L.L. 2005/051

Enactment date: 4/19/2005

Int. No. 543-A

By Council Members Quinn, Gioia, DeBlasio, the Speaker (Council Member Miller), Clarke, Fidler, Foster, Gerson, James, Liu, Lopez, Palma, Reed, Sears, Stewart, Weprin, Koppell, Jackson, Moskowitz, Gennaro, Brewer, Perkins, 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 creation of a central housing referral system to track clients of the HIV and AIDS Services Administration.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council hereby finds and declares that people with clinical/symptomatic HIV disease and AIDS who seek assistance from New York City's Human Resources Administration ("HRA") have particularly acute needs for safe, clean non-emergency housing to keep them healthy. The Council further finds that the lack of a comprehensive housing referral and tracking system creates greater challenges for providing non-emergency housing of the quality HRA's clients with clinical/symptomatic HIV disease and AIDS require. The Council hereby aims to ensure higher quality housing for all HRA clients with clinical/symptomatic HIV disease and AIDS.

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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.

L.L. 2005/053

Enactment date: 5/19/2005

Int. No. 630

By Council Members Yassky, the Speaker (Council Member Miller), Perkins, Moskowitz, Clarke, Koppell, Liu, Nelson, Recchia Jr., Stewart, Weprin, Gennaro and Brewer

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to creating civil penalties and a private right of action for false or fraudulent claims.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The city of New York engages in annual disbursements of billions of dollars in public funds through one of the largest budgets in the United States, and is, therefore, desirous of preventing the payment of fraudulent claims by the city at taxpayers' expense. Compensation by the city of claims that are false or fraudulent has a considerable impact upon the city's treasury through the loss of untold amounts of public dollars.

The federal false claims act provides an excellent model for combating fraud by government contractors and other parties. Since the federal false claims act was substantially amended in 1986, the federal government has recovered billions of dollars under the act. Additionally, a number of states have enacted civil false claims statutes of their own in order to impede fraud in state programs and to protect state treasuries.

The Council therefore finds that the city of New York should enact legislation modeled on the federal false claims act, to enhance the city's ability to recover monetary damages from parties who file fraudulent claims for payment of city funds and to recover the substantial costs that are incurred in protecting the taxpayers against such fraud.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. Severability. If any provision of this local law is adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment will not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but will be confined in its operation to the provision thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment was rendered.

§ 4. This local law shall take effect 90 days after it shall have been enacted into law, shall apply to claims filed or presented prior to, on or after such date, and shall remain in effect until the first day of June, 2012 when it shall be deemed repealed; provided, however, that such expiration date shall not apply to any civil enforcement action brought pursuant to section 7-804 of the administrative code of the city of New York that was commenced prior to such date but has not by such date reached a final disposition.

L.L. 2005/055

Enactment date: 5/19/2005

Int. No. 636

By Council Member McMahon, the Speaker (Council Member Miller), Oddo, Lanza, Liu, Nelson, Comrie and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to Staten Island ferry service and the repeal of local law number 11 for the year 2005.

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, in recognition of the steady population growth in Staten Island over the past several decades and the corresponding increases in ridership levels on the Staten Island Ferry, more frequent service is warranted. Moreover, increased Staten Island Ferry service serves as a necessary first step in minimizing the mass transit inequities currently experienced by Staten Islanders who do not have the option of utilizing the multitude of mass transit options available to residents of the City's other four boroughs. The Council believes that this legislation is a responsible response to the needs of Staten Islanders in the context of safety on the ferries, the City's current fiscal situation and current and foreseeable future staffing levels. The Council looks forward to working with the Mayoral Administration to address issues of mass transportation equity for Staten Islanders and to ensure that fair and safe service levels match the passenger counts that will soon be regularly recorded by the Department of Transportation through the rider-counting mechanisms recently installed at both Whitehall and St. George Terminals.

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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 it is enacted into law, except for paragraphs (iii), (iv) and (v) of subdivision (a) which shall take effect three hundred sixty days after it is enacted into law or no more than five hundred forty days after it is enacted into law only upon written notice to the council from the by the commissioner of transportation that such additional time is needed solely due to a shortage of qualified personnel needed to ensure proper ferry service.

