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New Bills: Stormwater Fixes


With every powerful rainfall, gallons of sewage can overflow into the city's waterways, threatening its ecological balance. Councilmember James Gennaro, chairman of the City Council's Environmental Protection Committee, would like to change that.

Last month, the councilmember introduced three bills that strive to naturally prevent pollutants from entering the city's waterways.

Creating A Sustainable Stormwater System

When more than one-tenth of an inch of rain falls in the city, the stormwater system, 60 percent of which is connected to the sewer system, can overflow. As a result, sewage spills into the New York harbor, contaminating waterways and making surrounding areas unsafe for recreational activities.

Some estimates contend as much as 27 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater discharge into the New York harbor every year.

Advocates, like the coalition group Storm Water Infrastructure Matters, have long called for a sewer system overhaul to protect and preserve the city's waterways. Cost estimates for such an expansive project, such as increasing the number of the city's underground sewage storage tanks, are significant and a complete renovation is not currently on the city's agenda. Though the city's Department of Environmental Protection is enhancing its natural stormwater collection system on Staten Island.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030 also addresses stormwater management and water quality by aiming to keep stormwater out of the city's already strained system naturally.

Gennaro, though, has introduced legislation (Intro 630) calling for the city to develop and implement a detailed sustainable stormwater management plan, which would include environmentally friendly development practices specific to every waterway.

"We have to continue with common sense solutions, and we can't ignore the role Mother Nature would play," said Gennaro at a press conference on the City Hall steps. "It is critical to create legislation that will succeed the Bloomberg administration and my tenure as chairman of the (Environmental Protection) Committee."

Over the last century, Gennaro said the city has lost 86 percent of its wetlands throughout the New York harbor area from pollution, in part due to the combined sewer system.

Under the legislation, development in the city would use green technology, including green roofs, permeable pavement, rain gardens and swales, to keep stormwater from entering the system. The plan would look at all of the city's waterways and address specific solutions for each. If the legislation were approved, the city would have to draft a plan and submit it to the City Council by next spring.

Natural Solutions

Gennaro has also proposed legislation (Intro 629) that would require any capital projects done by the city to minimize its impact on the city's stormwater infrastructure by incorporating green technologies.

With every new project or development, open space and naturally permeable surfaces disappear. Incorporating green technology into the project now could offset the environmental impact later. Under the legislation, the city's Department of Environmental Protection would set the requirements, which could include green roofs and rain gardens.

In the meantime, Gennaro has also proposed a bill (Intro 628) to require tree plantings be done to best address stormwater absorption. A million trees are slated for plating throughout the city, according to Bloomberg's PlaNYC. With that amount, the councilmember said, a significant amount of stormwater could be kept out of the system.

"Currently there are 460 outfalls, by some estimates, in all five boroughs that discharge raw sewage and rain," said Larry Levine of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "About a third of all of the public access points to the waterfront around the city are within three city blocks (of the outfalls). This is problem that affects all of us here in New York."

Advocates claim as the city continues to develop its waterfronts, keeping a clean environment there is increasingly important. 

Censored by Verizon


When NARAL Pro-Choice America applied to Verizon Wireless for a code so it could send text messages to Verizon subscribers who wanted to receive them, the organization never expected that the wireless provider would deny its request. AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, which share almost the entire U.S. market with Verizon, had shown no hesitation signing NARAL up for the five-digit "short code."

Unexpectedly, though, Verizon rejected NARAL's application. In its response, the company said its decision was in accordance with its policy to refuse messages it deemed "controversial or unsavory to any of our users."

Following a New York Times article and a public outcry, Verizon rescinded its rejection. But the fact that Verizon can reject or block politically controversial messages, whether or not it does, left many people feeling outraged.

On October 17, New York State Assemblymember Richard Brodsky convened a hearing to get the facts from NARAL and Verizon and to consider the issue of net neutrality, which would prevent Verizon and other service providers from withholding service based on the content of messages.

Net neutrality is the principle of non-discrimination on communications networks, especially the Internet, but also phone or mobile wireless networks. Proponents of net neutrality say the networks, no matter who owns them, should carry our messages regardless of their content or who is providing that content. Current law permits Internet and mobile wireless service providers to decide what content they carry, the way a cable television provider chooses which channels it can offer. This applies not only to the kind of short message code for which NARAL applied, but also to Web sites and even e-mails.

Phone companies like Verizon want the law to stay this way so they can charge a toll for some Web sites or messages to get through first -- or to get through at all. The current situation also grants them the power to censor political messages or to block content provided by their competitors: Because it is a private network, constitutional protections like free speech do not apply. This is why net neutrality is sometimes called the first amendment of the Internet.

