5 Cent Plastic Bag Fee Will Keep Our Environment Cleaner
May 4, 2009
Harry Nespoli, President of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, NYC Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty, Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh, State Senator Jose Serrano, and I are pictured here at a press conference April 30th to announce the introduction of legislation to curb the overuse of plastic bags.
The average American family uses 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store, but using just one tote bag instead eliminates 1,000 plastic bags from our waste system. Single-use plastic bags accumulate and persist on our planet for over 1,000 years. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that contaminate soil, waterways, and enter the food chain. New Yorkers throw out 5.2 billion (that’s “billion” with a “b”) plastic bags each and every year, causing irreversible environmental damage.
Last year, I distributed over one thousand free tote bags made from 100% recycled plastic bottles in my district and they became quite the fashion statement on the Upper East Side. I blogged about that effort in October of 2008, and I plan to do an even bigger push this year in my district.
On April 30th, State Senator Jose Serrano and I, joined by NYC Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty and the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability Rohit T. Aggarwala, announced the introduction of legislation (A.7844/S.4866) to place a nominal 5 cent fee on plastic carryout bags. The legislation is a program bill of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Under the provisions of the act, any store that distributes plastic carryout bags that are less than 2.25 millimeters thick with handles will be required to assess the fee on customers and pass the revenue on to the City. The City anticipates an initial 10 percent reduction in plastic bag usage, while raising approximately $100 million in the first year alone.
At the end of the day, our bill is about encouraging people to change their habits when it comes to plastic bags, and there’s no better example to follow for this than the Emerald Isle. Ireland introduced a fee for plastic bags in 2002 and within weeks, use of plastic bags dropped by 94% as the Irish began to adjust to carrying tote bags to the store. Now using a plastic bag is socially unacceptable in Ireland. People are just more aware.
I believe that the same will happen here. New Yorkers are the kind of people who care deeply about their global and environmental impact. I predict that soon after this is implemented, the Big Apple will be known as the Big Green Apple, and that other jurisdictions in this country will follow our responsible lead.
The introduction of the bill was covered extensively by media, including an article in the Daily News (”Law would cost you some paper if you chose plastic bags“), a short piece in the New York Post (”Bid to Push Nickel Bags“), and a mention in a New York Times editorial about the Mayor’s Executive Budget, which endorses the bill, calling it “compelling.”
The NYC Audubon Society, the New York League of Conservation Voters, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Natural Resources Defense Council joined us at the press conference to offer their support.
Opposition to Eastwood Submetering Scheme
February 9, 2009
It was standing room only as Eastwood residents packed the Chapel of the Good Shepard Church for an emergency community organizing meeting last Saturday.
Last fall the residents of the Eastwood complex on Roosevelt Island were informed by their management company, Urban American, that management was applying to the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) for the building to be converted to submetered electricity. Submetering, as opposed to mastermetering, is when tenants are billed individually for their unit’s electrical usage rather than the landlord.
From the get-go, I was skeptical that a 33-year-old building with a baseboard electric heating system, energy-inefficient appliances, faulty thermostats, and a host of other issues, could establish a submetering scheme that wouldn’t result in a de facto massive rent increase that prices families out of their homes. However laudable the environmental goals of submetering, it doesn’t always make sense. In order for submetering to result in cost-savings and energy conservation, tenants need to be able to have the tools to conserve electricity. This is simply not possible in a building like Eastwood.
It was for these reasons that I requested two months of sample billing be sent to residents prior to the start of actual billing. What we have seen since those bills began to arrive last week is alarming. Bills totalling $600, $700, $800, $900, and even $1000 are not uncommon - for all unit sizes.
This morning, the New York Times published an article about this issue and in it Douglas Eisenberg, CEO of Urban American is quoted as saying the following:
“I think that changing one’s habits is a difficult thing to do, and this really takes people being proactive about saving energy[…] A lot of these residents have lived in this building a long time. They haven’t been responsible for their electric bills. Now they are. I think at the end of the day, I feel pretty good that we’re doing the right thing here.”
I am fairly offended by these remarks, as I am sure Eastwood tenants are. If I ran every appliance in my apartment 24-hours a day for a month, I doubt I could match most of the electric bills that Eastwood residents are facing. Electric baseboard heating is simply the most inefficient system you can have in a building like this. And what’s worse is that Douglas Eisenberg knows this. His company has been paying this electric bill since they bought the building, and now they don’t want to do that anymore. Blaming the tenants and accusing them of being wasteful is a low-ball move and it’s not fooling anyone.