L.L. 2005/056

Enactment date: 5/25/2005

Int. No. 380-A

By Council Members Comrie, Addabbo, Jr., Barron, Baez, Clarke, Gennaro, Koppell, Liu, Lopez, Martinez, Monserrate, Nelson, Reed, Rivera, Sanders, Seabrook, Sears, Stewart, Vann, Weprin, Jackson, Quinn, Avella, Brewer, Gerson, Foster, Gentile, Jennings, Palma, deBlasio, McMahon, Gioia, Dilan, Gonzalez, Recchia, Perkins and the Speaker (Council Member Miller) and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to collective bargaining rights of certain city employees.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council finds that employees working in various departments and agencies in the City of New York have certain job characteristics similar to those of employees working in the City's uniformed services, such as police, fire, sanitation and correction services. Furthermore, the Council recognizes that certain employees working in the City's uniformed services have unique bargaining rights under the New York City Collective Bargaining Law (New York City Administrative Code § 12-301, et seq.). The Council finds that individuals with job characteristics similar to those employees working in the City's uniformed services should be afforded the same unique bargaining rights as those afforded to individuals working in such services. The Council further finds that such changes are consistent with the New York State Taylor Law, in that they are designed to "promote harmonious and cooperative relationships between government and its employees..." New York State Civil Service Law (CVS) § 200. Furthermore, the Council finds that these changes are procedural in nature, affecting the manner in which bargaining is conducted on behalf of the affected employees, and will not provide a particular benefit to such employees, nor prescribe a certain result from collective bargaining. The Council finds that such procedural changes are permitted by and in accordance with the Taylor Law. CVS § 212.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 4. 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.

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

L.L. 2005/057

Enactment date: 6/6/2005

Int. No. 42-A

By Council Members Clarke, DeBlasio, Provenzano, Boyland, Foster, James, Lopez, Reyna, Barron, Brewer, Comrie, Jackson, Koppell, Liu, Martinez, Quinn, Reed, Rivera, Sanders, Vallone, Weprin, Gerson, Palma and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to equal access to bathroom facilities.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. Almost every woman can recall waiting in a long line to use the bathroom, while there was no comparable line for a neighboring men's bathroom. According to studies by Dr. Sandra Rawls on patterns of behavior in the use of bathrooms, it frequently takes women twice as long to use the bathroom as it does men. Under the City's Building Code, however, places of assembly must provide equal numbers of women's and men's water closets. This ignores the reality of the different bathroom usage times of men and women.

The 2003 International Building Code requires approximately twice as many water closets for women as for men in arenas, bars, concert halls, convention halls, motion picture theatres, public dance halls, stadiums, and theatres. Numerous jurisdictions, including California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, have enacted restroom equity laws. Moreover, before being amended, the Building Code Reference Standards' Table 16-5 on the minimum number of water closets had required more water closets for women than for men.

The lack of equality between men and women results in the continuation of inconveniences seemingly directed at women. The Council is seeking to address this disparity by enacting this legislation. Accordingly, the Council finds it reasonable and necessary to require that arenas, bars, concert halls, convention halls, motion picture theatres, public dance halls, stadiums, and theatres provide sufficient women's bathroom facilities.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 4. This local law shall take effect 90 days after its enactment; except that the commissioner of buildings shall take all actions necessary, including the promulgation of rules, to implement this local law on or before the date upon which it shall take effect.

L.L. 2005/060

Enactment date: 6/6/2005

Int. No. 304-A

By Council Member Weprin

A Local Law in relation to renaming a portion of Jamaica Avenue in the Borough of Queens, so that it shall hereafter be known as Jericho Turnpike, and to amending the official map of the city of New York accordingly.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. The following street in the Borough of Queens is hereby renamed as follows:

 

New Name	Present Name	Limits
Jericho Turnpike	Jamaica Avenue	Between the Cross Island Parkway and 257th Street, along the city line between the city of New York and the county of Nassau

 

§ 2. The official map of the city of New York shall be amended in accordance with the provisions of section one of this local law.

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

L.L. 2005/061

Enactment date: 6/6/2005

Int. No. 366-A

By Council Member Boyland, the Speaker (Council Member Miller), The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum) and Council Members Baez, Barron, Clarke, Dilan, Foster, Gennaro, Gerson, Gioia, Koppell, Liu, Lopez, Martinez, Monserrate, Nelson, Perkins, Reed, Rivera, Sanders, Seabrook, Stewart, Vann, Weprin, Yassky, Quinn, Brewer, Fidler, Gonzalez, Palma, Recchia, Reyna, Vallone, de Blasio and Jackson

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to creating a domestic violence fatality review committee.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The Council finds that domestic violence is a continuing problem in New York City. The persistent occurrence of such violence, and the fatalities that often result, reveal an urgent need to better understand the various causes of these crimes, as well as the adequacy of victim assistance and prevention services. Accordingly, the Council finds that a committee dedicated to reviewing and analyzing aggregate information regarding domestic violence fatalities that occur in New York City is needed. The examination of such information will enable the committee to analyze data and any patterns that may emerge from an examination of such information, analyze any demographic changes that may occur over time relating to such incidents and formulate recommendations regarding the coordination and improvement of services to victims to ultimately reduce the number of these tragedies.

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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. Effective date. This local law shall take effect ninety days after its enactment into law.