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10/29/2004: "LEGISLATION AND REALITY"
LEGISLATION AND REALITY
I always love when legislators pass a law, hail themselves and then fail to even think about the logistics of the legislation. As a case in point, I will now discuss the much ballyhooed carbon monoxide detector legislation.
First of all, the recent passage of the carbon monoxide detector legislation should not be trumpeted. After all, the rest of the state had had the requirement for almost two years. Moreover, consider a tremendous gift to the carbon monoxide manufacturers. With 2.8 million potential household, this requirement was a $100 million bonanza for the industry. I would love to see their donor list.
But in talking to a landlord the scope of the legislation and how it is implemented amuses me.
For example, every unit of housing must have the carbon monoxide detectors if the building the unit is in contains a fossil fuel burning furnance. The interesting thing is that carbon monoxide rarely goes more than a few floors up, so even if you are twenty stories up with virtually no chance of having a carbon monoxide incident, your unit requires a carbon monoxide detector. Overkill number one.
Overkill number two is the time to install the detectors. Everything has to be done by November 1st, but the regulations with the standard for the detectors were not finalized until the first week of October. And now the market has to supply 2.8 million detectors. I am sure the CO manufacturers have all these units handy. And I believe in the tooth fairy.
Next, a building owner or manager has to actually install this stuff. If you have a lot of units, this can take some time. If you have 500 units you can get an extension, but less than 500 units, and you need show cause why you can’t get the units in on time.
Now I believe the City bureaucracy actually understands that these things will take longer than November 1st to install, after all, if you want to request an extension, you don’t even need to get the request in until December 1st. But the City might be skittish in granting extensions because the Council set the November 1st date, even though it was impractical because it wanted the detectors in by the heating season when the chance of carbon monoxide poisoning, low as it may be, is highest. More importantly, the recent incident on Staten Island where three people died of carbon monoxide poisoning will make the City loathe to risk a negative incident where it granted an extension and then someone died. The chances of that happening are slim, but already, the City is getting grief for its Housing Authority receiving an extension for some 41,000 units that it operates.
The fact is the deadline was a deadline to make the Council look good and even better for the Council it had a reasonable basis. Sometimes, I think the Council believes that humans are super-human and fails to legislate for reality. But then again, no one ever accused the Council of living in the real world.
AND CONSIDER ME A FORTUNE TELLER.
Prediction: Next year’s Rent Guidelines Board hearings will be a bigger zoo than usual.
The pressure will be on next year to raise rents for rent stabilized apartments. First reason: Council legislation. The Council passed various bills that add to the expense of building operations. For example, the installation of a carbon monoxide detector. Tenants may need to pay $25 of the cost, but the equipment cost is higher and there is an installation cost. Moreover, and more importantly, the lead paint law will be felt. And it will be an expensive bill. Since the Rent Guidelines Board must review the whole cost of building operations, they must pass along the cost of lead paint remediation to the tenants.
Second reason, energy costs. The costs have gone through the roof, especially heating fuel, and the cost must also be passed on.
This will lead to much bashing of the Mayor by Council Speaker Gifford Miller and other potential Mayoral candidates. Why? The Mayor really controls the Board and Miller will use the opportunity to rally tenants against the Mayor. Next year’s Rent Guidelines increase will not be the Board’s increase but Mayor Billionaire’s increase.
Which is ironic because if there is any politician to blame for the increase, it would actually be Miller and others who supported the lead paint law.
Who said politics was fair?!
