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New York City Council
Oversight - Citizen Enforcement Programs
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
Before formally opening the hearing, Chair Gennaro asks whether anyone from the administration is present. He says city legislative affairs promised someone would attend in person to listen even though the administration is not testifying.
Council staff welcomes attendees to the Committee on Environmental Protection and Waterfronts and asks everyone to silence electronic devices. Staff directs anyone who has not signed up for testimony to see the sergeant at arms at the back.
Chair Gennaro convenes the oversight hearing on DEP's citizen enforcement programs and the accompanying legislation. He lists Intros 11-A, 48, 561-A, 562, 869-A, and the preconsidered Department of Finance fleet bill.
Gennaro says city air quality has improved through Council action on heating oil, commercial cooking emissions, and the city fleet. He describes the phase-out of No. 6 and No. 4 oil and notes idling complaints rose from about 9,000 in 2019 to 163,000 in 2025.
Gennaro says motor vehicles contribute about 11% of local fine particulate matter and 28% of nitrogen oxide emissions. He links those emissions to premature deaths and emergency visits and says communities of color face disproportionately high diesel pollution.
Gennaro explains that idling is limited to one minute near schools or parks and three minutes elsewhere. He says the 2019 Citizen Air Complaint Portal made enforcement easier and that stakeholders have asked for reforms since 2024.
Gennaro says DEP, OATH, and the Department of Finance were invited but declined to testify. He criticizes DEP's short written submission and says he will read it into the record, while expressing disappointment at the agencies' absence.
Gennaro thanks senior legislative counsels Natasha Bynum and Sierra Townsend, policy and financial staff, and his legislative director Josh Gachette. He recognizes Council Members Sanchez, Hanks, Epstein, Aviles, and Restler.
Council Member Aviles says Intro 48 would translate the Citizen Air Complaint Portal into designated citywide languages. She argues idling pollution disproportionately harms environmental justice communities and that limited English proficiency locks residents out of enforcement.
Gennaro thanks Aviles and says he keeps a tradition of noting expressions never before used in the committee. He asks counsel to record her phrase 'ten toes down' as a first for the committee.
Gennaro reads DEP Commissioner Lisa Garcia's written testimony into the record. The statement explains that the civilian complaint program lets the public submit evidence of idling, dust, and noise violations and receive a share of penalties.
The DEP statement says two staff including a supervisor review each submission and that DEP issued about 102,000 idling summonses in 2025. It says DEP now receives about 700 idling reports daily and has a backlog of roughly 230,000 videos.
DEP says it is already compliant with Intro 48 because its website has translated instructions. It raises concerns about Intro 562 shifting liability to lessees, supports the intent of Intro 869, and defers to the Department of Finance on the fleet bill.
Gennaro says the committee will now hear from public witnesses and reads the formal rules on decorum, witness tables, recording, and written testimony. He says speakers will generally have two minutes and can submit written testimony within 72 hours.
Gennaro says he instructed staff to arrange panels fairly so both sides are heard and no group waits hours. He says he plays no role in deciding who testifies first and trusts staff to order the panels.
Aviles says DEP has translated a form or guidance but not integrated translation into the portal. She says users must print a form, return to the website, and manually translate each part, which she calls unworkable and not full language access.
Gennaro compares the translation debate to patient portals and jokes that he asks doctors to send information in a language he does not understand. Committee staff then remind him to return to business and announce sign-up procedures for new attendees.
Gennaro calls the first panel: Alex Camarda of Reinvent Albany, George Thurston of NYU School of Medicine, Rocco Lacertosa of the New York State Energy Coalition, Margaret Perkins of 350 NYC, and Max Resnick. He asks witnesses to speak from his right to left.
Camarda says Reinvent Albany supports the Citizen Air Complaint Program as a creative enforcement tool. He opposes Intro 561-A because its exemptions would create loopholes and opposes Intro 11 because higher fines could increase delinquency and discourage complainants.
Gennaro asks whether opponents think 561-A can be amended or should be abandoned. Camarda says he does not think it is fixable and urges the Council to focus on due process, faster hearings, and more resources for DEP and OATH.
