L.L. 2005/072

Enactment date: 7/20/2005

Int. No. 664

By Council Members Liu, the Speaker (Council Member Miller), Barron, Fidler, Gentile, Koppell, McMahon, Stewart, Vallone Jr., Gonzalez and Reyna

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to clean air taxis.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council of the City of New York hereby finds that use of alternative fuel vehicles is important to the City's goal of improving air quality and conserving fuel. The use of alternative fuel vehicles is especially appropriate with taxicabs, many of which operate 24 hours per day, spewing an enormous amount of emissions into the air.

The burning of fossil fuels is a major source of greenhouse gases that contribute to the growing problem of global warming. Furthermore, fuel prices continue to escalate while our reliance on fossil fuels has also increased our dependence on foreign sources of oil. Therefore, it is important to encourage the use and development of alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles, to increase fuel efficiency, reduce air pollution and lower our dependence on foreign oil.

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has promulgated rules mandating specifications for taxicabs. These specifications, while important to passenger comfort, have prevented many promising alternative fuel vehicles, which do not meet specifications by minimal amounts, from being used as taxicabs. To further the City's policy of improving air quality and conserving fuel, this Council is enacting this law to designate certain alternative fuel vehicles to be used as taxicabs.

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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 after its enactment into law.

L.L. 2005/073

Enactment date: 7/20/2005

Int. No. 665

By the Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members Rivera, Perkins, Weprin, Quinn, Monserrate, Koppell, Katz, Brewer, Clarke, Comrie, Dilan, Gentile, Gerson, James, Liu, Nelson, Palma, Reed, Reyna, Sanders Jr., Seabrook, Vann, Moskowitz, Gennaro, DeBlasio, Gioia, Vallone, Jr., McMahon, Stewart, Yassky, Boyland, Jackson, Barron, Gonzalez, Martinez, Recchia, Jr., Lopez and the Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum) (in conjunction with the Mayor)

A Local Law in relation to the expenditure of payments in lieu of taxes and the reporting thereof.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Payments in lieu of taxes that have not been remitted to the general fund may only be spent pursuant to one or more agreements between the mayor and the council. Such agreement or agreements shall be approved by resolution of the council.

§ 2. On January 1, 2006 and each quarter thereafter, the mayor, or such person as the mayor shall designate, shall issue a quarterly report to the council, setting forth for each payment in lieu of taxes the amount of and entity making the payment in lieu of taxes, the difference between the amount of the real property or other tax that would have been due but for the exemption and such payment in lieu of taxes, and the manner in which such payment in lieu of taxes is collected, held and expended.

§ 3. For purposes of this local law, "payments in lieu of taxes" shall mean all payments that are due pursuant to actions of the New York city industrial development agency or the New York city economic development corporation or any city agency with respect to any project when such payments are made in lieu of real property taxes or other taxes which would have been levied by or on behalf of the city if the project were not thereby exempted from the payment of such taxes.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect on the date that is the earlier of (i) the date the council adopts a resolution approving the first agreement between the mayor and council pursuant to section one of this local law; or (ii) September 30, 2005.

L.L. 2005/079

Enactment date: 8/17/2005

Int. No. 186-A

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

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to creating a right of first refusal and a first opportunity to purchase.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council of the City of New York hereby finds that the increasing scarcity of affordable housing in the City makes it crucial to preserve existing subsidized housing units. Private owners are electing to prepay subsidized mortgages or to opt out of project-based subsidy programs at an alarming rate. No longer constrained by such programs, owners are putting their buildings up for sale, with the new purchasers forcing out low- and moderate-income tenants as the buildings open to market rents.

