The Real Estate Board of New York to The Committee on Environmental Protection, Resiliency, and Waterfronts Regarding Air Quality and Last-Mile Deliveries

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The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) is the City’s leading real estate trade association representing commercial, residential, and institutional property owners, builders, managers, investors, brokers, salespeople, and other organizations and individuals active in New York City real estate. REBNY thanks the committee for the opportunity to provide testimony regarding the proposed bills on air quality and last-mile deliveries.

REBNY understands concerns about pollution and vehicular traffic associated with warehouses in New York City. REBNY agrees that measures should be taken to study, monitor, and reduce adverse impacts of air quality on local communities. Those measures should be carefully calibrated to protect the various uses, jobs, and facilities that underpin how goods move into and around the five boroughs. Taking an overly restrictive approach could stymie the City’s industrial sector, which is incredibly important to our local economy in creating jobs for New Yorkers and as a growing source of tax revenue.

BILL: Intro 0107-2024

SUBJECT: This bill would amend the administrative code of the City of New York, in relation to air quality monitoring at designated “heavy use” thoroughfares.

SPONSORS: Council Members Avilés, Cabán, Restler, Gutiérrez, Won, Hanif, Bottcher, Hudson, Nurse, Narcisse, Abreu, Ayala, Brewer, Gennaro, Sanchez, Ossé, Rivera, Hanks, Williams, Menin, Marte, Brannan, Salaam, Farías, Schulman, Krishnan, Joseph, Brooks-Powers, Powers, De La Rosa, Ung, Louis, Salamanca, Banks, Lee, Zhuang, Riley, Moya, Feliz and Dinowitz (by request of the Brooklyn Borough President)

Intro 107 would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to designate heavy-use thoroughfares in every borough and install street-level air monitors at two or more major intersections and every park or playground adjacent to a heavy-use thoroughfare. The bill would also require DEP to issue a report to the Mayor and Speaker of the Council containing the air quality monitoring results.

New York City’s regional air quality has improved significantly over the past 50 years, mainly driven by changes in both vehicle and building fuels, as mandated by federal and local legislation. However, as challenges remain, air quality monitoring will be an important tool for protecting public health and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. REBNY supports data driven decision-making. However, before additional city resources are expended, it is important to understand if existing air quality monitoring efforts do not already cover the goals of this legislation.

BILL: Intro 1130-2024

SUBJECT: This bill would amend the administrative code of the City of New York, in relation to the regulation of indirect sources of air pollution.

SPONSORS: Council Members Avilés, Brooks-Powers, Restler, Cabán, and Williams (in conjunction with the Brooklyn Borough President)

Intro 1130 would require the DEP Commissioner to promulgate an indirect source rule (ISR) to reduce emissions attributable to the use of indirect sources, such as warehouses and other structures that attract mobile sources of air pollution including vehicles.

Intro 1130 intends to target emissions related to “last-mile” warehouses and other “indirect sources,” but there is presently no definition of “last-mile” in the City’s Zoning Resolution. Because the Department of City Planning (DCP) has yet to define these facilities, Intro 1130, as written, would apply to all warehouses above 50,000 square feet that provide distribution and fulfillment services, including local food distributors that service schools and small businesses. Similarly, the bill’s application to other “indirect sources” is too broad and could capture facilities that fall below the 50,000-square-foot threshold for qualifying warehouses.

It is important to observe that Intro 1130 is being considered at a time when several other City policymaking initiatives are already underway in this space. Specifically, DCP is in the process of studying a special permit for last-mile facilities as a part of the commitments outlined in City of Yes for Economic Opportunity. In addition, DCP is undertaking the NYC Industrial Plan as required under Local Law 172-2023. This effort will explore how the City can best support the development of a modern and growing industrial economy by surveying industrial area stakeholders, collecting land-use data, identifying economic trends, and offering policy and program recommendations to grow the sector.

In addition to working with DEP to refine the legislation, the City Council must closely coordinate with DCP given the significant overlap between Intro 1130 and DCP’s ongoing work. Both the special permit analysis and NYC Industrial Plan will include an analysis of modern industrial needs, the physical land use of our city to accommodate those needs, and the importance of this sector in providing local jobs.

Improving air quality in all communities is a laudable goal and REBNY supports granting DEP the authority to regulate and enforce indirect source pollution. However, the definitions in the legislation require further engagement with owners and operators of industrial space to fully understand the City’s industrial landscape and ensure vital sites can continue to operate without undue burden. Further, passing Intro 1130 before DCP’s analyses conclude could lead to many unintended consequences and preclude the holistic planning the industrial sector requires to continue as a vibrant part of the City’s economy.

Thank you for your consideration of these points.