Thurston, an NYU School of Medicine air-pollution researcher, describes his work linking PM2.5 to mortality and diesel particles to asthma and heart disease. He warns that regeneration and other exemptions in 561-A could become broad loopholes.
Gennaro thanks Thurston and says his research helped shift understanding from PM10 to PM2.5. He calls Thurston a 'ringer' and says the committee appreciates his work on air pollution health effects.
Perkins says 350 NYC has helped pass major city climate laws and opposes 561-A. She argues the city should not retreat from idling enforcement during a climate crisis and points to Local Law 97 and congestion pricing as examples of successful action.
Lacertosa represents heating-fuel distributors and says fuel-delivery trucks must run engines to operate pumps. He supports 561-A's recognition of pump use and diesel regeneration, backs its due-process reforms, and opposes Intro 11-A until the process is fixed.
Resnick says he is a Brooklyn resident and regular participant in the Citizen Air Complaint Program. He says filming idling trucks causes them to shut off, calls Intro 48 a no-brainer, and urges the Council to withdraw 561-A.
Epstein asks how exempting more trucks would improve the environment. Lacertosa says fuel delivery requires the engine to run the pump, but concedes that future technology might allow pumping without idling and that he does not design trucks.
Aviles asks Thurston to describe pollution disparities. Thurston says South Bronx and Harlem neighborhoods are surrounded by highways and face much higher diesel exposure, with cardiovascular and respiratory effects extending beyond asthma.
Gennaro thanks the panel and then recognizes longtime environmental advocate Eric Goldstein of NRDC in the audience. He calls Goldstein a friend, mentor, and colleague before moving to the next panel.
Gennaro calls the next panel, including former Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and Felice Farber of the Building Trades Employers Association, David Atkin of the Interior Demolition Contractors Association, Joseph Ferrara of Aggregate and Cement Trucking, and Melissa Barber of the Mechanical Contractors Association.
Ferrara describes his family cement-delivery business and says it receives many citizen complaints. He argues the program has become a 'money grab' and suggests complainants should first tell drivers to shut off engines rather than immediately filming them.
Gennaro says the committee asks the questions but that he is trying to make the program fairer. He notes that environmental advocates are criticizing his bill, which he says shows the committee is trying to balance competing concerns.
Atkin represents unionized interior demolition contractors and says their trucks are required to be certified clean idle. He asks for an exemption when trucks must run engines at commercial buildings to wait for debris containers, similar to California's clean-idle rules.
Gennaro says he will return to Atkin with a question about certified clean idle and calls Felice Farber next. He notes her long history with the committee and asks her to begin when the sergeant prompts her.
Farber represents union specialty trade contractors and says running engines often powers pumps, lifts, decontamination units, or emissions cycles. She supports 561-A with additional amendments but asks the Council to hold Intro 11-A until the process is fixed.
Barber says mechanical contractors' trucks often idle for boom lifts, no-heat calls, or job-site waiting. She argues delayed notices and hearings make defense impossible, supports 561-A and related bills with amendments, and opposes 11-A's fleet-wide penalty increases.
Gennaro asks when vehicles are required to have diesel particulate filters and how an observer can tell whether regeneration is occurring. Atkin, Farber, and Ferrara describe clean-idle requirements, dashboard lights, and regeneration cycles.
Epstein challenges Ferrara's suggestion that residents knock on truck windows and asks about regeneration timing. Panelists say regeneration can take 15 to 20 minutes and that drivers pull over when a dashboard light signals the need.
Gennaro thanks the panel and says he appreciates their on-the-ground perspective. He then calls the next panel with Eric Goldstein of NRDC, Suhali Mendez of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Ryan Scott-Loki, and others.
Gennaro calls Eric Goldstein, Suhali Mendez, Ryan Scott-Loki, Evan Kalish, and Jonathan Gorin. He asks for written statements and says he will start from his right to left.
