Bills Enacted into Law
Prohibiting Height/Weight Discrimination: This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person’s height or weight in employment, housing, and public accommodations. This bill also creates an exemption for employers needing to consider height or weight in employment decisions only where required by federal, state, or local laws or regulations or where the Commission on Human Rights permits such considerations because height or weight may prevent a person from performing essential requirements of a job and no alternative is available or this criteria is reasonably necessary for the normal operation of the business. This bill similarly permits consideration of height or weight by operators or providers of public accommodations. Covered entities under this law have an affirmative defense that their actions based on a person’s height or weight were reasonably necessary for normal operations.
Containerization of Waste: This bill requires buildings that receive two or more rodent-specific housing maintenance code or two or more rodent-specific health code violations place their refuse in rodent-proof containers for at least two years. The bill provides that the Department of Sanitation may waive this container requirement where it would cause an undue hardship or public safety hazard.
Designating Rat Mitigation Zones: This bill requires the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to designate rat mitigation zones no later than April 1, 2023. This bill also provides that the Department of Sanitation may determine by rule the times during which buildings must set out their garbage and recycling for collection.
Report on Illegal Firearms: This bill requires the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to coordinate with the New York City Police Department to conduct a study and issue an annual report to the Mayor and City Council Speaker on the trafficking of illegal firearms into New York City. Such report is required to include information on each firearm seized or surrendered to the Police Department; such at the date and location the firearm was seized, the type of firearm, whether the firearm was connected to a crime, and other information relevant to tracking that trafficking of illegal firearms. Additionally, the study and report include a review of the ways firearms are illegally transported into New York City; and recommendations on how municipalities, states and the federal government can better collaborate to prevent the transportation of illegal firearms; and other recommendation on efforts to reduce gun violence.
Timeliness of City-Funded Rental Payments: This bill requires the Department of Social Services to, beginning March 1, 2024, submit to the speaker of the council and post on its website a quarterly report on the timeliness of CityFHEPS rental assistance payments. The report includes a table in which each row represents a unique voucher and would be required to include, at minimum, the rental assistance payment amount, the payment month, the zip code of the recipient, whether the payment was timely or late and why, and a description of steps to ensure timely payment in the future.
Receipt of Rental Assistance Payments: The bill requires the Human Resources Administration to provide landlords the option to accept rental assistance payments via an electronic transfer into a bank account.
Mental Health Online Database: This bill requires the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health (OCMH) to maintain on its website access to a public, searchable online database of mental health services provided in New York City. To make the database more accessible and user-friendly to the public, OCMH is required to indicate on its website that the services are searchable by subcategory, e.g. inpatient care, outpatient care, and substance use services. OCMH is also required to indicate that the database lists the contact information of listed mental health services providers, as well as the type of services provided, payment information (including the type of insurance accepted), whether services are provided in person or remotely, whether services are provided by peers, and whether services are accessible to persons with disabilities. OCMH is also required to coordinate with the providers of such services to conduct culturally competent outreach on how to access and use the online database.
Exit Interviews for City Employees: This bill requires the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to create a comprehensive exit survey and interview protocol designed to gather feedback from resigning and retiring municipal employees in regard to their experience in the City’s civil service. Agencies are required to offer both an electronic exit survey to all resigning and retiring employees and an in-person exit interview to a set percentage of resigning and retiring employees based on the agency’s size. Exit surveys and interviews are completed on a voluntary basis and are administered by the employing agency on or before the employee’s last day of employment. Beginning March 30, 2025, and annually thereafter, DCAS would be required to submit a report to the Equal Employment Practices Commission and the Speaker summarizing the responses received in exit surveys and interviews.
Co-Naming 129 Public Places: This bill co-names 129 thoroughfares and public places, based on requests of Council Members whose district includes the location. Of these 129 co-names, 12 are either a relocation of a previously enacted co-naming or a revision to the street sign installed with respect to a previously enacted co-naming.
Allowing Reusable Containers in Sports Venues: This bill requires professional and collegiate sports venues to allow attendees to enter the venue with a reusable beverage container which is composed primarily of aluminum or stainless steel and establish penalties for venues that fail to comply. Sports venues are able to require reusable beverage containers be empty upon entering the venue and to restrict entry with a reusable beverage container capable of holding more than 24 fluid ounces.
SCRIE Application Assistance: This bill requires the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to provide an application form for the senior citizen rent increase exemption (SCRIE) program to eligible residents in city-aided limited profit housing company developments with all applicable data electronically populated in such application form for such resident. After residents submit their annual income affidavits to HPD, the bill requires HPD to digitize the data contained in the affidavits and use such data to populate SCRIE application forms for residents that appear to be eligible for SCRIE. The populated form would be provided to potentially eligible residents along with a letter explaining the features of the SCRIE program and information on how to review the application form and apply for the program.
Penalties for DOB Violations: This bill doubles the standard civil penalties for Department of Buildings-enforced violations when issued to the owner of a parking structure.
Bills Introduced (2024-2025)
Dangers of Social Media: This bill would require the Department of Education (DOE) to distribute materials to middle and high school students, regarding the risks and dangers associated with social media for youth, as well as how to mitigate the harm it may cause. The materials would be age appropriate and distributed annually, as well as being posted to the department’s website.
Removal of Abandoned Vehicles: This bill would require that the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) remove, cause to be removed, or refer for removal abandoned vehicles within 72 hours after DSNY becomes aware of the vehicle. DSNY would also be specifically responsible for the removal within 72 hours of particular abandoned vehicles that do not have license plates and have a wholesale value of $1250 or less.
