Council also votes to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure, rename Animal Care Center in Queens in honor of former Council Member Paul Vallone, and call for State to reform home care regulations
City Hall, NY – Today, the New York City Council voted to pass legislation requiring cruise ships with shore power capability to connect to shore power, where such connections are available and it is safe and practicable to do so. Cruise ships docked at the City’s terminals often run dirty diesel engines while idling, generating harmful emissions that impact surrounding communities. Shore power allows ships to shut down engines and plug into electrical grid power while stationary.
The Council also voted to expand the requirements for electric vehicle supply equipment, and to designate the Animal Care Centers of NYC facility in Queens as the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center. Former Council Member Paul Vallone was a passionate advocate for animals, and advanced numerous pieces of legislation related to animals in his time as a Council Member.
“Today, the Council is passing critical legislation to protect and support residents who live in communities surrounding our city’s terminals,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “By requiring cruise ships to connect to shore power, this law will limit harmful emissions and mitigate pollution, noise, and other impacts on local neighborhoods. I’m also proud to enact my bill to rename the Animal Care Center in Queens after my dear friend and former Council Member Paul Vallone, a passionate advocate for animals and their care. Council Member Vallone championed efforts to ensure that full-service animal shelters are operated in all five boroughs, and this renaming is a fitting tribute to his longstanding commitment to animals and our city. I thank my colleagues for their support in passing today’s legislation.”
Requiring Shore Power and Community Impact Mitigation at City Cruise Terminals
Introduction 4-A, sponsored by Council Member Alexa Aviles, would alter the terms of the contract between the City and the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to require EDC to compel cruise terminal operators to mandate cruise ships with shore power capability to connect to available shore power systems when docked. EDC would also be required to create and regularly update community traffic mitigation plans in the neighborhoods around each terminal, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, the Police Department, and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. The plans would outline strategies to reduce pollution, noise, and other disruptions from passenger movements to and from cruise terminals. By altering EDC’s cruise terminal operating contracts, the bill intends to reduce emissions from ships at berth while addressing community impacts through traffic mitigation plans.
The Port of New York, which encompasses the cruise terminals in Red Hook and in Midtown Manhattan, is the third largest cruise market in the U.S. and one of the busiest cruise and shipping ports in the nation. While the Brooklyn Ferry Terminal has the capacity to handle shore power, it remains underutilized, and the Manhattan Terminal lacks shore power capability altogether. Support for shore power capacity would greatly lower emissions, reduce the carbon footprint, and create an advantage to the ship operator by reducing the overall costs in the field.
“From the jump, the effort to pass Introduction 4-A, the Our Air Our Water Act, was organized by and for Red Hook first and to the benefit of the city as a whole,” said Council Member Alexa Aviles. “This is a community-led victory that’s been years in the making, a step toward righting historical wrongs, and I’m grateful to play a part in its passage. I’m also grateful to Majority Leader Farias and Speaker Adams for prioritizing it so early in the term, as well as co-sponsor Bottcher for his partnership on the legislation. With our air and water at stake, I remain committed to putting community health needs over the corporate greed of the cruise ship industry and last mile polluters. This fight is far from over.”
Expansion of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Introduction 17-B, sponsored by Council Member Justin Brannan, would require the installation of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) in open parking lots and parking garages with 10 or more spaces that are licensed by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), and future requirements for all other lots and garages with 10 or more spaces. The existing public charging network for electric vehicles throughout New York City is small and this poses a barrier to accelerating electric vehicle adoption.
This bill would break out requirements for installing EVSE based on whether the parking garage or lot is licensed by DCWP. For those licensed by DCWP, the lots and garages would be required to install EVSE in 20 percent of parking spots, and 40 percent of parking spots would need to be capable of supporting EVSE by 2035. Additionally, various City agencies would conduct a study and issue a report on the requirements for remaining lots and garages to install EVSE. Certain exemptions and modifications of these requirements would be available in particular circumstances. The Department of Buildings would also be required to issue an annual report on the progress of installing EVSE in subject parking garages and open parking lots. This legislation would take effect on the same date the Electrical Code update takes effect.
“Electric cars will drive us to a sustainable future,” said Council Member Justin Brannan. “But we can’t expect drivers to make the switch from fossil fuel-powered to electric vehicles if our city is not built out to support them. I believe we have a responsibility to make it easier to own and operate electric cars in this city. My bill will make electric vehicle charging stations more widely available than ever before, ensuring that wherever you live, visit, or work in New York City, you can charge your electric vehicle. We can reshape our infrastructure in a way that empowers New Yorkers to make the switch and drive vehicles that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat climate change, and promote energy independence. If we build it, they will come.”
Renaming Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center
Introduction 1-B, sponsored by Speaker Adrienne Adams, would designate the Animal Care Centers of NYC facility in Queens as the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center. Former Council Member Paul Vallone was a passionate advocate for animals, and advanced numerous pieces of legislation related to animals in his time as a Council Member. This includes the passage of his bill establishing Local Law 123 of 2018, which requires the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to ensure that full-service animal shelters are operated in all five boroughs.
