L.L. 2005/087

Enactment date: 10/3/2005

Int. No. 629-B

By Council Members Yassky, Barron, Clarke, Fidler, James, Koppell, Liu, Nelson, Stewart, Weprin, Foster, Gennaro, Quinn, Gerson, Addabbo, Jr., Jackson, Brewer, Comrie, Martinez, de Blasio, the Speaker (Council Member Miller), Gonzalez, Seabrook, Katz, Arroyo and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to prohibiting employers from locking employees or other individuals inside a workplace and increasing the fines for obstruction of exits and unlawful change of exits.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911 significantly impacted labor unions and labor laws in the United States. At that time, 146 women and girls whose average age was 19 tragically perished in that fire because they were locked in their workplace. Despite numerous workplace safety laws and regulations that mandate emergency egress plans and fire safety equipment and plans, the problem of locking workers in the workplace still exists. A number of large retailers have been cited by the Untied States Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for continuing this potentially fatal practice. In addition, newspaper accounts have indicated that janitors and immigrant workers at supermarkets in Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx are being locked in the workplace, with fire exits blocked or padlocked.
This legislation would increase the penalties for obstruction of exits and unlawful change of exits. In addition, this legislation would create a penalty where an employer locks the doors of or otherwise prohibits the exit from any workplace when by doing so the health or safety of an employee may become endangered. A workplace is intended to be any location, away from the home, permanent or temporary, where any employee, independent contractor or other individual performs any work-related duty in the course of employment, whether or not such duty is a direct responsibility of such person, including, but not limited to, any building that is classified by title twenty-seven of the Administrative Code of the City of New York.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 6. 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 law, which remaining portions shall continue in full force and effect.

§ 7. This local law shall take effect ninety days after its enactment into law.

L.L. 2005/089

Enactment date: 10/11/2005

Int. No. 468-A

By Council Members Quinn, Jackson, Reyna, Rivera, Gioia, Gennaro, Addabbo, Palma, Weprin, Yassky, Baez, Brewer, James, Gerson, Perkins, Katz, de Blasio, Martinez, Monserrate, Comrie, Sanders, Barron, Boyland, Clarke, Fidler, Gentile, Gonzalez, Koppell, McMahon, Nelson, Recchia, Sears, Stewart, Vann, Foster, Liu, Reed, Moskowitz, Lopez, Seabrook, The Public Advocate (Gotbaum), the Speaker (Council Member Miller), Avella and Sanders

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring employers in the grocery industry to make prevailing health care expenditures on behalf of their employees.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. In major industries in New York City, such as the grocery industry, responsible employers have long provided employer-paid health care for their employees and the families of their employees. Ensuring that employers do not eliminate employer-paid health care is important for minimizing the burden on taxpayers and the public health care system, protecting the health, safety and well-being of hardworking New Yorkers and promoting safe conditions and stable growth. Furthermore, research shows that ensuring access to employer-paid health care can strengthen industries by reducing employee turnover and improving employers' ability to recruit new employees.

The City Council finds that in order to achieve these goals, employers should make prevailing health care expenditures on behalf of their employees. This local law initially establishes such a program in the grocery industry, where responsible employers have demonstrated that it is economically feasible to pay for their employees' health care, but a growing number of employers in this industry are not doing so.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or other portion of this local law, including any requirement imposed pursuant to it, 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 ninety days after its enactment into law.

L.L. 2005/091

Enactment date: 10/18/2005

Int. No. 592-A

By Council Members Gentile, Sears, Stewart, DeBlasio, Gioia, Brewer, Clarke, Comrie, Fidler, Gennaro, Gonzalez, James, Koppell, Nelson, Perkins, Reyna, Sanders Jr., Seabrook, Weprin, Quinn, Martinez, Liu, Barron, Palma, Yassky, Jackson and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to establishing a commission to study the feasibility of creating public/private partnerships to develop and operate job centers for immigrant day laborers.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative intent. The Council finds that immigrant day laborers often work under dangerous conditions, without the benefit of proper training, equipment or safety precautions. An estimated 15,000 day laborers live and work in New York State, including between 5,800 and 8,300 in the greater metropolitan region, the vast majority of whom are believed to be immigrants. A recent survey of day laborers in New York City found that almost 85% of those surveyed have experienced some type of abuse in the industry: 50 percent experienced non-payment of wages, and 56 percent were paid less than the agreed upon wage. The informal congregation of day laborers on City streets while they wait for employment creates additional concerns regarding day labor employment.

