The paper bag nickel fee from plastic bag ban is an austerity measure placed on middle and lower class citizens

QNS


After City Council approved a bill that would place a tax on single-use paper bags, Councilman Robert Holden is calling the move burdensome on the middle class.

Set to take place after a state-wide ban on plastic bags takes effect, the paper bag tax would put the cost of five cents on each paper bag used in a transaction at store across the city.

“As if it wasn’t enough that we are taxed to death in every facet of our lives, the New York City Council has just passed another regressive tax,” Holden said. “While ensuring our environment is clean for generations to come, a line must be drawn somewhere. I voted NO because this legislation will only add more pressure on our senior citizens who already live on a fixed income, and will once again put the burden on the middle class.”

The plastic bag ban was passed in the budget at the beginning of April making New York the third state in the nation to take a stand against the bags which are not biodegradable and land a heavy impact on wildlife.

California imposed its ban in 2016 and Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed the ban a year ago place emphasis on an earlier time when shopper only had paper bags to turn to.

Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order on April 11 intended to be the beginning of the end for reusable plastics and said while even paper products should be reduced, there needs to be option for low-income New Yorkers.

“We are looking at a whole host of questions around reusable products,” de Blasio said. “This is something I’ve talked about in terms of getting rid of plastic bags and paper bags that we’ve got to come up with some kind of option for folks of limited means. And we’re looking at everything. We’ll be looking at plastic bottles. You’re going to see a number of things coming out.”

If you can't tax them, ban them

From the Daily News:

Mayor de Blasio said he's "very open" to banning plastic bags outright after the state legislature and Gov. Cuomo blocked a city law to impose a five cent fee on the bags.

Albany intervened to stop the city for at least a year from requiring stores to charge five cents for plastic and paper bags. City pols say they wanted to encourage shoppers to ditch the environmentally harmful bags for reusable ones.

"That was one way of doing it. A ban is another option, which I'd be very open to," de Blasio said Monday night on NY1. "The one thing I know is the worst possible outcome is what we have right now. Vast number of plastic bags are just harming the earth. It's not good for any of us."

Free newspaper hawkers banned from subways

From WNYC:

Earlier this year, the MTA announced an agreement with the publishers of amNY and Metro — both free dailies — that prohibits these modern-day "newsies" from working in the subway, and allows the newspapers to place self-service metal racks stands in stations instead.

The MTA argues that the hawkers contribute to excess trash in the stations, which is a continual struggle for the agency, and contributes to track fires. There were over 1,000 subway fires last year, according to a report from the MTA. This new agreement holds the newspapers accountable for the disposal of leftover papers at the end of each day. Metro has already begun to withdraw hawkers, while amNY is expected to follow, said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz. (A spokesman for amNY wouldn't comment.)

Though banned from the subway, the hawkers will continue to physically distribute newspapers in NJ Transit, LIRR and Metro- North stations, according to Metro's media kit.

City bans 2 engineers

From Crains:

The city banned two construction engineers who submitted falsified plans to the Department of Buildings and signed off on unsafe blueprints—sometimes without even reviewing them—officials announced Tuesday.

"These individuals abused their privileges as licensed engineers, and put expediency and profit ahead of work-site safety," said Rick Chandler, commissioner of the department, in a statement.

Since last year, the Buildings Department has been cracking down on shady construction professionals. Its efforts have led to actions against 59 individuals. Stricter rules for construction sites were also implemented, including quadrupling fines for serious safety violations.

In this case, the two engineers, Yaakov Stern and Ashraf Ali, were caught in departmental audits and have had their filing privileges revoked.

DOB may lift ban on crawler cranes

From Crains:

In the wake of the Feb. 5 accident, which cost 38-year-old David Wichs his life and damaged four buildings when the crane's boom crashed down along the north side of Worth Street, the city's Department of Buildings prohibited crawler cranes, which can be driven around on tank-like treads, from operating in sustained wind speeds topping 20 miles per hour.

Now a working group that was established to review the city's crane rules in the wake of the crash has recommended lifting that emergency ban. The requirements would revert to what they were before the accident: Cranes have to stop work when wind speeds hit either the manufacturer's specification, or 30 miles per hour at the maximum.

