A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the removal of trees downed or damaged as a result of a severe weather event.

By Council Members King, Arroyo, Chin, Dickens, Koo, Levine, Palma, Rose, Williams, Rosenthal, Richards, Cohen, Weprin, Constantinides, Deutsch, Maisel, Lancman, Torres, Rodriguez, Vallone, Treyger, Cornegy, Mendez, Miller, Mealy, Van Bramer, Dromm, Greenfield, Kallos and Lander

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 1 of title 18 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 18-142 to read as follows:

§ 18-142 Tree removal protocol. a. The department, in consultation with the office of emergency management, department of sanitation, local electric corporations, and other utility corporations identified by the department, shall develop a protocol for the removal of trees on city property that have been downed or damaged as a result of severe weather events. Such protocol shall require the department:

1. to establish effective means of communication with local electric corporations and other utility corporations identified by the department, so that the department is notified in a timely manner (i) of downed or damaged trees that have fallen on powered electrical wires or cables, and (ii) whether it is safe to remove such trees;

2. to effectively coordinate city personnel engaged in tree removal on city property, upon receiving information regarding the status of downed or damaged trees;

3. to establish a system whereby each report of downed or damaged trees is provided with a unique identifier or tracking number and a method to notify the local electric corporation and other utility corporations identified by the department when a downed or damaged tree on city property has been removed; and

4. to establish a system whereby department personnel engaged in tree removal may be deployed with local electric corporation or other utility corporation personnel, if practicable, to assess and remove downed or damaged trees that have fallen on powered electrical wires or cables.

b. The department shall publish prominently on its website as soon as is practicable after a severe weather event information instructing persons how to notify the city of downed or damaged trees or downed wires.

c. The department shall submit a description of such protocol to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and publish such description prominently on its website, within one hundred eighty days after the enactment of the local law that added this subdivision.

§2. This local law shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become a law.

Int. No. 1156/2013

LS 348/2014

2/18/15 7:45PM revised