Lifelong New Yorker urges rejection of 561-A and cites Tobacco 21
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.
Testing one, two, three.
Yep, I think we're good.
Good afternoon, council members.
I want to thank each one of you for everything that you guys do for New York City, both seen and unseen.
Each one of you have my deepest respect.
As a lifelong New Yorker, I am here today to urge you to reject Intro 561A.
This bill does not fix, reform, or improve the program.
Instead, it will dismantle it.
It provides truck owners with loopholes.
That will allow them to idle with impunity.
I want to focus on two specific items.
First, diesel regeneration.
Unfortunately, diesel regeneration cannot be seen, not by the person filming it, not by the DEP inspector, and not by the hearing.
officer.
The moment this bill passes, every diesel truck, every bus driver in New York will have a permanent and unverifiable excuse to idle.
Every idling ticket becomes unprovable.
Second, the 60-day clock.
DEP has 60 days to make it happen, or else they could walk away from the complaint.
This deadline is not ambition.
It will prove to be impossible and untenable.
With this bill, tens and thousands of valid complaints filed in good faith will be expired, unreviewed.
The 60-day clock does not speed up enforcement.
It guarantees that nearly every complaint expires unresolved and violators will walk away scot-free.
And finally, I want to speak directly to the main sponsor of this bill, Chairman Gennaro.
Your record is not in question here.
It is this reason that this moment matters.
Continue.
You've authored 50 laws to protect citizens of this great city.
You wrote Tobacco 21, Raising the Age of the Tobacco E-Cig Buyers.
New England Journal of Medicine said this saved countless lives.
You accomplished this by standing up to a powerful industry, an industry that insisted that life as usual
and that the status quo was okay.
At the end of the day, you were right and they were wrong.
What we ask in terms of this program, this is the first tool that truly held the biggest polluters accountable.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are asking you to do it again.
Don't cave in to big corporations, the trucking companies, the lobbyists, and their respective unions.
We ask you to stay the course.
Do what's right, as you have done before.
Withdraw this bill and save lives again.
Thank you.