One in ten federally subsidized assisted rental housing units in New York City has been or is in the process of being removed from the affordable housing stock, according to data compiled by the Community Service Society. Compounding this problem, the federal government has eliminated funding for programs designed to promote the preservation of subsidized housing, and it does not appear that any new federal programs will be funded to create new subsidized housing. In the face of such conversions from affordable housing to market rate housing, some city and state governments have enacted legislation granting a right of first refusal and a first opportunity to purchase to low to moderate-income residents who will maintain the buildings as housing for low- and moderate-income residents. The City of New York has an obligation to safeguard against the loss of affordable housing and the Council is enacting this local law to help ensure that the assisted rental housing stock is maintained for the people of New York.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. If any sentence, paragraph, section or part of this local law shall be adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction such judgment shall not impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined to that part deemed invalid.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect ninety days after its enactment into law except that the commissioner of housing preservation and development shall take all actions, including the promulgation of rules, necessary for the implementation of this local law prior to such effective date.

L.L. 2005/083

Enactment date: 8/31/2005

Int. No. 566-A

By Council Members Gennaro, Addabbo Jr., Avella, Comrie, Fidler, Gerson, Gonzalez, Jennings, Koppell, Lopez, Martinez, McMahon, Palma, Quinn, Recchia Jr., Sanders Jr., Weprin, Reyna, Monserrate, Lanza, Vallone Jr., Brewer, Yassky, Gentile, Liu, Jackson, Gallagher, Arroyo and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to create a temporary task force to study the feasibility of transferring city-owned wetlands to the jurisdiction of the department of parks and recreation.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. For example, wetlands such as intertidal or salt marshes are comparable in ecological productivity to rainforests. An immense variety of species of microbes, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and mammals can be part of a wetland ecosystem. Physical and chemical features such as climate, landscape shape, geology and the movement and abundance of water help to determine the plants and animals that inhabit a wetland. Wetlands provide values that no other ecosystem can, including natural water quality improvement, flood protection, shoreline erosion control and opportunities for recreation and aesthetic appreciation. In the City of New York, there are approximately fourteen square miles of wetlands still in existence, where more than 100 square miles once existed. Despite urbanization, 778 native plants and animals still exist in the City, accounting for sixty percent of the species that existed 100 years ago.

A number of inventories regarding wetland areas in New York City already exist, such as those included in recommendations of the Habitat Working Group of the Harbor Estuary Program; recommendations of "An Islanded Nature", the latest report on expanding the Harbor Herons Urban Nature Refuge concept; the recommendations of the Needs and Opportunities Report to the Army Corp of Engineers on environmental restoration of the harbor estuary; and, the recommendations of the Regional Plan Association. In addition, there may be other inventories in existence that are not included in the above-mentioned list.

An outstanding example of wetlands with ecological, water quality improvement, and recreational and aesthetic significance is those found in or near Jamaica Bay. This bill would create a task force to inventory City-owned wetlands in the City of New York and ascertain the feasibility of transferring these properties to be under the protection of the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The City Council finds that City-owned wetlands, for which a transfer to the Department of Parks and Recreation is feasible, should be transferred in an expeditious manner in order to protect and maintain their environmental, economic and other benefits to New York City.

§ 2.   a.   There is hereby established a temporary task force to advise the mayor of the city of New York and the speaker of the council of the city of New York as to the technical, legal, environmental and economical feasibility of a transfer of city-owned wetland areas, including, but not limited to, those listed in existing inventories, to the department of parks and recreation.

   b.   Such task force shall be comprised of seven members, three of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the council and four by the mayor. The members shall be appointed within sixty days of the enactment of this local law and shall serve without compensation. The chairperson shall be elected from amongst the members. Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term. The commissioners of environmental protection and parks and recreation may provide staff to assist the task force.

   c.   Such members of the task force shall serve for a period of nine months, after which time such task force shall cease to exist.

   d.   No later than three months before the expiration of the task force, the chairperson shall submit a report containing its conclusions and recommendations to the mayor of the city of New York and the speaker of the council of the city of New York.

   e.   No later than six months after the submission of the report pursuant to subdivision d of this section, the mayor of the city of New York, or his or her designee, shall submit a report to the speaker of the council of the city of New York, which shall include, of those city-owned wetland areas that the task force deemed feasible for transfer to the department of parks and recreation:

      1.   the wetland areas that were transferred to such department, including the dates upon which such transfers occurred;

      2.   the wetland areas that are in the process of being transferred to such department or for which a determination to transfer has been made but for which the process to transfer has not yet begun, including the status of and anticipated dates for such transfers; and

      3.   the wetland areas that were not transferred and are not in the process of being transferred to such department, including an explanation as to why such action was not or will not be taken.

