L.L. 2005/068

Enactment date: 7/20/2005

Int. No. 398-A

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

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to standards and specifications for accessible water borne commuter services facilities for disabled persons in New York City.

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. Effective date. This local law shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that all water borne commuter services facilities shall satisfy all provisions of the local law that added this chapter no later than December 31, 2008.

L.L. 2005/071

Enactment date: 7/20/2005

Int. No. 565-A

By Council Members Gennaro, Avella, Barron, Brewer, Clarke, Comrie, Fidler, Gonzalez, Jennings, Koppell, Liu, Nelson, Palma, Quinn, Recchia Jr., Sanders Jr., Vallone Jr. and Weprin

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to developing a watershed protection plan for the watershed/sewershed of Jamaica Bay.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. In October of 1972, the United States Congress established the Gateway National Recreation Area ("Gateway") as part of an effort to bring the National Park System and its ethic of preserving and protecting outstanding resources closer to major urban areas.
Gateway encompasses the largest collection of natural systems, wildlife habitats, historic resources, and recreational opportunities in the New York City/New Jersey metropolitan area. It also encompasses numerous sites of critical natural and cultural importance to the health of local ecosystems, to the life of migratory and native species and to the military, navigational and aviation history of the region and the nation, especially in the context of attendant defenses of New York Harbor.

According to the National Park Service (NPS), Gateway is the only extensive public natural area in the New York City region. The Jamaica Bay Unit is one of several units, consisting of lands, waters, marshes and submerged lands, comprising Gateway. The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge ("Refuge"), established by the City of New York in 1948, is located within the Jamaica Bay Unit. The Refuge, a State and nationally recognized important bird area, encompasses 2,500 acres within the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The only wildlife refuge in the National Park System, it provides a shelter for rare and endangered birds and a variety of habitats for more than 325 kinds of waterfront and shorebirds. It is also a critical stop-over area along the Eastern Flyway migration route and is one of the best and world renowned bird-watching locations in the western hemisphere.

Jamaica Bay is one of the largest and most productive coastal ecosystems in the State of New York, as well as within the Northeastern United States, and is an important recreational destination for local, national and international visitors. It contains approximately 13,000 acres of surface waters, including the largest tidal wetland complex in New York State. These wetlands provide benefits such as natural water quality improvement, flood protection and shoreline erosion control for the commercial and residential areas in and around the Bay in Brooklyn and Queens. Unfortunately, construction and development within the Jamaica Bay watershed has often been conducted without consideration of potential adverse impacts on the Bay and sometimes without notice to all interested governmental agencies, civic groups and other interested parties. One such governmental agency is the NPS, which is the primary steward of the Bay, itself, and with whom, among many other agencies, it is critical for the City to collaborate in order to protect the Bay.

Jamaica Bay's future as an oasis of great ecological importance is in severe jeopardy due to the fact that thousands of acres of the Bay's marshy islands, which serve as nesting and feeding areas for an abundance of birds and other wildlife, are rapidly and mysteriously vanishing. Scientists predict that the Jamaica Bay marshlands will completely vanish in less than twenty years if the cause of their deterioration and a solution to their preservation are not found.

This legislation would require the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to create a watershed protection plan for the watershed/sewershed of Jamaica Bay, and would create a Jamaica Bay watershed protection plan advisory committee. The Council finds that such watershed planning is vital to the future of Jamaica Bay. This legislation establishes the initial pathway towards restoring and maintaining the water quality and ecological integrity of the Bay by comprehensively assessing threats to the Bay and coordinating environmental remediation and protection efforts in a focused and cost-effective manner. Watershed protection planning for Jamaica Bay is an efficient and effective means of promoting the sustainability of the Bay's environment, the economy associated with the Bay, and the linkages between the two.

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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. 2005/072

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.