Int. No. 210-A

By Council Members Ariola, Brooks-Powers, Menin, Velázquez, Ossé, Farías, Gennaro, Gutiérrez, Ayala, Holden, Narcisse, Abreu, Riley, Barron, Schulman, Marte, Kagan, Lee, Louis, Krishnan, Sanchez, Brannan, Hanif, Hanks, Carr, Borelli, Paladino and Vernikov

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to creating a marine debris disposal and vessel surrendering office

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Section 20-m of chapter 1 of the New York city charter, as added by local law number 164 for the year 2021, is renumbered section 20-o.

§ 2. Chapter 1 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a new section 20-p to read as follows:

§ 20-p. Office of marine debris disposal and vessel surrendering. a. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Abandon. The term “abandon” means the permanent relinquishment of possession or control.

Director. The term “director” means the director of the office of marine debris disposal and vessel surrendering.

Littoral waters. The term “littoral waters” means any waters within or bounding the city.

Marine debris. The term “marine debris” means any debris or other material or substance that is abandoned in or on littoral waters or shores, other than a vessel.

Shores. The term “shores” means the land, within or bounding the city, between the mean high water mark and mean low water mark.

b. The mayor shall establish an office of marine debris disposal and vessel surrendering. Such office may be established in the executive office of the mayor or may be established as a separate office, within any other office of the mayor or within any department, the head of which is appointed by the mayor. Such office shall be headed by a director, who shall be appointed by the mayor or the head of such department.

c. Powers and duties. In addition to any powers and duties the mayor may assign, the director shall have the power and duty to:

1. Collaborate with relevant agencies including, but not limited to, the department of small business services, the department of finance, the department of sanitation, the department of environmental protection, the department of parks and recreation, and the department of citywide administrative services, as well as relevant federal and state agencies, to effectuate the purposes of this section;

2. Coordinate the removal of marine debris in or on littoral waters or shores;

3. Develop a plan to recycle or reuse marine debris and options to dispose of any such marine debris that is unable to be recycled or reused;

4. Recommend policies to enforce against persons who abandon marine debris or vessels in or on littoral waters or shores;

5. Recommend programs to track and monitor vessels in order to prevent abandonment, and provide information to vessel owners and marina operators regarding solutions for proper disposal of such vessels;

6. Evaluate the feasibility of and develop recommendations for a program for persons to surrender vessels to the city for disposal; and

7. Coordinate with and promote organizations and volunteer groups involved in removing marine debris from the shores.

§ 3. This local law takes effect immediately.

Session 12

XC/JSA

LS #8506

12/13/22 3:04pm

Session 11

LS 6915

SS