Brodsky has introduced a bill, the Omnibus Telecommunications Reform Act of 2007, that would completely overhaul the way the state's telecommunications systems are regulated, promote the development of more high-speed Internet infrastructure and foster net neutrality. The hearing of the Assembly's Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, held in a pleasant but windowless hearing room at 250 Broadway, was an opportunity to consider additional strategies for net neutrality and to hold Verizon to account for its censorship of NARAL.

Provider as Censor

"Those of us at NARAL were stunned, frightened and appalled to discover that current law would permit such an offensive and ominous incident to happen," Kelli Conlin, president of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, told the State Assembly.

Verizon's defense was that it had made a mistake. Since then, the company says it has updated its policy to be "content neutral" so that something similar will not happen again. Representatives promised that the company does not block content.

But the committee members were skeptical.

Brodsky pointed to language in Verizon's own Acceptable Use Policy for Internet service, in which the company reserves the right to terminate service if a person's use of it is "objectionable for any reason." Verizon also puts restrictions on speech that it deems indecent or racist -- speech that in other settings would be constitutionally protected.

Assemblymember Daniel O'Donnell wondered who at Verizon made the decision to censor NARAL. Company representatives deflected the question, but O'Donnell persisted, making clear that without net neutrality or some application of the first amendment to the company's networks, an anonymous person at Verizon becomes the arbiter of free speech.

Verizon representatives conceded they would continue to put limits on communication. Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh wondered what the company would do if another applicant for a short code was so unpopular with Verizon customers that granting it access would hurt the bottom line. In that situation, Monica Azare, a Verizon New York senior vice president, said, "We have an obligation to do what is most prudent and in the best interest of all of the shareholders. And we do have an obligation to be a good corporate citizen as well, but we do not have to be the moral compass of the world in making a decision like that."

Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal asked the Verizon representatives what they would do if she used her Verizon phone to urge people to boycott Verizon. "I think the suits would go into a room again and huddle," Azare said.

Ultimately, Verizon attorney Keith Clemens assured Rosenthal they would not block her messages. "That is your right to free speech," he said.

The point of the hearing, however, was that constitutional protections on speech do not extend to communication over privately owned networks. What's more, Verizon's use policy specifically says, "You may NOT use the Service... to damage the name or reputation of Verizon, its parent, affiliates and subsidiaries, or any third parties." (Verizon has reportedly followed AT&T in cutting this type of language from its policy, but it was still there one week after the hearing.)

I was at the hearing to testify along with representatives of Free Press and Consumers Union. We argued that vital communication services such as e-mail, Web sites and text messaging are the platform for political speech today and that free speech is too important to leave to the discretion of private corporations.

Wielding Political Power

Telecommunications companies have a huge amount of political influence. Verizon spent nearly $10 million on lobbying in 2006. AT&T spent nearly $20 million -- well over that amount if you add in BellSouth, with which it merged in that year. The US Telecom Association, of which AT&T and Verizon are both members, spent another $20 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And that does not include the tax-free money spent on industry-funded nonprofits posing as grassroots organizations.

Given that kind of lobbying, it is surprising to see any legislators, let alone a whole dais of them, take on the phone companies. They gave Howard Simons, the representative from the Cable Telecommunications Association of New York, a similar treatment. Still, it's hard to move big bills like Brodsky's through Albany when the governor and the leader of the State Senate are not on speaking terms.

The Committee on Corporations is pondering more incremental legislation to enforce or encourage net neutrality. It is a complicated task: Because the networks cross state lines, regulating them is generally a federal issue. However, Congress has stalled in its consideration of net neutrality measures, putting pressure on state and local governments to act.

Maine recently became the first state to pass a resolution endorsing net neutrality. New York City Council Member Gale Brewer, who testified to the State Assembly, has introduced a hearing similar resolution in the New York City Council. She told the Assembly she would consider a separate resolution urging the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to include net neutrality provisions in its negotiations with Verizon, Cablevision and Time Warner for franchises to provide cable television service to New York City.

Beyond symbolic resolutions, state or local governments can place restrictions on procurement, purchasing telecommunications services only from providers that agree to net neutrality.

State governments also have consumer protection authority, so they could require service providers to display more prominently the parts of their terms of service where they reserve the right to block content or cancel service to a customer who says something they don't like.