Childcare Provider Background Checks: This bill would prohibit the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) from requiring a subsequent background check for a child care provider, employee, or volunteer if DOHMH has already completed a background check for such child care provider, employee, or volunteer within the past five years, unless the child care provider, employee, or volunteer has not been employed by a child care provider in the city for more than 180 consecutive days in the past five years, or a background check is otherwise required by law.
Collecting Organic Waste: This bill would require the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to collect organic waste from community gardens that request, by an online application, such organic waste collection.
Studying Solar Panels: This bill would direct the Department of Buildings (DOB), with assistance from the Department of Environmental Protection, the Fire Department, and any other relevant agency, to conduct a year-long study to determine the feasibility of implementing solar-ready measures for commercial buildings. The DOB would then be required to submit a report to the Speaker of the Council and the Mayor with the results of this study.
Safe Gun Storage: This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to develop materials on the dangers of keeping a gun in the home and publish these materials online. The bill would also require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to develop an outreach program to give the materials to the facilities of healthcare providers not affiliated with the City for distribution at the facilities’ discretion, and to give the materials to the following entities: facilities operated by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation for distribution to its patients at its discretion, the Department of Education for distribution to students, and the Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence for distribution to individuals receiving services at Family Justice Centers. The bill would require an annual report by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on the providing and distributing of the materials.
Childcare Provider Background Checks: This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to consult with the Department of Education (DOE) when completing background checks for current or prospective child care providers, employees, and volunteers. Upon receiving a request for a background check, DOHMH would be required to consult with DOE to determine whether DOE has already completed a background check for the individual within the previous two years. If so, DOHMH would be required to request any relevant information obtained through the DOE background check required to satisfy the requirements for a background check conducted by DOHMH. DOHMH would remain required to complete any additional searches and obtain any additional information for an individual needed to satisfy the requirements for the agency’s background checks pursuant to any federal or state laws, rules or regulations, before clearing an individual for work as a child care provider or employee.
Timeliness of Childcare Provider Background Checks: This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to complete a request for a background check for current and prospective child care providers, employees, and volunteers within 14 days from the date a request is received. This bill would also require DOHMH to submit to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council an annual report on each request for a background check received by the agency.
Assisting with Building Inspections: This bill would mandate the department of buildings to create and maintain a program that assists building owners in finding labor and financial resources for their façade inspection requirements.
Repairing Sidewalks for NYCHA Developments: This bill would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to give priority to senior-only housing developments operated by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), followed by non-senior only NYCHA developments when determining the order of repairs to be made at sidewalks in front of or abutting properties, when the DOT is required by law or has otherwise undertaken to make these repairs. This bill would also require DOT to report to the Council and post on the DOT website a report detailing which sidewalks have been repaired and a proposed timeline of sidewalk repairs for NYCHA developments.
Transparent Retail Pricing: This bill would require retail food stores to provide a discount to customers if the price at the cash register of certain items, including food, paper products, cleaning products, and health products, exceeds the ticketed, shelf, sale, or advertised price of the item. Stores would be required to post notice of this discount policy. Customers and store personnel could file complaints regarding violations of this discount policy to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Rat Contraceptive Program: This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in consultation with the Department of Sanitation, to establish a pilot program to deploy rat contraceptives and report to the Mayor and Speaker of the Council on the outcomes of the program. The pilot program would require the monthly inspection of the pilot program areas and pilot comparison areas for signs of rats for 6 months before the application of rat contraceptives, and then the monthly inspection of such areas for the 12 month period during the application of the rat contraceptive.
Gratuity Standards for Deliveristas: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to establishing gratuity standards for food delivery workers.
Tipping Transparency for Deliveristas: This bill would require third-party food delivery services that solicit gratuities for food delivery workers to conspicuously solicit gratuities before or at the same time an online order is placed.
Preventing Opioid Overdoses: This bill would require the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene to create the Child Care Opioid Antagonist Program to help prevent opioid overdoses at child care centers. The program would permit an owner or employee of a child care center to request 1 opioid antagonist kit for every child that is registered at the center, and 1 kit for every owner and employee of the center, at one time, free of charge, for administration to individuals on premises experiencing an opioid overdose. The Commissioner would be required to offer free training and other resources to owners and employees of child care centers on the administration of opioid antagonists. The Commissioner would also be required to report annually to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council on the number of opioid antagonist kits provided by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to child care programs and the number of opioid antagonist trainings offered by the Commissioner to child care programs.
Standard Pay Calculations for Deliveristas: This bill would require third-party food delivery services and third-party courier services to disclose the method they anticipate using to calculate food delivery worker pay at the outset of each pay period. In addition, third-party food delivery services and third-party courier services would be required to display, in an easily accessible format, a running tally of a food delivery worker’s trip time, on-call time, and the sum of the worker’s trip and on-call time for the pay period. Finally, third-party food delivery services and third-party courier services would be required to provide food delivery service workers with an itemized pay statement for each pay period.
Carting Company Regulations: This bill would require that any commercial waste hauler with a contract to operate in one of the city’s commercial waste zones does not merge with, acquire, or otherwise combine with another commercial waste hauler in a manner that would give that waste hauler more than 15 commercial waste zones in which to operate. Where commercial waste haulers violate this requirement, the Sanitation Department (DSNY) could either terminate the waste hauler’s contract with the city, or add one additional waste hauler to each affected commercial waste zone. This law would not apply to any contracts currently in force between DSNY and any commercial waste hauler.