohibits the sale of toy firearms unless the physical appearance of the toy gun conforms with the requirements set out in subdivision g of section 10-131 of the administrative code. New York State's highest court has held that that this provision is not preempted by federal law, which requires only minimal markings on toy guns, such as an orange blaze around the barrel. Although the federal statute preempts local laws that require "inconsistent" markings, it allows cities to require clearer markings in addition to the federal ones.

Since this local legislation was enacted, the City's Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has uncovered numerous violations. DCA has removed more than 7,000 toy guns from the shelves of over 220 stores and levied $3.3 million in fines. However, the current penalty scheme insufficiently deters the sale of toy guns by City businesses. Indeed, some stores are repeat offenders, selling fake guns even after having paid penalties for previous violations. By increasing the base penalty for first violations and by imposing greater penalties for repeat offenses, the revised code provision would more forcefully deter businesses from stocking toy guns and would also target businesses that continue to flout the law even after paying penalties for previous violations. If a business commits three or more violations in a two-year period, then the revised code provision would allow it to be closed briefly to allow the business time to take corrective actions including, but not limited to, removing and disposing of all fake guns that do not comply with the law; reviewing inventory; reviewing shipment orders; removing promotional materials; drafting policies and procedures; and training staff to ensure that remaining fake guns comply with the law and to stop the ordering of fake guns that do not comply with the law.

Not only are realistic-looking fake guns used to commit crimes, but there have been a variety of tragic incidents involving young people carrying imitation guns who were wounded or killed by police officers who mistook toy weapons for real ones. In 2006, for example, police killed a 15-year-old at a middle school in Longwood, Florida after he brandished a look-alike gun whose safety markings had been painted black. On February 24, 2007, a 27-year-old man pointed a fake AK-47 assault rifle at New York City police officers, leading them to fire back but not to injure him.

Accordingly, the Council finds that legislation increasing penalties for stores that fail to abide by the terms of subdivision g of section 10-131 of the administrative code is warranted.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law shall take effect 30 days after it shall have become a law, provided that, prior to such effective date, the commissioner of consumer affairs and the head of any other agency designated by the mayor in accordance with paragraph 3 of subdivision g of section 10-131 of the New York City administrative code may promulgate such rules and take such other actions as are necessary to its timely implementation.