Eric Eisenberg says 561-A is unfixable and the status quo works

Hi, I'm Eric Eisenberg, a local attorney.

This is not a hard problem.

There is no problem, not a legislative one anyways.

And Intro 561A is unresurrectably, unfixably broken, as explained in detail by dozens of local and national organizations.

It can't be fixed with off-the-cuff statements of intent.

Its literal, unambiguous language is the problem.

The status quo is working extremely well.

DEP just needs more resources to process complaints and process them quickly.

The program generates net revenue for the city.

There is no net cost to fund it properly and speed up issuance of summons and notice.

We have raised this issue at every environmental budget hearing, yet DEP's idling unit still needs more workers.

You can do it today, Chairman Gennaro.

I can't.

Again, every time.

I mean, I can't give DEP more staff.

You and Mamdani are not going to agree to give them more resources?

I don't talk to Mayor Mamdani, and so, you know, directly.

He talks with Donald Trump, so.

Yeah, I'm just saying, you know, we're the legislature, the executive is the executive, and when the executive, you know,

we have the preliminary budget, then we say we need more DEP workers, and then they do the exec budget, and then.

It's very hard to get them to put more personnel in.

And so we try, but at the end of the day, we negotiate and we get what we get.

We control the legislative side, but the executive side and preempting mayoral authority, we just don't have.

And you as an attorney, I'm sure, know that.

Well, maybe I'm naive, but I believe in you.

Okay, thank you.

The program itself, the Citizen Air Complaint Program, works brilliantly.

It is a false narrative propagated by Eric Adams'corrupt administration that the Citizen Complaint Program is not well geographically targeted.

We have charts and maps showing an amazing, near-perfect correlation between where the most pollution is and where the most reported violations occur.

We will provide this data in our written testimony.

As to Mr.

Zogby's claim, DEP doesn't issue repeat violations until the prior violations have been adjudicated.

Any defaults can be easily reopened.

There are claims floating around.

that the engine is necessary to run generators and lift gates and refrigeration units.

But generators don't use engine power.

They create their own power.

And actually using the engine to run lift gates and refrigeration units already provides an absolute defense.

Certified Clean Idle is not clean.

Even in California, you can't run those engines near residential areas.

And as a board member of the New York Clean Air Collective, I am proud of the standards that those submitting complaints have held themselves to.

Hundreds of thousands of complaints issued, and the current administration did not identify a single instance of misconduct in their paper.

There's no problem that needs solving.

I think we're in agreement.

I'm going to ask you to, I mean, I know I took up some of your time, but I think I've, okay, finish your thought.

I'm on my last paragraph.

Okay.

I think we are in agreement that the current 561A is unworkable and its recent amendments have only made it worse.

Will you commit that?

Should you not do the correct thing and withdraw this harmful bill, that the public get to weigh in on your amendments at a further hearing.

We ask the questions.

I don't answer questions.

I take testimony.

That's it.

You ask the questions, you kill the New Yorkers.

Thank you.

Yeah, it's like we don't answer questions.

That's no committee council chair would ever do that.

But thank you.

doing this.