Bill Text: NY A00323 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires written request, including environmental impact statement, and review by community boards, borough presidents and the council of proposed reductions in the level of fire services, including closure of firehouses or removal or relocation of fire fighting units.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to cities [A00323 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A00323-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           323
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     January 5, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, COLTON, ROSENTHAL, SIMOTAS, ABBATE,
          CRESPO, SKOUFIS, MOYA -- Multi-Sponsored by  --  M.  of  A.  DINOWITZ,
          LENTOL,  M. G. MILLER,  PERRY, TITONE -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Cities
        AN ACT to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of
          the city of New York, in relation to  requiring  written  request  and
          review of proposed reductions in the level of fire services
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision a of section 487 of the New York city  charter,
     2  as  amended  by local law number 40 of the city of New York for the year
     3  1989, is amended to read as follows:
     4    a. The commissioner shall have sole and exclusive  power  and  perform
     5  all  duties  for the government, discipline, management, maintenance and
     6  direction of the fire department and the premises and  property  in  the
     7  custody thereof, however, the commissioner shall [provide written notice
     8  with  supporting  documentation  at  least  forty-five days prior to the
     9  permanent closing of any firehouse or the  permanent  removal  or  relo-
    10  cation  of  any  fire  fighting  unit  to the council members, community
    11  boards and borough presidents whose districts are served by such facili-
    12  ty or unit and the chairperson of the council's public safety committee.
    13  For the purposes of this section, the term "permanent" shall mean a time
    14  period in excess of six months. In the event that the permanent  closing
    15  of  any  firehouse  or  the permanent removal or relocation of any fire-
    16  fighting unit does not occur within four months of the date of the writ-
    17  ten notice, the commissioner shall issue  another  written  notice  with
    18  supporting  documentation prior to such permanent removal or relocation.
    19  The four months during which the written notice is  effective  shall  be
    20  tolled for any period in which a restraining order or injunction prohib-
    21  iting  the  closing of such noticed facility or unit shall be in effect]
    22  be required to comply with the  provisions  of  section  15-131  of  the
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00596-02-7

        A. 323                              2
     1  administrative  code  of  the  city  of New York with respect to certain
     2  proposed reductions of fire services.
     3    §  2.  The  administrative  code of the city of New York is amended by
     4  adding a new section 15-131 to read as follows:
     5    § 15-131. Reduction of fire services; prior approval required.  a. The
     6  commissioner shall provide written request with supporting documentation
     7  prior to the permanent closing of any firehouse or the permanent removal
     8  or relocation of any fire fighting unit to the council members, communi-
     9  ty boards and borough presidents whose  districts  are  served  by  such
    10  facility  or  unit  and  the  chairperson of the council's public safety
    11  committee. For the purposes of this section, the term "permanent"  shall
    12  mean a time period in excess of six months.
    13    b.  The  written  request,  required by subdivision a of this section,
    14  shall include an environmental impact statement,  which  shall  address,
    15  but shall not be limited to:
    16    (1)  current  and projected response times of the subject firehouse or
    17  fire fighting unit, which shall mean the sum of dispatch time and travel
    18  time in response to a call directed to the facility  or  unit,  for  the
    19  area  affected  by  closure,  which  must include geographic and traffic
    20  analyses as they affect response times;
    21    (2) current and projected allocation of resources, including  staffing
    22  levels,  for  the  firehouses  or fire fighting units in the district or
    23  districts served by the facility or unit which is proposed to be closed,
    24  removed or relocated; and
    25    (3) distance of other firehouses of fire fighting units  in  the  area
    26  affected by closure.
    27    c.  The  proposed  closure,  removal or relocation shall be subject to
    28  consecutive thirty day  review  periods  by  the  community  boards  and
    29  borough  presidents  whose districts are served by the subject firehouse
    30  or fire fighting unit.
    31    (1) If any or all of the affected community boards or  borough  presi-
    32  dents support the proposal, the council will be given a thirty day peri-
    33  od  to  review  the  proposal  and  a  majority vote will be required to
    34  approve the measure;
    35    (2) If all of the affected community  boards  and  borough  presidents
    36  oppose  the  proposal,  the council will be given a thirty day period to
    37  review the proposal and a two-thirds majority vote will be  required  to
    38  approve the measure.
    39    d.  In  the  event  that the permanent closing of any firehouse or the
    40  permanent removal or relocation of any fire fighting unit does not occur
    41  within four months of the date of approval after review, in  the  manner
    42  provided  by subdivision c of this section, the commissioner shall issue
    43  another written request with  supporting  documentation  prior  to  such
    44  permanent  closure,  removal or relocation. The four months during which
    45  the approval is effective shall be tolled for  any  period  in  which  a
    46  restraining order or injunction prohibiting the closing of such facility
    47  or unit shall be in effect.
    48    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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