Goldstein calls the citizen complaint provision one of the Council's most innovative environmental laws. NRDC supports Intros 11-A, 48, 562, and 869-A, but Goldstein says 561-A needs additional work and does not support it in its current form.
Mendez says NYLPI works on environmental justice and clean air in communities burdened by transportation pollution. She asks the Council to pass Intros 11 and 48 and reject 561-A because its broad exemptions would weaken enforcement.
Gennaro says he wants to work collaboratively with NRDC and NYLPI and invites them to offer legal language. He says something must be done about 561-A because the status quo is not working optimally.
Scott-Loki says he is a former delivery driver and environmental consultant who has submitted thousands of complaints. He opposes Intros 11-A, 561-A, 562, and 869-A, and says the diesel regeneration exemption would be nearly impossible to verify.
A resident holding a baby says the Citizen Air Complaint Program has reduced Con Edison idling in his eastern Queens neighborhood. He opposes 561-A and describes receiving a death threat years earlier for prosecuting noise complaints.
Gorin, who has asthma, says he will address claims that trucks are ticketed while using equipment. He reads the existing air-code exemption for loading, unloading, or processing devices, including lifts, cranes, pumps, drills, hoists, and mixers.
Epstein asks whether witnesses agree businesses should be notified sooner, and all do. Scott-Loki explains active versus passive diesel regeneration and warns that a regeneration exemption would create an unrebuttable defense.
Gennaro thanks the panel for its testimony and says the hearing will continue with more witnesses. He calls the next panel including Zach Miller of the Trucking Association of New York, Larry Zogby of RDS Delivery, and Pat Hyland.
Gennaro calls the next panel and says he will take a short break while the panel assembles. He insists it is not a formal recess and that he wants to hear every word of testimony.
Crowley, a former council member, represents union contractors through the Building Trades Employers Association. She says engines often power lifts, lighting, cranes, pumps, and decontamination showers, and asks the Council to support 561-A while holding 11-A.
Eluto says BTEA wants stronger definitions of operational idling and better evidence requirements. He says demolition, asbestos remediation, and other trades have equipment needs that current enforcement does not adequately recognize.
Miller says the complaint program has become a profitable cottage industry while businesses face stacked citations and delayed notice. He supports 561-A's recognition of refrigeration and loading equipment, supports 562 and 869-A, and opposes 11-A's penalty increase.
Zogby of RDS Delivery says idling hearings have been scheduled 500 to 962 days after violations. He asks for notices within 30 to 45 days, hearings within 90 days, no repeat penalties before notice, and defined 60-minute Zoom hearing windows.
Gennaro asks Zogby to explain how delayed notices create multiple violations before a business knows about the first one. Zogby says drivers may be gone by the time notices arrive, making corrective action impossible.
Epstein asks whether OATH is the source of delay and whether businesses can get video evidence sooner. Miller and Zogby say OATH is hard to reach, notices can default without receipt, and access to video would let companies decide whether to contest.
Gennaro thanks the panel and says their testimony added important detail about due-process failures. He then moves to the next panel.
Gennaro calls Hayden Brockett, Rafil Zaidi, Alicia Raymond, and Kevin McGee. He asks them to state their names for the record and begin when prompted.
Brockett says he joins more than 30 environmental and good-government groups opposing 561-A. He argues the bill's 60-day deadline and reduced awards would undermine the program while Intro 48 would expand access.
Caballero says translating the portal would help her mother and other limited-English-proficiency New Yorkers report pollution. She argues 561-A's 60-day rule and regeneration exemption would create backdoor ways to dismantle enforcement.
Gennaro says it would have been helpful to have DEP present because the Council does not control DEP staffing. He thanks the witnesses and says he wants to hear blunt assessments of whether 561-A can be fixed.
Zaidi says citizen idling enforcement brought camera-like deterrence to air pollution. He suggests DEP can already send warning letters with video links and prioritize leasing companies in the backlog without legislation.
Gennaro asks Zaidi to repeat what DEP could do without a law change. Zaidi says DEP could adjust fines, send heads-up letters with video access, and prioritize certain complaints for review.