Should the city adopt the new temporary measures, it would appease construction firms, crane companies and workers, who had complained that the 20 mile-per-hour limit was forcing them to shut down so frequently that it was wreaking havoc on their business without necessarily improving safety.

But the working group, which had been criticized for lacking crane experts, also recommended two other measures as part of its proposal. One would require that an operator be on site for crawler cranes unless the crane is designed to operate in 30-mph or stronger winds or is in storage mode. The other would prohibit crawler cranes from being used in public areas if the machines can't safely withstand 20-mph winds.

Styrofoam is back

From Crains:

A state judge has overturned New York City's ban on plastic foam containers, finding the nearly 30,000 tons of dirty meat trays and to-go cups now sent to landfills can be recycled in a cost-effective way, according to a decision made public Tuesday.

The ban went into effect July 1 after lawmakers voted in 2013 to approve it unless a yearlong inquiry found the foam could be effectively recycled. An industry group of manufacturers, recyclers and restaurant-owners then sued, arguing that the ban was based on politics, not policy and that recycling was feasible.

The environmental initiative was spearheaded by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, and supported by current Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.

But state Supreme Court Judge Margaret Chan ruled that Department of Sanitation Commissioner Katheryn Garcia didn't properly take into account industry estimates of the market and recycling opportunities generated during the yearlong review period when she decided that plastic foam couldn't be recycled economically and in an environmentally friendly way.

Ms. Garcia didn't "clearly state the basis of her conclusions when the evidence contrary to her findings were clearly before her," Ms. Chan wrote, noting industry estimates that 21 companies would buy used containers from the city. She also noted the city would save $400,000 annually if 40 percent of its wasted plastic foam wasn't sent to landfills, though as much as 75 percent could be recycled following machinery improvements.

Paul Vallone had a great vacation

From the Daily News:

Flip-flopping City Councilman Paul Vallone had little explanation Sunday for his inconsistent position on Mayor de Blasio's proposed horse carriage ban.

"We are listening to the horse drivers, seeing both sides. It's very important. I want to make sure we can see the final bill before I make a vote. I think, after meeting everybody, it's been very, you know, informing of both sides," the Queens pol said in San Juan at the conclusion of a Caribbean cruise with family.

The Daily News caught the councilman as he got off the luxurious cruise liner and prepared to return to New York City.

"You are going to have to wait till I get home, my dear," Vallone told a reporter asking why he'd reversed his position on horse carriages. He did confirm the vacation had been delightful.

What the News failed to report is that Mr. V was on the cruise with a developer friend of his...

Styrofoam to be banned by city

From the Daily News:

New Yorkers’ beloved foam take-out and delivery food containers will soon be products of a bygone era.

Mayor de Blasio — finishing off an initiative begun by his predecessor — will announce a ban on the environmentally unfriendly material Thursday, according to The New York Times.

The ban will start July 1 and cover foam packing peanuts as well as plastic foam cups and take-out containers.

Who is the Daily News to say that foam takeout containers are "beloved" by NYers? I hate them. They make your food taste like chemicals and they fall apart easily. And then there's the other side of the story.

Dromm is go-to guy on banning horse carriages

From the NY Observer:

Councilman Daniel Dromm, a Queens Democrat, will introduce a bill to ban horse-drawn carriages from city streets, according to a source with knowledge of the legislation.

Mr. Dromm, one of the body’s more liberal members, has been at the forefront of the drive to outlaw the carriages and his role in the bill’s introduction comes as little surprise. Last night, the Observer reported that long-awaited legislation will be introduced as early as the next City Council meeting on December 8.

The bill, a de Blasio administration initiative, will offer displaced carriage drivers free green taxi medallions on the condition that they purchase handicapped-accessible cabs. The union representing the carriage drivers panned the proposal while animal rights activists celebrated Mayor Bill de Blasio’s apparent commitment to one of his more high profile and unpopular–according to polls, at least–campaign pledges.

