Richard Gilligan (Plumbers Local 1) on building codes, plastic piping, and modular concerns

Well, at this point, I'm going to say good afternoon, Chair Sanchez and members of the Committee on Housing and Buildings.

My name is Richard Gilligan, business agent at large at UA Plumbers Local Union No.

1.

I'm testifying on behalf of Paul O'Connor, Local One's business manager.

On behalf of the approximately 6,000 skilled plumbers, gas fitters, and apprentices represented by Local One, thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding Mayor Mondami's Block by Block, the housing plan for New Era.

Local One is proud of the role our union and its members have played for more than 30 years in developing and strengthening New York City's building and plumbing codes.

The mayor's housing plan should strictly adhere to those codes and the high standards they established for safety and quality.

The commitment should include prohibiting plastic piping and other inferior materials where safer, more durable alternatives are available.

Local One is particularly concerned about PEX and similar plastic piping because research has demonstrated

that piping material can affect biofilm formation and conditions associated with the growth and presence of Legionella bacteria.

Plastic piping is also widely recognized as the leading contributor of microplastic contamination in drinking water and commonly leach the chemicals used in their manufacture as water passes through them.

We should be strengthening plumbing standards, not compromising them to reduce construction costs.

Doing so would create two distinct sets of plumbing codes, a cheaper, dangerous code for affordable housing and vulnerable population it would serve, and a code for those that can afford safer materials installed by qualified and experienced union workers.

Local One will always support building more housing.

Our members understand the depth of New York City's housing shortage because they live here, they raise families here, and they work every day to keep the city functioning.

May I finish?

Thank you.

A serious housing plan must create enough affordable and workforce housing to give our apprentices and other working people a genuine opportunity to put down roots and remain in New York City.

Supporting more housing cannot mean abandoning the safeguards that protect workers, residents, and the public.

As block-by-block plan removed from a proposal to implementation,

Projects eligible for the 485 tax incentive must fully comply with all applicable wage and labor requirements.

The city must also prevent developers from structuring projects, including 99-unit buildings, to evade those obligations and must ensure that the labor protections exist on every covered job site, not merely on paper.

Local 1 Strolling encourages the Mamdami administration to use project labor agreements as broadly and as practical on all affordable housing construction receiving substantial city assistance, along with the meaningful protection against wage and theft worker

exploitation.

Safety must remain equally central.

Building more housing does not require weakening the standards that protect construction workers, future residents, and the public.

If New York intends to increase the pace and scale of construction, strong safety standards, skilled tradespeople, and effective inspection become more essential.

Local One is particularly concerned about proposals that rely heavily on modular construction to the extent

that they may involve off-site prefabrication.

For organized labor, the unchecked expansion of off-site prefabrication presents an

existential threat because it can transfer substantial portions of the construction work away from New York City job sites and away from New Yorkers who would otherwise perform this work.

It also could potentially bypass prevailing wage requirements, project labor agreements, registered apprenticeship programs, local hiring opportunities, contractor accountability, and righteous protections embodied by the New York City Construction Code.

For these reasons, Local 1...

Respectfully request that modular construction and prefabrication be removed from the plan rather than established as a potential model for the city's supporting housing.

The city's commitment to housing must also include homes in New Yorkers already occupied.

Please conclude.

Yes.

Especially those operated by New York City Housing Authority.

Repairing and modernizing NYCHA must remain a central priority in any comprehensive housing plan.

Thank you.

Thank you.