McGee says he participates in the program in his spare time and has seen major fleets like Con Edison, Amazon, and Verizon reduce idling. He urges the Council to reject 561-A and support Intro 48.
Gennaro thanks the panel for broadening the hearing and for the sincerity of their testimony. He says the committee will stay in touch as it works through the bills.
Gennaro calls Patrick Condren of the Bus for NYC Coalition, Glenn Avery of the Bus Association of New York, Henry Smith of the Long Island City Partnership, Nicholas Day of Edge Auto Rental, and Ernest Welde.
Welde compares annual air-pollution deaths to traffic and gun fatalities and says idling is the largest single source of illegal air pollution. He argues 561-A would violate the state constitution's right to clean air and urges a no vote.
Day says Edge has received more than 175 idling summonses this year and absorbed about $60,000 in penalties for customer conduct. He supports Intro 562, supports procedural protections in 561-A, and opposes 11-A until the system is fixed.
Avery says private motor coaches are subject to citizen enforcement while public transit buses are not. He argues modern coaches need engines for safety and passenger comfort and opposes Intro 11-A's higher fines.
Condren says buses are the most environmentally efficient passenger vehicles and should be exempt from idling fines like public buses. He calls the three-minute rule untenable and cites a 15-minute federal guideline for buses.
Gennaro asks Avery to finish his point about 561-A. Avery says the bill exempts temperature-sensitive cargo and asks that human passengers be treated as temperature-sensitive too, especially in extreme heat or cold.
Gennaro calls Dietmar Detering, George Pakenham, Michael McFadden, Timothy David, and Eileen Spinner. He says he must enforce the two-minute limit more strictly because many witnesses remain.
David, a Hell's Kitchen resident with asthma, says 561-A would weaken a successful air-quality program. He says he understands both sides and hopes everyone ends the day healthy.
Spinner says she has asthma and that anti-idling laws went largely unenforced for decades until citizens stepped up. She opposes 561-A as a corporate giveaway, supports Intro 48, and says the mayor could expand language access without legislation.
Pakenham says he produced the documentary 'Idle Threat' and has fought idling for 20 years. He argues 561-A favors trucking and bus profits over public health and urges the Council to reject it.
Detering says he is an active Queens complaint reporter and has seen fleets change behavior. He supports Intro 48's language access but says 561-A, 562, and 869-A would weaken enforcement and that 11-A's penalties are too aggressive.
Gennaro says he has learned a lot about what DEP could do to reduce its backlog and thanks witnesses for attending. He says the Council must improve the program and calls the next panel.
Streeter says he is a founding member of the New York Clean Air Collective and supports Intro 48. He argues existing law already exempts fuel pumps and processing devices and says industry claims about ignored exemption stickers are misleading.
Bernstein says he was homeless in lower Manhattan and saw buses and trucks idling nonstop. He says the program changed driver behavior and urges the Council to reject 561-A.
Kucher says he grew up near the Coney Island wastewater plant and participates in the complaint program. He argues 561-A would benefit out-of-state polluters and that Intro 48 would expand community participation.
O'Brien, a young Queens native, says she is at risk of lung cancer despite not smoking and that children face school-bus and truck exhaust. She opposes 561-A and says her Arabic-speaking mother cannot use the English-only portal.
Gennaro says the program is working in some ways but not others and that the current iteration is not where the Council wants to land. He thanks the panel for personal testimony and moves to the next panel.
Stack, vice president of the New York Clean Air Collective, says 25 civic groups oppose 561-A. He argues the bill would eliminate millions in penalties corporations should pay and urges the Council to pass Intro 48 instead.
Galshan says he grew up in Oklahoma and now supports New York's idling enforcement. He argues 561-A is a poison pill for Intro 11 and defends paying citizens for enforcement work.
Wu says 561-A would stop self-prosecution by reducing awards and imposing short deadlines. She also warns that Intro 562's liability transfer could let last-mile contractors close and reopen to avoid tickets.