§ 3. This local law shall take effect immediately upon its enactment.

L.L. 2005/084

Enactment date: 9/27/2005

Int. No. 693

By the Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members Gerson, Brewer, Gennaro, Liu, Sanders Jr., Weprin 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 Chinatown/Lower East Side empire zone and the repeal of section 22-715 of such code.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislation findings and intent. Section 961 of the general municipal law provides that a city may adopt a local law authorizing the submission of an application to the New York state commissioner of economic development for designation of an area within the city as an empire zone. Subdivision (f) of section 958 of the general municipal law authorizes the creation of an empire zone designated as the Chinatown Empire Zone, although the boundaries authorized for such zone also include geographic areas generally referred to as "the Lower East Side". The Council believes that the designation of such Chinatown/Lower East Side Empire Zone could greatly benefit the city of New York in that new businesses would be encouraged to locate in the zone, existing businesses would be encouraged to expand in the zone, and new and expanded businesses would generate new jobs for city residents.

§ 2. The city of New York is authorized to submit an application to the New York state commissioner of economic development for designation of an area within the city of New York as an empire zone, the boundaries of which area are set forth in section three of this local law.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 4. This local law shall take effect immediately.

L.L. 2005/085

Enactment date: 10/3/2005

Int. No. 22-A

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

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the City of New York, in relation to the human rights law.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. The purpose of this local law, which shall be known as the "Local Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2005," is to clarify the scope of New York City's Human Rights Law. It is the sense of the Council that New York City's Human Rights Law has been construed too narrowly to ensure protection of the civil rights of all persons covered by the law. In particular, through passage of this local law, the Council seeks to underscore that the provisions of New York City's Human Rights Law are to be construed independently from similar or identical provisions of New York state or federal statutes. Interpretations of New York state or federal statutes with similar wording may be used to aid in interpretation of the New York City Human Rights Law, viewing similarly worded provisions of federal and state civil rights laws as a floor below which the City's Human Rights law cannot fall, rather than a ceiling above which the local law cannot rise.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 12. This local law shall take effect upon enactment.

L.L. 2005/086

Enactment date: 10/3/2005

Int. No. 324-A

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

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to green building standards for certain capital projects.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Statement of findings and purpose. Probably no urban activity has greater impact on human health and the environment than building construction and use. Enormous quantities of resources are used during building construction, renovation and operation, and the production of these resources has substantial environmental impacts. It is estimated that 40% of raw materials consumed globally are used for buildings. In addition, in the United States, commercial and residential buildings are responsible for approximately 65% of electricity consumption, 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, 12% of potable water use and 136 million tons of construction and demolition waste annually. Also, many indoor building materials release hazardous toxins, impairing indoor air quality and reducing occupant health and productivity.

Since most of New York City's electricity is produced within the City and many buildings use oil or natural gas for their heating and hot water, energy consumption in building operation translates 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, as well as the nation's dependence on foreign oil and natural gas.

Modern architects and engineers can reduce the health and environmental impacts of buildings by designing "high-performance buildings" or "green buildings." The United States Green Building Council, the nation's foremost coalition of real estate and environmental organizations working to promote green buildings, has developed a green building rating system known as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Buildings receive LEED certification if their designs score sufficient "points" in five general design areas including siting, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. Thousands of residential and commercial buildings, ranging from single-family homes to large corporate headquarters, have been designed and constructed throughout the United States utilizing green building principles. Significant local examples include 4 Times Square and 20 River Terrace. A recent study conducted for the State of California concluded that, on average, green buildings show a ten times return on the investment in green building design. This comprehensive analysis of 33 green buildings revealed an average green cost premium of less than 2%, with only a 0.66% premium for buildings that achieved the most basic level of LEED certification.

