Internal DEP coordination communication, Sep 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Section-384 (b)(4) of the City Charter, such disposition may proceed upon approval of the Mayor of the proposed terms, and shall not require the approval of the Borough Board. The legislation would also characterize all actions covered by this paragraph as Type II (exempt) for environmental review purposes.

Eliminate the applicability of Section 195 of the City Charter for acquisitions of office space where the Mayor makes a certification of necessity to address emergency conditions or to facilitate an economic development project.

They believe that state legislative changes will be required for each of the above bulleted items and have asked Corp Counsel to begin drafting whatever may be necessary along with City Charter revisions. The basis or process for a Mayoral certification of necessity has not been defined.

Analysis

The concept of defining the disposition of city-owned property for as-of-right purposes as Type II pursuant to SEQRA/CEQR is not new. City Planning now uses this technique routinely. There is no clearly applicable Type II category in the current regulations covering this however so we have always wondered over the years whether or not a legal challenge would be successful. Defining these actions as Type II as part of the new legislation could therefore provide better legal protection. It remains to be seen however if anyone at the state will agree that these actions can legitimately be defined this way - as actions that are presumed to never have the potential for adverse impacts. From a public health point of view, disposing of city owned property without an environmental review is not extremely problematic. EDC dispositions, which is what these provisions are aimed at, typically involve assemblages that ultimately result in development proposals that require some kind of zoning change or other discretionary approval at a subsequent time therefore, at some point, issues related to hazardous materials, for example, will likely be addressed. Frankly, it’s hard to understand how these provisions actually address the acceleration of development in response to September 11'*’. They seem more related to making EDC’s day to day business less complicated.

(2) Geographically Limited Actions

The following legislative changes would he applicable only in Lower Manhattan, Midtown Manhattan (?), Downtown Brooklyn, Long Island City, and (possibly) on the Far West Side of Manhattan.

Shortening of the timeframes for the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure as required by Sections 197-c and 197-d of the City Charter, and zoning text amendments as required by Section 200 of the City Charter, where the Mayor makes a certification of necessity for an economic development project. For all actions subject to ULURP, the following timeframes shall be applicable: the period for review by the community board, borough

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