Simcha Felder and his colleagues in the New York City Council today passed legislation co-sponsored Felder and Council Members James Gennaro, Leroy Comrie, and David Yassky that will restructure the Environmental Control Board (ECB), mandating a more efficient, responsive, and equitable adjudication and appeals process.

“Everybody is familiar with the inefficiencies at the Environmental Control Board and the headaches caused to thousands of New Yorkers,” said Governmental Operations Committee Chair Simcha Felder.  “This bill is a great first step forward in modernizing ECB and hopefully starting a new era where tax-paying homeowners and small businesses no longer feel harassed by their own government.”

The law moves the ECB from the authority of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), a central tribunal that conducts hearings for agencies, boards, and commissions in the city, among other reforms to modernize ECB to protect no-show agencies and endless waits for appeals decisions.  Introduced in May and approved last month by the Governmental Operations Committee, of which Felder is Chair, the law has the support of Mayor Bloomberg, who is expected to sign it within the next couple of weeks.

ECB is responsible for conducting hearings of violations of the city’s quality of life laws.  The board hears complaints from Departments of Sanitation, Buildings, Health, Fire, Consumer Affairs, and FDNY, amounting 175,000 hearings annually. 

Upon enactment of this law, ECB will provide language services and protect violators from no-show agency representation.  The law also outlines technological improvements, including online payment, electronic scheduling, and increased efficiency in administration.

(YWN Desk – NYC)