Establishing Minimum Ad Revenue in For Hire Vehicles
Introduction 172, sponsored by Majority Leader Amanda Farías, would amend Local Law 33 of 2024 to clarify that any driver of a for-hire vehicle with an approved tablet in their vehicle would receive a minimum of 25 percent of the gross revenue generated by such tablet in their vehicle. It also would set the fee for the interior advertising company license at $500.
“Today we passed an amendment to Local Law 33 to ensure drivers get a fair share and so companies are clear in their role,” said Majority Leader Amanda Farias. “Introduction 172 clarifies what was solely a 25% compensation rate to instead be a minimum of 25% rate of gross revenue generated. The revenue sharing model outlined within this bill will allow for a more competitive market to give drivers to truly reap the benefits of the ad revenue that will be generated by the advertisements played on in-car tablets. I worked with the Administration to establish a $500 license fee for all contracting companies to pay NYC, not the drivers. This amount is based on the Administration’s user cost analysis and is in line with similar fees companies already pay, like livery base fees. This bill continues to put New York City rideshare drivers first and I am incredibly proud to have gotten this done for drivers across the City.”
Calling for State Legislation to Improve the Working Conditions of Home Care Aides
Resolution 202, sponsored by Speaker Adrienne Adams, calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation to increase the wages and improve the working conditions of home care aides to support the essential workers in New York’s vital home care workforce.
Home care shifts are long and demanding, sometimes totaling 24 hours—known as a “live-in shift”—only 13 of which are compensable in most cases under regulations of the State Department of Labor. In order to address this and improve wages and working conditions for home care workers without harming their employment and ability to provide care, changes must be made to state Medicaid reimbursements, labor regulations, and other policies.
Together, state legislation, the “Fair Pay for Home Care Act,” and “Home Care Savings and Reinvestment Act,” would increase wages for home care aides and repeal the partially capitated Medicaid-managed long-term-care program and replace it with a fee-for-service model to cut down healthcare administration costs, as well as ensure continuity of care for patients and adequate reimbursement for providers.
“Home care aides are essential workers who often work long hours and provide critical care to patients, particularly older adults and people with disabilities,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “They deserve improved wages and safe working conditions that reflect the value of their labor. It is critical that we work with our state counterparts to pass existing legislation in Albany that can change the state regulations blocking this vital and growing workforce from being paid beyond 13 hours and advancing fair work standards.”
Land Use
230 Kent Avenue Rezoning – Kent Riverview LLC seeks a zoning map amendment from an M1-4 district to an M1-4/R7X (MX-8) district, and a zoning text amendment to designate a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) area. These actionswill facilitate a new 8-story; 32,800 square feet mix-used residential, commercial, and community facility building. It will include 40 housing units, approximately 12 affordable units and 20 bicycle parking spaces The Council is modifying the application to strike MIH Option 2 (therefore requiring MIH Option 1) and remove the ConEdison utility property from the rezoning area, Council Member Lincoln Restler’s district.
Timbale Terrace –NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development seeks designation and project approval of an Urban Development Action Area Project (UDAAP) and disposition approval of City-owned property to facilitate a development of a 19-story; 228,997 square feet building. It will include 330 affordable housing units; 97 supportive units, 10,000 square feet of ground-floor community facility theater and community programs, offering a permanent home to the Afro Latin Jazz Music & Arts Center. There will be private outdoor recreation space for building tenants, a green roof, a laundry room, a fitness center and 75 parking spaces, in Council Member Yusef Salaam’s district.
A new approximately 547- Seat Primary School Facility – The New York City School Construction Authority (NYCSCA), proposed site selection for property located at 6389-6393 Broadway, in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. These actions will facilitate the construction of a new primary school with about 547 seats serving Community School District 10, in Council Member Eric Dinowitz’s district.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation of Joseph Rodman Drake Park and Enslaved People’s Burial Ground – in Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr.’s district is a New York City Park of approximately two and a half acres in size, which contains two colonial-era cemeteries within its bounds. The Hunt-Willett-Leggett cemetery for those early settler families; and an enslaved people’s cemetery, for those forced to labor for these families in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation of the Barkin, Levin & Company Office Pavilion – isaminimalist structure that was originally part of a factory that manufactured women’s coats in the late 1950s, in Council Member Tiffany Cabán’s district.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation of the Modulightor Building – named for the architectural lighting company architect Paul Rudolph founded with business partner Ernst Wagner in 1976. The Modulightor building is a unique and distinguished example of late 20th century modern design. It contains commercial space, an expanded duplex apartment, and two floors used for exhibitions and events in Council Member Keith Powers’ district.
Appointments
The Council voted to confirm the Mayor’s appointment of Amy E. Millard and the reappointment of Milton L. Williams to the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board.
Finance
The Council approved the Fiscal Year 2025 proposed operating budget, including $75.7 million dollars for Personal Services and $24.3 million for Other Than Personal Services (OTPS).
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