Having passed the halfway point of 2022, we at NYLCV plan to continue pursuing our goals for creating a sustainable New York with continued focus. This article will highlight our legislative priorities for the rest of 2022; in other words, it will briefly note and summarize key bills currently working through the City Council that we want to see passed.
Some of the bills discussed will also certainly feature on our 2022 NYC Council Environmental Scorecard. This annual document highlights key legislation under consideration by the City Council – we award points to Council Members that supported these pro-environment bills and deduct points from those that took an anti-environment stance.
The bills that feature below are the bills that are extremely important to NYLCV. We encourage that the following are passed, as they would benefit NYC and the environment at large.
2022 Legislative Priorities:
Intro 150 – Electric vehicle charging station in open parking lots and parking garages
Intro 150, sponsored by Councilmember Justin Brannan, would require parking garages newly constructed after 2030 or garages undergoing major renovations after 2030 to support electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in 40% of their spaces.
NYLCV supports this bill, as the accommodation of EVs within the city will reduce local air pollution effects and minimize climate change impact.
Intro 417 – Notice requirements for certain transportation projects and the repeal of section 19-187 in relation thereto
Intro 417 would repeal section 19-187 of the administrative code, which would streamline the Community Board notification process for street safety and traffic improvement measures.
NYLCV supports this bill because it would enable a quicker, more efficient process to make improvements to infrastructure for automobile alternatives. This would enable a quicker transition to safer streets and reducing CO2 emissions.
Intros 5 + 6 – Records of lead-based paint investigations + permanent removal of lead-based paint on friction surfaces in child-occupied dwellings
The twin bills of Intros 5 and 6, sponsored by Councilmember Diana Ayala, target lead-based paint. The former would address the issue of some landlords failing to perform mandated self-inspections of their properties for lead paint hazard, and the latter would safeguard children from being exposed to lead.
We support the bill because it will limit the dire negative health effects that result from exposure to lead.
Intro 193 – Lead-based paint hazard in common areas of dwellings
Intro 193, sponsored by Councilmember Carlina Rivera, would make peeling lead-based paint in any common area of a dwelling where a child under 6 years of age resides a hazardous violation.
Similar to the last bills discussed, this would limit harmful exposures to lead. We support this bill’s swift passage.
Intro 102 – Requiring the department of environmental protection to post a map of green roofs online
This bill sponsored by Councilmember Justin Brannan would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to post a map of all green roofs of NYC on its website.
NYLCV supports the bill, as it would raise awareness of green roofs and their benefits – these include reducing the urban heat island effect, reducing runoff, and protecting buildings from roof leakage. This would hopefully lead to the further expansion of green roofs citywide.
Intro 233 – Requiring the DOE to conduct a study on the feasibility of installing green roofs on schools
Intro 233, sponsored by Councilmember Eric Dinowitz, would require the Department of Education (DOE), in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to study the feasibility of installing green roofs on schools.
The installation of green roofs on schools would improve the resilience of its surrounding area, protecting students and faculty alike. Conducting a study to determine the feasibility of these potential installations could yield positive findings, opening the door for the installations to take place. NYLCV supports the passage of the bill for these reasons.
Intro 280 – Community recycling centers
Intro 280 would mandate that the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) establish recycling centers in each community district to collect divertable materials – notably, textiles – that would typically be collected through special programs. This bill is sponsored by Councilmember Keith Powers.
NYLCV believes this program must be implemented in order to work towards the city’s goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2030. This bill was included in our 2021 scorecard, and it remains a high priority in 2022.
Intro 281 – Organic waste drop off sites
Another bill sponsored by Conuncilmember Powers, Intro 281 would require the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to establish and operate at least one organic waste drop off site in each community district.
The passage of this bill would help maintain current compositing participation and encourage the provision of composting services to all New Yorkers. The waste management benefits that would result from citywide composting would be immense, and NYLCV supports this bill because of this.
Intro 291 – Citywide greenway master plan
This bill sponsored by Councilmember Rivera would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Parks (DPR) to develop a master plan for the City’s greenways; the departments would also be required to engage with affected communities regarding greenway updates/alterations.
NYLCV supports this first step to developing a comprehensive greenway network citywide, as it would encourage less automobile use and make the streets safer for all.
Intro 470 – Phasing out the use of fuel oil grade No. 4
Intro 470 would require building owners to end the use of No. 4 heating oil by the end of 2023 for specific boilers and by the start of 2025 for all boilers.
NYLCV supports this bill, sponsored by Councilmember James Genarro, as the burning of No. 4 oil is inherently harmful to the climate and public health.
Intro 531 – Annual report on drainage infrastructure
Sponsored by Councilmember Genarro, Intro 531 would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to issue an annual report on the condition of critical water drainage infrastructure in the city; it would also require the DEP to provide a detailed description of all outages that occurred in the previous year.
This bill would ensure that the DEP keeps a more watchful eye on key drainage infrastructure, reducing the potential for unexpected failures that could result in devastating flooding. NYLCV supports this bill for its safety benefits.
Intro 533 – Requiring DEP to report on its progress toward decreasing the presence of sewage and stormwater contaminants in the city waterways and various strategies to achieve these goals, and providing for the expiration and repeal of such requirement
Another bill sponsored by Councilmember Genarro, Intro 533 would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to study and report on the presence of contaminants from sewage overflows in NYC’s waterways and develop a watershed management and green infrastructure plan, among other points.
NYLCV supports this bill, as it would likely yield positive results in reducing the negative impacts of sewage overflows and reduce their frequency.
Intro 559 – Restricting eating utensils and extra eating containers, and clarifying the definition of third-party courier service
Intro 559, sponsored by Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez, would prohibit food service establishments, couriers who deliver food, and food delivery platforms from providing eating utensils, extra containers, condiment packets and napkins to customers unless the customer requests them.
If put into effect, this bill would reduce the city’s excessive amount of single-use plastics. Less plastic waste would be generated and sent to landfills. This would lead to many positive benefits like reducing carbon emissions from plastic manufacturing and transportation of waste, reduce plastic pollution of waterways, and reduce the amount of waste in landfills.