Int. No. 562-A
By Council Members Treyger, Cabrera, Deutsch, Eugene, Gentile, Koslowitz, Richards, Chin, Greenfield, Garodnick, Lander, Cohen, Dromm, Kallos, Maisel, Williams and Ulrich
A Local Law in relation to the creation of a Hurricane Sandy charitable organization and house of worship recovery task force
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Hurricane Sandy charitable organization and house of worship recovery task force. a. There shall be a task force to study: (1) the recovery and rebuilding of charitable organizations operating in areas of the city affected by Hurricane Sandy; (2) to make specific recommendations to the mayor and council for effective allocation of resources, knowledge, and technical support for such recovery and rebuilding; and, (3) how best to prepare and utilize such organizations for and in future natural disasters. For the purposes of this local law, the term "charitable organization" means a corporation or other entity that is formed for one or more of the charitable purposes enumerated in subparagraph 3-b of paragraph a of section 102 of the not-for-profit corporation law.
b. Such task force shall consist of nineteen members as follows:
(1) Eight members shall be appointed by the mayor, provided that at least one such member shall be an employee, member or director of, or otherwise affiliated with, a charitable organization that participated in Hurricane Sandy relief work;
(2) Nine members shall be appointed by the speaker of the council, provided that (i) at least two such members shall be employees, members or directors of, or otherwise affiliated with, a charitable organization that participated in Hurricane Sandy relief work and (ii) such nine members shall include at least one resident of each borough;
(3) The director of the office of recovery and resiliency, or his or her designee, shall serve ex officio; and
(4) The commissioner of emergency management, or his or her designee, shall serve ex officio.
c. The members to be appointed by the mayor and the speaker of the council shall be appointed within sixty days of the enactment of this local law.
d. At its first meeting, the task force shall select a chairperson from among its members by majority vote of the task force.
e. Any vacancy in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
f. Members of the task force shall serve without compensation and shall meet as necessary.
g. No later than eight months after the effective date of this local law, the task force shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council a report, which may refer to existing reports or other sources of information, that shall include the findings and recommendations of the task force. Those findings and recommendations shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) A description of the role played by charitable organizations in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the services provided by them to the community, whether individually or in coordination with other entities;
(2) An analysis of the damages and losses suffered by charitable organizations as a result of Hurricane Sandy, including damages to physical structures and funding losses, and an analysis of the extent to which such damages have been repaired or such losses recovered;
(3) An analysis of possible sources of recovery and rebuilding aid currently or formerly available to charitable organizations as a result of Hurricane Sandy and the extent to which that aid has been utilized, as well as a description of the restrictions, if any, on aid programs that have prevented charitable organizations from receiving such aid;
(4) Recommendations on how best to meet any existing recovery and rebuilding needs, as identified pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subdivision, of charitable organizations, including a consideration of when actions could be taken by city agencies to facilitate such recovery and rebuilding and what actions might be most beneficial; and
(5) Recommendations on how the city could best utilize the efforts of charitable organizations in the aftermath of future natural disasters and what steps can be taken in advance to facilitate such efforts, including a consideration of the use of pre-disaster contractual agreements with such charitable organizations for the use of their facilities or services in future recovery efforts, and what steps could be taken by the city to improve the resiliency of the facilities of charitable organizations.
h. The task force shall cease to exist sixty days after the submission of the report required by subdivision g of this local law.
ยง 2. This local law shall take effect immediately.
BJR
LS 1899
2/4/15 7:50PM