Gonzalez says he has driven diesel trucks and operated heavy equipment and knows the health effects of exhaust. He says the complaint program pushed armored-car companies to switch to electric vehicles and urges rejection of 561-A.
Politano says he has submitted nearly 4,000 complaints since 2022. He warns that the regeneration exemption and 60-day deadline would wipe out enforcement and that requiring citizens to prosecute would burden environmental justice neighborhoods.
Gennaro thanks the panel and says he appreciates the back-and-forth. He calls the next panel and asks one witness to meet with his legislative director afterward.
Gennaro calls Irina Goman, Larry Lee, Grant Bram, Peter O'Hara, and Duke Lee. He says he will take a short break while the panel gets settled.
An unnamed lifelong New Yorker says 561-A would dismantle the complaint program and give truck owners loopholes. He praises Gennaro's Tobacco 21 law and asks him to stand up to industry again by withdrawing 561-A.
Gennaro says Tobacco 21 took eight years and was opposed by major health groups before it became national policy. He says the episode shows the value of standing up to powerful industries.
Goman says she lives uptown with her children and has seen less idling because of the complaint program. She opposes 561-A's 60-day and 14-day limits and supports Intro 48's language access.
Gennaro apologizes as a phone alarm interrupts the hearing and says he needs to take medication. He then calls the next witness, Grant, to testify.
Grant says DEP is already far beyond 60 days and that the bill could toss out a year of complaints. He also warns that broadening processing devices to electrical equipment could let almost any engine use qualify.
Gennaro says many witnesses interpreted the 60-day section as throwing out violations, but that is not the intent. He says the language will be clarified so it does not produce that result.
Duke says the complaint program empowers residents to hold large corporations accountable. He opposes 561-A's regeneration exemption and 60-day window and warns that 11-A's penalties could devastate small businesses.
Gennaro thanks the panel and says their input is noted. He calls the next panel of Ting Ting Wong, Haxel Rios, Peder Wessel, Robin Warren, and Adam Tomlinson.
Wong says she is a former substitute teacher and former complaint participant. She argues 561-A would exempt school buses and weaken enforcement, and she urges the Council to reject it and improve the program instead.
Warren says she is a mother of school-aged children and discovered the complaint program while managing her daughter's asthma. She argues 561-A creates an unverifiable regeneration loophole and an unworkable 60-day deadline.
Tomlinson says he walks past the same idling trucks every day near schools, museums, and parks. He says drivers often turn engines off only briefly and urges the Council to amplify rather than restrict the program.
Wessel says he works in tech and suggests DEP could send automated email, text, or mail notices with video links as soon as complaints arrive. He argues this would reduce the year-long delay without changing the law.
Gennaro says the hearing has shown that the program is too analog and needs more technology. He notes that the mayor controls DEP staffing levels and that the Council cannot simply add staff on its own.
Bisker says he is a former delivery driver and longtime complaint participant with asthma. He argues 561-A rewards polluters for gumming up the system and punishes citizens for participating, and he urges the Council to kill the bill.
Dr. Eisenberg says he worked in New York City Department of Health clinics for many years. He describes idling pollutants' links to asthma, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, diabetes, and pregnancy complications, and opposes 561-A.
Eisenberg, an attorney, argues 561-A's literal language is the problem and cannot be fixed by statements of intent. He says DEP needs more resources, not a law change, and disputes claims that the program is poorly targeted.
Robidoux holds up his daughter's albuterol inhaler and says she has asthma. He argues 561-A would take away the complaint program that lets parents fight back against truck fumes and urges support for Intro 48.
Jacobs, a public-school teacher in the Bronx, says his students suffer asthma and smell exhaust in class. He argues 561-A would give corporate polluters a free pass and urges the Council to pass Intro 48 instead.
Gennaro says the last in-person panel has been called and asks whether anyone present still wants to testify. Seeing none, he explains the remote Zoom testimony procedure and says witnesses must wait for the sergeant before speaking.
