February 2016
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"Victory" on the Hill for BOMA/NY Advocacy Team

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Lobbying on Your Behalf: L-R: BOMA/NY Codes Committee Member Domingo Diaz (Diaz Architects & Associates, PC); BOMA Westchester Vice President Bill Bassett (Cushman & Wakefield); BOMA/NY President James R. Kleeman, RPA (Port Authority of NY & NJ); BOMA/NY Director Bridget M. Cunningham (Vornado Office Management, LLC); BOMA/NY Codes Committee Member Andrew Chown (Ashokan Water Services); and BOMA/NY Codes Committee Vice Chairman John B. Simoni, Esq. (Goetz, Fitzpatrick LLP)

The Backstory: Three Laws, Our Goals

We came to Washington on February 3^rd to push three legislative priorities as identified by BOMA International.

ADA: The first—a bill to make the Americans With Disabilities Act more efficient and effective. Under current law, citizens (including lawyers) identifying ADA violations have the right to sue. These "drive by" lawsuits are often brought by plaintiffs more interested in quick settlement paybacks than in correcting violations. Therefore, BOMA supports legislation that will require a "notice and cure" period before a non-compliance lawsuit can be filed. This common sense approach will make the ADA more effective without weakening it at all.

It should be kept in mind that the ADA is—and should be—viewed as landmark legislation, and is considered sacrosanct by many. Previous amendment efforts have been decisively stopped by fierce advocacy by the disabled community. There are some indications that the current bill might not meet with that resistance, and in unusual news for today’s political environment, it has a bipartisan co-sponsorship.

The other two issues—sprinkler depreciation and the energy efficient tax deduction—are less fraught politically, though still a top priority for our industry.

Sprinkler Depreciation: Under current law, building owners must depreciate sprinkler systems retrofitted into existing buildings over a 39-year period. BOMA is calling for reducing that time frame to 15 years, which is more realistic and similar to other, recently enacted, depreciation time periods related to buildings.

Energy Efficiency Tax Deduction: We had a dual approach to this issue: reform and extend the 179D energy efficiency tax deduction for commercial real estate, which is set to expire after this year. In the past, the law has been given a series of two-year extensions; a time period that is too short to plan and execute many projects. Moreover, the short-term extension practice creates uncertainty as to whether the bill will be renewed. On the reform side, the current bill has structural problems that have led to its incentive being underutilized, and we believe the deduction amount is insufficient. Our "ask" was to fix the timing and structural problems, and increase the deduction.

Teams, Training and A Victory!

We headed out at 9 AM in a drizzle—that developed into a downpour—armed with maps and schedules I’d put together, along with backup information and talking points. We’d also prepared the day before with briefings on the issues, and training on how—and how not—to lobby. To handle the number of appointments more efficiently, we created Teams A and B, tasked the team leaders with introductions and provided an overview on commercial real estate’s impact on New York State’s economy. The three issues, and our positions on each, were then handled individually by three separate member-volunteers, so that each volunteer could specialize in one issue.

Then we got to work, meeting with the congressional staffs, all of whom were sharp and helpful.

Representative Donovan, a freshman Republican from the 11^th Congressional District covering Staten Island and part of Southern Brooklyn, put in an appearance and stated that he’d like to participate in a BOMA/NY event in the future.

Results: Several staff members asked for follow-up information, now being provided, and in a real victory, Congressman Rangel co-sponsored the ADA bill after the meeting, which was BOMA’s official "ask" in that issue.

The weather may have been dismal and we were doing difficult, important work—but the day had its lighter side. As we walked the seemingly endless halls of the Congressional office buildings, we took in the action, sights and sounds, and both teams compared notes over lunch, graciously provided by BOMA/NY in support of the volunteers.

Our main take-away? The work is important, the day is exciting, and two years from now when we head back down for the next DC lobbying day, I highly recommend you join us. You’ll learn how Congress works, make a contribution to our industry, and yes, even have a good time!

BOMA/NY volunteers:PresidentJames R. Kleeman, RPA; Board Members Bridget Cunningham, Cynthia Boyea, CPM/LEED AP, and Deborah Tomasi; members Dom Diaz, Andrew Chown, Rick Lefever, John Simoni, and Lina Gottesman; Bill Bassett from BOMA Westchester; and BOMA/NY Executive Director Bobbi McGowan and Daniel Avery, Director of Legislative Affairs.

Congressional offices visited:Team A: Representatives Maloney, Rangel, Donovan, and Senator Schumer; Team B: Representatives Meng and Nadler, and Senator Gillibrand.