The hearing made clear that, as we move more and more of our political speech and civic engagement onto the Internet and other telecommunications networks, there is a pressing need to extend first amendment protections to those arenas. Otherwise, free speech could be nothing more than a premium feature on your Verizon Wireless calling plan.

Joshua Breitbart is policy director for People's Production House.

 

Stated Meeting with a State Agenda


Council Speaker Christine Quinn called an unannounced City Council meeting Tuesday morning, rushing council members into the chamber to give the state Legislature the go-ahead to approve a tax credit for small business owners.

 

But in so-called typical Albany fashion, the Legislature never moved to vote on the measure despite the unanimous approval of a home-rule message by the City Council. The small-business tax credit bill is just one of many pieces of legislation important to the city that has stalled upstate.

 

The Tax Credit

 

About 75 percent of firms in the city have fewer than 20 employees, and they are subject to double taxation, according to city officials. Owners of S-Corporation businesses, which have fewer than 75 stockholders and are owned by individuals who live in the United States, are taxed on their business's profits and again on their personal income.

 

For this reason, both the federal government and 39 state governments, including New York, offer full or partial exemptions from corporate taxes for these businesses. The city has offered a partial tax break since 1997, which the council was hoping to expand.

 

First proposed by Quinn in her 2006 budget response and again in the 2007 budget response, the legislation would cut $35 million from the personal income taxes of S-corporation shareholders in its first year and save shareholders an additional $18 million in fiscal year 2008, according to city officials. By 2010, taxpayers would have saved approximately $110 million.

 

If the legislature had approved the measure, 100,000 business owners would have been affected.

 

In a prepared statement, Quinn said: "These hard working people are suffering because of an unfair tax burden. Establishing the new S-Corporation tax credit will allow small businesses to grow and prosper.”

 

The home rule message, which enables the Legislature to move forward with issues affecting only New York City, was approved by a vote of 49 to 0. The council reportedly rushed into a meeting after it received word that the Legislature would move on the accompanying legislation.

 

A Short Session

 

Last week the Senate and the Assembly met for the first time since a special legislative session to address congestion pricing adjourned in July. After a quick session meant to address a number outstanding issues, like pay increases for legislators, the S-Corporation legislation remained in limbo – as did most other reforms.

 

In response, Quinn spokesperson Maria Alvarado said in an e-mailed statement, "The Council is pleased that the S-Corp legislation passed through the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee, and we thank Chairman (Herman) Farrell and Speaker (Sheldon) Silver for their work on the issue. We are hopeful that with the support of Senator (Frank) Padavan and Senate Majority Leader (Joe) Bruno, Albany will vote to approve this legislation before the end of the year."

 

The home rule message is good until the end of the year, and city officials hope the issue will reemerge in Albany, most likely in December. A spokesman for Speaker Sheldon Silver said the Assembly would take up the legislation before the end of the year.

 

For now, S-Corporation tax breaks will mimic myriad other measures in Albany: It will remain unresolved.

 

The Other Albany Agenda

 

The legislature failed to pass, in addition to small business tax breaks, a number of the city's legislative priorities last week. Besides several local initiatives and several of Governor Eliot Spitzer's appointments, the legislature made little movement on any significant reform.

 

First, several Manhattan Assembly members have been blocking an amendment to the Hudson River Park Act that would allow the city to finalize and construct the last remaining piece of its Solid Waste Management Plan. The city needs approval to construct the recycling center on the Gansevoort peninsula near 14th Street. Building the facility, the Bloomberg administration has said, would disperse the city's garbage evenly throughout the boroughs. That measure never made it to the floor.

 

Reform of the Wicks Law – a state statute that requires the city to award contracts piecemeal instead of to one business – was also sidestepped last week. The law, critics say, increases cost for the city's construction contracts, because it cannot award projects in bulk.

 

Another issue left unresolved is the city's 421a program – a program that encourages the construction of apartments, especially affordable ones, by offering tax exemptions to developers.

 

According to Assemblyman Vito Lopez's office, the final amendment to the 421a legislation, which was approved in a larger legislative package earlier this year, will be taken up most likely in December. Though the legislation does not take effect until next year, the final piece outlining an agreement with the city has yet to be agreed upon. Earlier this year, residents and city officials were outraged when a large tax break was created for developer Forest City Ratner and its Atlantic Yards project.

 

Many attribute the lack of legislative movement in Albany to an ongoing feud between Spitzer and Senate Majority Leader Bruno. Although state and city leaders predict the Legislature will reconvene later this year, whether any of the city's priorities will be approved, or even voted on, is anyone's guess.  



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