Soomro says vehicle idling harms environmental justice neighborhoods near highways and warehouses. NYLCV supports Intro 48 and Intro 11-A, recommends more DEP and OATH resources, and says 561-A is not in the right place, especially its 30-minute school-bus idling allowance.
Khaneja says she measured air quality beside operating ice cream trucks and found volatile organic compound spikes at child breathing height. She supports Intro 48, raises concerns about 11-A's penalties for small vendors, and asks the committee to study ice-cream-truck complaints.
Severini says idling remains too common and supports higher penalties and language access. He argues 562 would reduce payment rates, 869 raises constitutional concerns, and 561 should be discarded entirely.
Anderson, president of Anderson Coach and Travel, says one motor coach replaces dozens of cars and that federal safety rules require idling for brakes, lifts, and passenger climate control. He opposes Intro 11 and supports 561.
Hartman says the real goal is simply to get drivers to turn off engines when not needed. He argues necessary uses are already exempt and that DEP, not the law, is the bottleneck.
Craig says Conservation Law Foundation litigates anti-idling cases, including against Academy Express. She says a Massachusetts court found stationary regeneration especially polluting and that buses can regenerate while driving, so 561-A's exemption is harmful.
Charnes represents the National Limousine Association and a New Jersey chauffeur group. He says operators support clean air but need recognition of passenger safety, climate control, and regeneration needs, and he opposes 11-A.
Griffith says he has been a bus operator for more than 40 years and has trained thousands of drivers. He argues buses must idle to build air pressure and perform safety checks, and he offers to demonstrate the process to officials.
Eki says his company operates about 2,000 trucks in the metro area and needs Intro 562 for liability transfer. He supports 561-A but says the DPF regeneration provision should be removed, and he opposes 11-A until due process improves.
Kane says higher fines burden an already regulated industry and stress drivers. He says ADA lift operations can take 10 to 15 minutes with the engine running and that HVAC and defrosters also require engine operation.
Diebel says she is a private investigator who found the complaint program confusing but has seen it change truck behavior near PS 307. She suggests DEP send rapid warning notices with video links, as other agencies do.
Bailey says he lives in Midtown East and supports the complaint program for quality of life. He opposes 561 and suggests more DEP technology and staff plus public street signage in high-density areas.
Lynch says 561-A's definition of terminal point could make every scheduled bus stop a zero-idling zone. He warns that buses cannot comply because of air-operated systems and wheelchair lifts, and asks the Council to keep terminal point limited to depots and layovers.
Petuliski of Panorama Tours describes buses overheating, regeneration being interrupted, and summonses arriving months later. She asks the Council to exclude private motor coaches from 11-A and the citizen idling program or at least provide timely enforcement and safeguards.
Whalen says film and TV production trucks are a mobile factory that needs power for sets. He argues the idling law lacks due process and transparency, produces delayed summonses, and forces drivers to choose between unsafe cabin conditions and fines.
Dubuque represents the National Waste and Recycling Association and describes tickets issued during garbage collection and regeneration. He asks the Council to protect active collection, required regeneration, and temporary safety stops.
Schnell, a pediatrician, says 561-A shows disregard for human health. He urges higher fines, serious enforcement, no discounts for polluters, faster summonses, better OATH training, and a simpler complaint process.
Berthet says her pedestrian-safety group CheckPeds works in a neighborhood with some of the city's worst air quality. She says the complaint program reduced idling and urges the Council not to dismantle a successful system.
Optenaker says she has seen a significant decrease in idling in her neighborhood. As a singer, she says lung health matters to her career and urges the Council not to disincentivize the complaint program.
Sucher says he supports higher fines and opposes 561. He suggests rental companies rewrite contracts to pass idling fines to customers and urges the Council to direct some revenue back to DEP staffing.
Chatterjee, using another participant's Zoom link, says idling harms children and that buses and garbage trucks often run engines unnecessarily. He says the law is working and that delayed fines are a bureaucratic problem, not a reason to change the law.
Gennaro asks whether anyone else registered to testify and, seeing none, closes the hearing. He thanks the public for attending, notes the administration did not appear, and adjourns.