L.L. 2004/042

Enactment date: 9/9/2004

Int. No. 188-A

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

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to prohibiting acts of harassment at schools.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings: The Council finds that many students, teachers, administrators and others in the New York city school communities are plagued by harassing behavior that interferes with students' educational performance, opportunities and emotional or physical well-being and the well-being of the entire school community. Accordingly, the Council finds that it is necessary to establish strong policies in our City's schools prohibiting harassment for any reason including reasons based, in whole or in part, upon, but not limited to, a person's actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, sex, family composition or circumstance, economic circumstance, physical characteristic, medical condition or school performance.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 3. If any 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 the local law that added this section, which remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.

§ 4. Effective date. This local law shall take effect one hundred and eighty days after its enactment.

L.L. 2004/044

Enactment date: 10/14/2004

Int. No. 205-A

By Council Members Lopez, Vallone, Nelson, Clarke, Martinez, Monserrate, Stewart, Gerson, Liu, Gennaro, Palma, Addabbo, Gonzalez, Gentile, Brewer, Sears, Baez, Barron, Felder, James, Koppell, Perkins, Reed, Seabrook, Weprin, DeBlasio, Jackson, Rivera and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the ownership and operation by local electric corporations of any piece of electrical-related infrastructure in the city of New York.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council finds that an ongoing state of danger exists on the streets and sidewalks of the City of New York in the form of stray voltage emanating from electrical-related infrastructure. This danger became immediately apparent on January 16, 2004 when Jodie S. Lane was tragically killed when she stepped on an electrically charged metal plate while walking her two dogs in Manhattan. The stray voltage that led to Ms. Lane's death prompted an examination of the state of the electrical-related infrastructure in the City for purposes of determining the incidence of stray voltage emanating from that infrastructure and the extent of the danger posed to New Yorkers in simply traversing the City's streets and sidewalks as they go about their daily routine. The examination found hundreds of cases of stray voltage throughout the five boroughs that were potentially harmful to the public. It is believed that the stray voltage was subsequently eliminated at these locations, but the widespread nature of these findings and the propensity for numerous additional cases of stray voltage in the future has demonstrated the necessity for the Council to act in an effort to protect New Yorkers from the dangers associated with stray voltage.

By requiring the New York City Department of Transportation to test for stray voltage in accordance with the provisions of this local law, the Council does not intend to impose any liability on the City or the New York City Department of Transportation for failure to detect stray voltage or to eliminate its source. The Council merely intends for the New York City Department of Transportation to provide an independent check on the stray voltage inspection, testing and repair program mandated by this local law in an effort to further safeguard New Yorkers from the dangers of stray voltage.

It is further the Council's intent that the local action manifested in this local law is necessary until such time as the New York State Public Service Commission, or its successor, adopts rules or regulations imposing obligations upon electric corporations to conduct annual inspections, tests and repairs of its electrical-related infrastructure to detect and eliminate stray voltage.

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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. 2004/046

Enactment date: 10/14/2004

Int. No. 364-A

By Council Members Vallone Jr., Liu, Weprin, Addabbo, Avella, Comrie, Fidler, Gerson, Katz, Koppell, Monserrate, Nelson, Palma, Sanders, Sears, Gennaro 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 penalties for drag racing.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section One. Legislative findings and intent.

Under the vehicle and traffic law and penal law, those who engage in drag racing may be charged with, among other things, prohibited speed contests and races. However, a person charged with engaging in a prohibited speed contest or race under the vehicle and traffic law only faces up to thirty days in jail and up to a five hundred twenty-five dollar fine for a first offense, and only a jail term of up to six months and a fine of up to seven hundred fifty dollars for the second offense within twelve months of the first offense. This penalty is inadequate, and the City Council finds that engaging in drag racing or actively participating in a drag race, particularly within the congested environs of New York city, warrants an increased penalty.

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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. 2004/050

Enactment date: 11/9/2004

Int. No. 418-A

By Council Members Addabbo, Jr., Clarke, Comrie, Gennaro, Jennings, Katz, Monserrate, Nelson, Perkins, Sanders, Seabrook, Lopez, Jackson, Gonzalez and Weprin

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the department of citywide administrative services to create and submit a written report regarding eligible lists.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. Article five, section six of the New York state constitution mandates that appointments and promotions in the civil service be made according to merit and fitness to be ascertained as far as practicable, by examination, which, as far as practicable, shall be competitive. In the city of New York, the department of citywide administrative services is responsible for administering such examinations and creating eligible lists, pursuant to article four of the New York state civil service law, which consist of candidates who passed a civil service examination. In addition, after the administration of a promotional examination, the department of citywide administrative services establishes lists known as promotion lists, which are agency-specific and a type of eligible list. Eligible lists are available to each city agency with open positions in corresponding titles and are usually active for four years, pursuant to section fifty-six of the civil service law.