Styrofoam & e-cigs banned by Council

From the NY Times:

In its last scheduled legislative session of the year, the New York City Council passed major health and environmental regulations on Thursday, establishing a ban on plastic-foam food service containers, extending the city’s ban on public smoking to cover e-cigarettes and requiring composting at large restaurants.

The plastic-foam measure was a final victory of sorts for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, though it came with a caveat. In his State of the City address this year, Mr. Bloomberg said the plastic-foam containers were virtually impossible to recycle, and environmentalists have long complained that the foam cups, trays and containers, stained by beverages, grease and food, were needlessly clogging landfills.

In response to concerns that small businesses would be hurt by switching to costlier alternatives like paper and plastic, the bill allows small establishments and nonprofit organizations to apply for a waiver from the ban.

E-cigarettes, which use a battery to vaporize a nicotine solution, have grown in popularity based on a perception that they are a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, but the health implications remain in question. The bill limiting their use, pushed by two departing council members, James F. Gennaro of Queens and Speaker Christine C. Quinn of Manhattan, bans e-cigarettes wherever smoking is now prohibited, including restaurants, bars, parks and office buildings. The Bloomberg administration supported the measure.

Proponents cited the potential, if not yet fully known, health effects of e-cigarettes and their secondhand vapor, and said e-cigarettes confused bartenders and others who had to enforce the existing ban.

Bloomberg wants soda ban to be statewide

From the NY Post:

Mayor Bloomberg today called on the state to follow the city's lead by banning the sale of sugary sodas in sizes larger than 16 ounces in all stores, not just restaurants.

The city's new law takes effect March 12 in food establishments regulated by the Health Department.

Supermarkets, groceries and shops where prepared foods constitute less than 50 percent of sales are not affected because they're overseen by the state Agriculture Department and the city doesn't have jurisdiction.

Individual pizza parlors would have to obey the new law, even when it comes to deliveries.

"You have exactly the right question, but you're asking it the wrong way," the mayor said.At a press conference today, the mayor was asked why pizza shops shouldn't be in the same category as supermarkets, where customers would still be able to walk out with all the two-liter soda bottles they could carry.

"Keep in mind we're trying to save the lives of these kids, particularly kids...The state should do exactly the same thing in stores."

Yay or nay on styrofoam ban?

From Crains:

Barely 24 hours have passed since Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed an all-out ban on plastic foam food containers in the city and already New Yorkers are asking: So what do we use instead?

Mr. Bloomberg's announcement, made Thursday in his State of the City address, left consumers and food vendors big and small wondering what a city free of plastic foam might look like.

Polystyrene foam containers have long been used by street vendors and take-out restaurants as a cheap way to keep in the heat—and sauces—of meals sold to on-the-go customers.

"If they ban it all, we'll have to use aluminum storage containers," said Paul Gopaul, 29, owner of the popular Midtown food truck Faith's Halal Food. "Definitely we'd have a price change."

Mr. Gopaul estimated he uses 500 plastic foam food containers a week, which he buys in packs of 175 containers that sell for $15 at a Queens supplier. The aluminum containers of equal size run about $5 more per pack, he said.

If the City Council were truly concerned about our environment, they wouldn't allow powerplants to be built on parkland by private corporations and wouldn't approve contaminated schools.  I guess they feel doing this would make up for their other transgressions.

Should we ban alcopop?

From the Daily News:

They banned smoking in parks and flavored tobacco. Now city officials are coming after your Mike's Hard Lemonade.

The city Health Department wants state lawmakers to make it illegal for bodegas to sell "alcopop" - premixed, carbonated, flavored malt drinks with alcohol content as high as 12%.

"We are very concerned about these," Health Commissioner Thomas Farley testified at a Council hearing yesterday.

Bronx State Sen. Jeff Klein has already introduced a bill to ban kid-friendly booze beverages like Four Loko and Tilt - but the city says it doesn't go far enough.

A new bill, which must be approved by Albany lawmakers, would outlaw Mike's Hard Lemonade and almost all other types of mixed alcoholic drinks sold in 8,700 bodegas, delis and mini-marts.

Studies have shown that two out of five adolescents who begin drinking before the age of 15 will eventually become dependent on alcohol.