In New York City, non-profit and community organizations have set up a handful of formally designated hiring sites, known as job centers, where day laborers and employers are able to connect under regulated conditions. These arrangements provide day laborers with viable and preferable alternatives to congregation on city streets, facilitate monitoring of health and safety conditions and improved enforcement of wage and hour laws, and create more systematic mechanisms for service providers to reach the day laborer community, which is otherwise transient and disorganized. The Council finds that job centers can improve the day labor industry through ensuring the use of contracts that clearly spell out agreed upon wages and dates of payment, assuring the availability of equipment essential for worker safety, gloves, and overalls, and by connecting employers with workers who have appropriate skills. The Council further finds that job centers have proven to be successful models for addressing the issues and concerns regarding day labor employment.

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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 shall continue in full force and effect.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect forty-five days after enactment.

L.L. 2005/097

Enactment date: 12/1/2005

Int. No. 70-A

By Council Members Koppell, Yassky, Liu, Nelson, Vann, Dilan, Fidler, Gerson, Jackson, Lopez, Quinn, Sanders, Seabrook, Stewart, Weprin, Brewer, Clarke, James. Gennaro, McMahon, Avella, Vallone Jr. and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring a recycling program for all rechargeable batteries.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative Intent and findings. The Council finds and declares that the presence of toxic metals in discarded rechargeable batteries is a matter of great concern in light of their adverse effect on groundwater quality when disposed of in landfills and their presence in emissions or residual ash when incinerated at a resource recovery facility; that cadmium, lead and mercury found in rechargeable batteries, on the basis of available scientific and medical evidence, are of particular concern; that it is desirable to reduce the toxicity of waste materials in the solid waste streams directed to resource recovery and sanitary landfill facilities; that the removal of used rechargeable batteries containing high levels of cadmium, lead or mercury from the solid waste stream can have a significant beneficial impact on the quality of the emissions and residual ash resulting from the incineration of solid waste at resource recovery facilities, and on groundwater quality in those regions where solid waste is disposed at sanitary landfill facilities; and that the most effective and appropriate method to promote the reduction of toxic metals from rechargeable battery disposal is to require the battery industry to accept the financial responsibility for the environmentally sound collection, transportation and recycling or proper disposal of discarded rechargeable batteries.

The Council therefore determines that it is in the public interest of the city of New York to maximize the removal of used rechargeable batteries from the solid waste stream by banning the disposal of used rechargeable batteries from the solid waste stream and requiring manufacturers of rechargeable batteries to take back and recycle the used rechargeable batteries that are sold or disposed of in the city of New York.

This law is purposefully structured to fit into current rechargeable battery initiatives, especially the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation's call2recycle program. This program currently uses volunteer retailers, and provides them with collection boxes with pre-paid postage that can be mailed directly to existing recycling centers, to collect and recycle rechargeable batteries and cell phones of all varieties. The program also does public outreach and advertising to increase its recycling rates. The program is paid for by over 350 manufacturers and marketers of products that use rechargeable batteries and has over 37,000 participating retail partners, including approximately 350 retailers throughout the city, such as Radio Shack, Home Depot and Verizon Wireless. The Council finds that making this existing voluntary program mandatory would strengthen its effectiveness in the city of New York.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. This local law shall take effect one year after its enactment into law, except that section 16-406 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by section two of this title, shall not take effect until eighteen months after its enactment into law.

L.L. 2005/098

Enactment date: 12/1/2005

Int. No. 343-A

By Council Members Vallone Jr., Clarke, Fidler, Foster, Gennaro, Gentile, Gerson, Nelson, Reed, Rivera, Sanders Jr., Sears, Weprin, Liu, Palma, Katz, Seabrook and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to increasing the fines for the offense of failing to yield the right of way to emergency vehicles en route to an emergency.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. Traffic congestion in New York presents an ongoing problem to emergency services. Emergency vehicles en route to an emergency are often forced to contend with stubbornly apathetic drivers who refuse to yield the right of way.

State law currently sets the fine schedule for consecutive traffic infractions. The density of the population in New York City, however, increases not only automobile congestion, but also the number of emergency situations that arise and the scale of the response required to address many emergencies, thus posing a risk to public safety and health. Drivers who are unwilling to yield the roadway for emergency vehicles obstruct not only emergency vehicles, but also other drivers who attempt to yield the roadway. Many of the city's roadways are narrow enough that one such unwilling driver has the ability to obstruct completely the progress of an emergency vehicle.

The City Council, in an effort to protect those in emergency situations by opening up the city's streets to emergency vehicles, creates a new section of the administrative code that increases the fines for failing to yield the right of way for an emergency vehicle.