Appointments or promotions from an eligible list to a position in the competitive class are made by the selection of one of the three persons certified as standing highest on such list, a procedure commonly known as the one-in-three rule, which is carried out pursuant to subdivision one of section sixty-one of the civil service law. When an eligible list contains fewer than three names, a provisional appointment in the competitive class may be made by an agency, pending the establishment of a new eligible list.

The Council finds that a number of candidates for employment by the city who are on an eligible list are considered and not selected by agencies. After a candidate is considered but not selected three times by an agency, that candidate is not certified to that agency again, although such candidate retains the right to request of that agency that his or her name be certified to that agency again. Furthermore, the Council finds that some agencies hire provisional employees who have never taken or passed a civil service examination.

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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 upon its enactment into law.

L.L. 2004/051

Enactment date: 11/23/2004

Int. No. 98-A

By Council Members McMahon, Vallone, Rivera, Gioia, Baez, Avella, Brewer, Comrie, Fidler, Gennaro, Jackson, Martinez, Monserrate, Nelson, Provenzano, Quinn, Reed, Sears, Stewart, Weprin, Liu, Katz, Reyna, Addabbo, Sanders and Gonzalez

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the prohibition on the sale, lease, rental or operation of motorized scooters.

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 operation of motorized scooters in the City presents a growing risk to the life and health of scooter operators, motorists, and pedestrians. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 4,390 emergency room-treated injuries associated with motorized scooters in the year 2000. Thirty-nine percent of those injured were under 15 years of age.

These motorized scooters come in many forms. A recent manifestation of these devices, one that has been proliferating rapidly in the City, is the so-called "pocket-rocket". Pocket-rockets are relatively inexpensive and are easily obtained, but are very dangerous. Many reach speeds of forty miles per hour or greater while not being equipped to protect the rider properly. This became abundantly clear in the recent tragic death of a 19-year old pocket-rocket rider in Queens on July 29, 2004 when the device struck a pothole at an excessive speed.

Scooters were originally designed for human power and low-speed operation. Their motorized counterparts travel up to forty miles per hour and cannot be maneuvered safely at these speeds. Difficulty of control poses risks to operators, pedestrians and vehicular traffic in the streets of the City. The absence of licensing or safety requirements compounds these risks.

The New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law mandates that registration is required for operating motorized vehicles on public streets. The Department of Motor Vehicles has declared that motorized scooters cannot be registered and therefore should not be allowed on public streets. The Council is enacting this local law to eliminate the significant safety risks posed by the increasing use of motorized scooters.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 4. This local law shall take effect one hundred twenty days after its enactment into law, except that the police commissioner and the commissioners of consumer affairs and parks and recreation shall take such actions as are necessary for its implementation, including the promulgation of rules, prior to such effective date.

L.L. 2004/052

Enactment date: 11/29/2004

Int. No. 150-A

By Council Members Vallone Jr., Oddo, Gallagher, Lanza, Addabbo Jr., Boyland, Comrie, Felder, Liu, Monserrate, Rivera, Provenzano, Yassky, Avella, Gentile, James, Martinez, Nelson, Gennaro, Koppell, Recchia Jr., Vann, McMahon, Weprin, Katz, Sears, Gerson and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum)

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to requiring the Department of Education, in consultation with the New York City Police Department, to install security cameras at New York City public schools.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Legislative Intent and Findings

The City Council hereby finds and declares that it is the right of every person who attends New York City public schools to have the opportunity to learn and teach in an environment free from intimidation and physical harm. Crime in public schools, though lower in recent years, is still too high.

To foster an atmosphere free of violence, security cameras have been installed in traditional public fora, such as public parks, streets and housing facilities. These cameras provide law enforcement with additional eyes and ears and have greatly assisted in reducing crime in areas where they are placed. Additionally, it is cost-effective to have a security device in conjunction with live school security agents.

It is not the intent of this local law to interfere with the exercise of the constitutionally protected rights of freedom of expression and association, nor to infringe on students' right to privacy. This legislation therefore expresses the intent that cameras be placed at entrance and exit doors, and at other sites within schools and consolidated school locations where individuals do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

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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.