I have only seen two bills so far, out of hundreds, where the rent reduction covers what was approved by the PSC, and most tenants are many hundreds of dollars away from that mark. If you are an Eastwood tenant and you have not yet faxed me a copy of your sample bill, please do so. My fax number is 917-432-2983.
One piece of good news to report is that through my negotiations with the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the rent reduction schedule will be improved slightly. DHCR is responsible for setting the amounts for Section 8 tenants based on a strict interpretation of federal HUD regulations. (And the rent reductions for Section 8 tenants were applied to all tenants.) However, the initial calculations by DHCR assumed a lower dollar per kilowatt/hour amount than what tenants are actually going to be charged by Con Edison (14 cents per kwh as opposed to 18 cents per kwh). The new rent reduction rates can be accessed by clicking here, and while they do not solve the problems tenants are facing, I am pleased that DHCR has taken the step to review their calculations in order to ensure that tenants are at least given what they are entitled to under the law.
Despite this small victory, I do not believe that Eastwood is an appropriate candidate for submetering, under any rent reduction scheme. Having now viewed the sample bills, I, along with my colleagues (Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senator Jose Serrano, and Council Member Jessica Lappin) wrote to the Public Service Commission and petitioned for the Eastwood submetering application to have a re-hearing so that a number of factors that may have been initially overlooked may be examined more closely.
***UPDATE*** The Public Service Commission has granted my request for a stay of submetering and the landlord’s application is now in a re-hearing process. Tenants at Eastwood have until April 1st to submit comments to the PSC on the application itself. Please contact my office for more information at 212-860-4906.
Second Avenue Small Business Tax Relief Bill Passes Assembly
June 25, 2008
Close to midnight last night, my Second Avenue Subway small business tax relief bill passed the New York State Assembly as we wrapped up the 2008 legislative session.
A.10924 offers a property tax abatement to property owners if they are able to sign or re-negotiate a reduced lease to current or prospective small business commercial tenants located in the construction area. The bill is sponsored in the State Senate by Senator José Serrano. While the bill has yet to pass there, the Senate bill has moved to committee and the Senate will reconvene in July.
Construction began on the most recent incarnation of the MTA’s Second Avenue Subway project in April 2007. Due to rising construction costs, the MTA recently announced that the first phase of the construction—from 96th Street to 63rd Street—will be delayed by two years, moving the completion date of this phase to 2015.
When the construction is finally complete and the new subway line opens for business, what kind of neighborhood will be there to greet it? Will we have driven Second Avenue’s small businesses into extinction or will we still have the same vibrant, family-friendly community we knew before the construction began? By passing this legislation, the Assembly has demonstrated its commitment to giving small business owners a fair shake and preserving the community we know and love.
New Legislation to Support Second Avenue’s Small Businesses
June 12, 2008
I’m a big supporter of the Shop 2nd Avenue campaign and its mission. Visit their website to find out more.
On May 5, I introduced A.10924 a bill to ease the burden of subway construction on Second Avenue’s hard-working small business owners. My bill is designed to help small businesses by offering property tax relief to landlords who agree to sign or re-negotiate reduced-cost leases for their small business commercial tenants. Senator José Serrano is sponsoring this bill in the State Senate.
I’m also proud to co-sponsor legislation (A.10594/S.8154) introduced by my colleagues, Assembly Member Jonathan Bing and Senator José Serrano, which would create an economic development grant program to provide financial and technical assistance to small businesses in the affected area.
The Second Avenue Subway will bring tremendous benefits to the East Side (and to the whole metropolitan area) in the long run. But during the lengthy construction period - which will last well over two and a half decades - residents, business, and property owners within the affected area will suffer. Already, small business owners along Second Avenue between 91st and 96th Streets have seen dramatic losses in business since construction began, as they face torn-up sidewalks, impeded pedestrian access, lost signage, revoked sidewalk café licenses, and interruptions in utility service.
These business owners have worked hard to overcome such challenges, and I’m proud to support their Shop Second Avenue campaign, which highlights all the many wonderful stores and restaurants Second Avenue has to offer. But I also believe that, since these New Yorkers are making a sacrifice for the betterment of the East Side and the entire region, it is important that New York State lend a helping hand.
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My community office is here to help you.
315 East 65 Street
New York, NY 10065
Tel 212-860-4906
Fax 917-432-2983
Email KellnerM@assembly.state.ny.us