Numerous municipalities, including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon), San Diego, San Francisco, San José, and Seattle, have adopted LEED or have otherwise required that city-owned buildings be built according to green building criteria. Some localities have created incentive programs for privately-owned green building construction, including the use of direct subsides, density bonuses and expedited permitting. Indeed, Boston will soon require private sector buildings of over 50,000 square feet to be LEED-certifiable.

In New York City, numerous governmental bodies have also embraced green building concepts. The Battery Park City Authority has begun utilizing green building guidelines modeled on LEED for all commercial and residential building construction in Battery Park City. The Department of Design and Construction has also developed High Performance Building Guidelines and has begun applying the guidelines for libraries and other facilities. The New York City Transit Authority has adopted green building guidelines for all new transit facilities, including the Second Avenue Subway. Moreover, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have developed sustainable design guidelines and have designated "environmental planning" as one of five general requirements for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and surrounding area.

Likewise, many states, such as California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, have begun utilizing LEED for state-owned buildings. The State of New York provides tax credits for buildings that meet defined green building criteria and, under Executive Order 111, state agencies are directed to reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions and to utilize green building principles.

The City owns approximately 1,300 buildings and leases over 12.8 million square feet of office space, and this legislation will affect approximately $12 billion in construction over the City's ten-year capital plan. Considering the size of the City's real estate portfolio, the Council finds that the use of green building criteria for City capital projects will substantially reduce New York City's electricity consumption, air pollution and water use, as well as improve occupant health and worker productivity and encourage market transformation. The Council further finds that reducing overall energy demand through green building techniques will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Finally, the Council finds that green buildings are a sound investment of public dollars. The Council's financial analysis indicates that, without taking any other savings or social benefits into account, savings in water and energy cost will offset debt service payments on any increase in capital expenditures resulting from this legislation. Accordingly, the Council declares that it is reasonable and necessary to employ green building standards in the construction and renovation of City-owned and City-funded buildings and that these standards be utilized in an orderly and timely fashion.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. An annual report shall be prepared no later than September 1 of each year in accordance with the procedure and format established by the department of design and construction. Such report shall include, but shall not be limited to, a list and brief description, including square footage and total cost, of any capital project subject to section 224.1 of the charter, as added by section 2 of this local law, completed during the preceding calendar year; the estimated level of LEED certification such capital projects have achieved as determined by the design agency in accordance with the LEED rating system or, if applicable, the level achieved, as certified by the United States Green Building Council; additional costs attributable to complying with the LEED green building rating system or any other green building standard; an assessment of the health, environmental and energy-related benefits achieved in comparison with a base-case code compliant project (including projected energy savings and reductions in peak load, reductions in emissions, reductions in storm water runoff and potable water use); a summary of agency findings related to additional investment in energy efficiency pursuant to subparagraphs (i), (ii), and (iii) of paragraph two of subdivision b of section 224.1 of the charter, including any additional investment in energy efficiency considered and the estimated payback time for such investment through savings in energy cost; and the total value of capital allocations in each fiscal year, by city agency, of projects subject to, and exempted by the mayor for each of paragraph one and subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph two of subdivision b, paragraphs one and two of subdivision c and subdivision d of section 224.1 of the charter, as added by section 2 of this local law, as well as a list and brief description, by agency, of such exempted projects, including square footage and project cost. The first such report shall be completed on or prior to September 1, 2008.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect on January 1, 2007 and shall apply to capital projects for which the final design is approved pursuant to section 223 of the New York city charter after such effective date, except that prior to such effective date the mayor shall take all actions necessary for the timely implementation of this local law, including the promulgation of rules, and shall take all practicable steps to implement this local law. Section 3 of this local law shall expire and shall be of no further force and effect on and after January 1, 2019. Subdivision k of section 224.1 of the charter, as added by section 2 of this local law, shall expire and shall be of no further force and effect on and after January 1, 2017.