Your Committees At Work, Tackling the Big Issues of 2015 and Beyond

Listen, Discuss, Create, Monitor and Act.

Those are the actions BOMA/NY committees take on your behalf as they stay focused on the pulse of the industry and dozens of issues, proposed codes and regulations, and impending legislation.

The last seven weeks have been marked by BOMA/NY providing input on a number of potential laws and partnering on some key governmental working groups. Here’s a round-up of the most time-sensitive or pressing items taken up by your committees.

Discussion on two new bills expanding bike access to passenger elevators under certain conditions were heard by the City Council’s Housing and Buildings Committee in October, when BOMA/NY submitted testimony in opposition. As is often our role, we spoke to the practical application of such rules; in this case, safety hazards caused by bikes in passenger elevators, physical damage and cleaning concerns, and issues relating to how bikes would access the passenger elevators and where they would be stored. 

The NYC Department of Transportation spoke in favor of the bills. Future status is uncertain at this time.

This local New York City bill, which was introduced this past February for the purpose of increasing biofuel use to 20 percent by 2030, was under discussion in late October in the City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection. Stakeholders were invited to submit comments, and BOMA/NY requested that the requirement be contingent on having little or no price differential between the potentially required biofuel and fuels currently used. We also stated our willingness to work with the Council to develop a "reasonable approach" to including this stipulation in the bill, reports Daniel Avery, BOMA/NY’s Director of Legislative Affairs.
 

The Mayor’s One City: Built to Last sustainability initiatives include a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. This past month, John Lee from the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability discussed the plan with our Energy & Sustainability Committee and reviewed the role of the Building Technical Working Group, which is advising on how to reach 30 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2050. BOMA/NY is part of that group, now in the early stages of identifying sources of reductions, and creating a data bank of building typologies including typical main systems, emissions per system, and more. 

Commercial Recycling Rules Changes

With new rules calling for the same level of separation of recyclables in commercial buildings as in residential, BOMA/NY has been active in making its voice heard. On Oct. 22, we submitted comments strongly calling for additional study—as is called for in the City’s Solid Waste Management Plan—before finalizing and implementing these rules. We also pointed out difficulties that may arise and should be dealt with prior to the rules becoming official.

Among them were these specific concerns: getting tenants to separate various categories of recycled materials, and how separating recyclables could increase costs, particularly as that is anticipated to require additional carting services. 

BOMA/NY has been appointed to the 2015 Energy Conservation Code Commercial Advisory Committee, one of the six such Advisory Committees created by the City to develop amendments to the code. By the City’s own laws, its code must be both separate from the New York State code, and more stringent. The State is currently in the process of adopting the 2015 International Energy Efficiency Codes, "with no or very minimal changes," states Daniel, who points out the City must be "ready for the earliest possible State adoption date." State passage of its code could take place in February, at the earliest. 

The Commercial Building Task Force has two charges: review changes to the international code "with an eye towards issuing comments to the State, to amend them in certain areas," Daniel says, and review all proposals specific to the city code.  

For the weeks prior to the Papal Visit, committee members were in high gear, staying in close communication with BOMA associations in Philadelphia and Washington, DC, also on the Papal itinerary. At the committee’s October meeting, it turned its focus to key items including its work in cooperation with the FDNY to include vertical active shooter protocols to all EAPS. These protocols will also become part of the EAP Director test; click here for more information and study material do exam preparation. 

A presentation by Superintendent Joseph D’Amico from the Division of State Police brought members up to speed on the role of the State Police, which often functions as "local" police in regions where the municipal police is undermanned or non-existent in less populated areas. 

In additional to traditional policing, the Division runs the state forensic lab, fields intelligence-gathering divisions on crime and terrorism, and runs the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which operates mostly outside of New York City. Terrorism intelligence gathering is enhanced by staying in close contact with Iraqi, Yemeni and other relevant communities. According to Superintendent D’Amico, current intelligence reports that there are no groups actively operating in the State now, but as has been increasingly the case in recent years, the bigger concerns are lone wolf attacks and radicalization—intentions and actions that can remain hidden for years and are difficult to identify prior to an act.