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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. 2005/100

Enactment date: 12/1/2005

Int. No. 528-A

By Council Members Vallone Jr., Addabbo Jr., Fidler, Gennaro, Jennings, Katz, Koppell, Nelson, Recchia Jr., Rivera, Vann, Seabrook, Gentile and Liu

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to proscribing certain conduct at major venue sporting events.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative intent and findings. Unruly behavior at professional sporting events, and at sporting events at major venues, has increased in recent years. In 2003, local law 61 was adopted to make it illegal to enter the playing area of a professional sporting event or to enter such area and assault or attempt to assault a professional sports participant. This local law, however, only penalizes the entering of the playing area or the assault or attempted assault of a professional sports participant after entering the playing area of the professional sporting event, but does not address the tossing or hurling of objects, substances or dangerous instruments onto the playing area of a sporting event, the tossing or hurling of an object, substance or dangerous instrument at a sports participant during a sporting event, or the assault or attempted assault of a professional sports participant from the viewing area of a sporting event.

The Council finds that tossing or hurling objects, substances or dangerous instruments onto the playing area of a professional sporting event, and at sporting events at major venues, may cause serious injury and may result in violence, particularly in a crowded venue during a sporting event. It is not the intent of this local law to penalize traditional fan participation in sports events, including but not limited to throwing a ball back onto the field after a home run, or the tossing of hats onto the rink after a hat trick in a hockey game. Rather, this local law is intended to address that behavior which is not part of a sports tradition but is intended to cause physical injury or disrupt an event.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 5. This local law shall take effect 30 days after its enactment into law.

L.L. 2005/105

Enactment date: 12/17/2005

Int. No. 564-A

By Council Members DeBlasio, Comrie, Palma, Perkins, Avella, Brewer, Clarke, Fidler, Gennaro, Gentile, James, Jennings, Koppell, Martinez, McMahon, Nelson, Recchia Jr., Rivera, Seabrook, Sears, Stewart, Weprin, Foster, Katz, Quinn, Addabbo Jr., Gerson, Barron, Boyland, Gonzalez and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the definition of campaign contribution under the Campaign Finance Law.

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. Section 2 of this local law shall not have any effect on any adjustments made prior to the effective date of this law pursuant to subdivision 7 of section 3-703 of the administrative code.

§ 4. The provisions of this section shall govern all proceedings before the board and be effective upon enactment.

L.L. 2005/107

Enactment date: 12/19/2005

Int. No. 379-A

By the Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members Clarke, Perkins, Gentile, Barron, Gennaro, Gerson, James, Koppell, Lopez, Nelson, Palma, Quinn, Vallone Jr., Weprin, Jackson, Brewer, Monserrate, Recchia Jr., DeBlasio, Baez, Moskowitz, Fidler, Yassky, Liu, Foster, Gioia, Sanders Jr., McMahon, Addabbo Jr., Reyna, Katz, Reed, Avella and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the purchase of Energy Star certified appliances whenever appliances in certain apartments are replaced.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Statement of findings and purpose. Home electricity and gas expenses represent a substantial cost for many low-income New Yorkers in rental apartments. For example, nationally in 1997, households in multi-family buildings spent an average of $848 per year on energy. In addition, since much of New York City's electricity is produced within the City, energy consumption translates directly into greater local pollution, including emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon dioxide and mercury. These pollutants contribute to respiratory disease, heart disease, smog, acid rain and climate change. Moreover, as energy demand rises, so does our reliance on dirty, inefficient power plants and the City and nation's dependence on foreign oil and natural gas.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy certify a wide range of household appliances and building materials as energy efficient through the ENERGY STAR program, including refrigerators, room air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes washers and windows. For example, ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers use 25% less energy than the federal minimum standard for energy consumption. ENERGY STAR certified products are widely available and generally have little or no cost premium compared with uncertified products. Even when Energy Star products are more expensive than conventional options, these products more than pay for the increased price over time through reduced energy costs.

When people buy appliances for their own homes, they have an incentive to ensure that the appliances use the least energy possible because homeowners pay for their energy costs. When landlords or developers, however, purchase appliances, they do not have the same incentive. Since it is tenants or future owners who generally pay for energy costs, the primary financial concern for landlords and developers is to limit the up-front costs of appliances, without regard for energy consumption.

The Council finds that the increased use of ENERGY STAR certified appliances for apartments in New York City will substantially reduce household energy costs as well as the City's electricity consumption and air pollution. Accordingly, the Council declares that it is reasonable and necessary to require those who receive certain tax benefits from the City to purchase Energy Star certified appliances when they replace appliances in rental apartments.

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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 its enactment, except that the provisions of subdivision c of section 11-245.8 of bill section 2 shall take effect one year after enactment, and except that the commissioner of housing preservation and development shall take all actions necessary to implement this local law on or before the date upon which this local law shall take effect.