1 2 CITY COUNCIL 3 CITY OF NEW YORK 4 -------------------------------x 5 THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE MINUTES 6 of the 7 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING And BUILDINGS 8 -------------------------------x 9 10 January 28, 2008 Start: 1:18 p.m. 11 Recess: 1:45 p.m. 12 City Hall Council Chambers 13 New York, New York 14 B E F O R E: 15 ERIK MARTIN DILAN 16 Chairperson, 17 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Joel Rivera 18 Tony Avella Leroy Comrie 19 Lewis Fidler Robert Jackson 20 James Oddo 21 22 23 24 LEGAL-EASE COURT REPORTING SERVICES, INC. 17 Battery Place - Suite 1308 25 New York, New York 10004 (800) 756-3410 2 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S 3 Phyllis Arnold 4 Deputy Commissioner, Chief Code Counsel NYC Department of Buildings 5 Fatma Amer 6 Deputy Commissioner NYC Department of Buildings 7 Dorothy Harris 8 Vice President of State and Local Government Relations North 9 International Code Council 10 Janene Jaeger Executive Director 11 Master Plumbers Council 12 Dennis R. Boyd New York Lawyers for the Public Interest 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Good morning. 3 We're going to begin the hearing at this time. 4 I'd like to ask, even though there is 5 not that many people here, at this point if 6 everybody could silence their cell phones, and if 7 they had the need to have a private conversation, if 8 they could take the conversation outside of the 9 Chambers. 10 My name is Erik Martin Dilan, and I'm 11 the Chair of the Housing and Buildings Committee, 12 and today the Committee will conduct a hearing on 13 Intro. 659, which contains technical corrections to 14 the Construction Codes of New York City. 15 Intro 659 contains technical 16 amendments to both Local Law 99 of 2005, and Local 17 Law 33 of 2007, which are known as the new New York 18 City Construction Codes and are comprised of the 19 Building Code, Fuel, Gas, Mechanical and Plumbing 20 Codes. 21 In addition, 659 incorporates 22 provisions of local laws that were adopted during 23 this legislative session that amended the Building 24 Code, such as Local Law 36 of 2007, in relation to 25 licenses of residential contractors, which was I 4 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 believe sponsored by my colleague Jimmy Oddo; Local 3 Law 37, in relation to increasing fines for illegal 4 conversations for industrial uses to residential 5 uses, which I believe was sponsored by Council 6 Member Reyna; and Local Law 35 of 2006, in relation 7 to enforcement of cabarets, dance clubs and other 8 establishments that employ security guards. I 9 believe this bill was also passed by Council Member 10 Peter Vallone. 11 The bill also incorporates new 12 requirements passed by the New York State 13 Legislature, such as Chapter 542, Laws of 2007, in 14 relation to applications filed by professional 15 engineers, architects, and Chapter 664 of 2007 in 16 relation to the issuance -- insurance, excuse me, 17 requirements for demolition of construction of 18 operators. 19 Today we expect to hear testimony 20 relating to any of the proposed technical changes, 21 and at this time, if you haven't done so already, 22 anyone wishing to testify should see the 23 Sergeant-At-Arms and fill out a form, and I guess 24 before I would ask the Buildings Department to come 25 and make their presentation, I'll just briefly 5 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 introduce my colleagues who are here at this time. 3 To my left, Council Member Tony 4 Avella of Queens, Council Member Robert Jackson of 5 Manhattan, Council Member Lewis Fidler of Brooklyn, 6 and Council Member James Oddo of Staten Island. 7 At this time, I'd like to call on 8 Phyllis Arnold and Fatma Amer, to come up and make 9 their pitch on behalf of the Department of 10 Buildings. 11 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ARNOLD: Good 12 afternoon, Chairperson Dilan, and members of the 13 Committee on Housing and Buildings. I'm Phyllis 14 Arnold. I'm Deputy Commissioner of the Department of 15 Buildings, and its Chief Code Counsel. 16 I'm joined today by Fatma Amer, the 17 Department's Deputy Commissioner for Technical 18 Affairs and our Chief Code Engineer. 19 We thank you for this opportunity to 20 testify in support of Intro. 659, the Clean-Up Bill 21 for the New York City Construction Codes. We're 22 delighted to be here again on this significant 23 project. 24 Intro. 659 is strictly 25 non-substantive, but necessary to ensure that the 6 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 Codes are correct when submitted to the publisher 3 for printing and distributed to users. 4 As you know, the New York City 5 Construction Codes are comprised of both Local Law 6 99 of 2005, and Local Law 33 of 2007. 7 In Bill form, the Codes consisted of 8 about 3,000 pages. Since their enactment, the 9 Department has been engaged in the process of 10 planning their implementation. 11 And in the course of that work, we 12 have identified the inevitable - typographical 13 errors, the use of unclear language in critical 14 locations and the omission of certain items that are 15 either in the current Code or were not carried 16 forward or that had been enacted shortly before the 17 Council passed the Codes and were not included in 18 the previous legislation and should have been. 19 This bill addresses those errata. It 20 proposes to make changes that are editorial or 21 technical in nature, things like correcting 22 cross-references and fixing definitions, grammar and 23 spelling. 24 The clarifications, in both language 25 and organization, are necessary in the instances 7 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 included to ensure consistency and ease of use in 3 such important areas as occupancies, fire 4 protection, structure, and required inspections, and 5 to reconcile Local Laws 99 and 33. 6 The omissions include a number of 7 local and state laws enacted shortly before passage 8 of Local Law 33, as Chair alluded to. These include 9 laws governing professional certification sanctions, 10 excavation precautions, regulation of security 11 guards in places of assembly, and enhanced 12 scaffolding and rigging requirements. 13 As you can see from the summary 14 document provided, 38 percent of the items before 15 you are typographical or cross-reference 16 corrections; another 42 percent are inadvertent 17 omissions, clarifications and reconciliations of the 18 two laws. 19 The remaining items reflect such 20 things as conversion errors, renumbering and 21 subsequent legislation. Intro. 659 is thus necessary 22 to address these errata, and it is not intended to 23 make any substantive change in the enacted 24 legislation. 25 As you may remember, our Code process 8 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 is inclusive, and involved multiple reviews by many, 3 many stakeholders. We have circulated the bill to 4 interested constituencies and received a number of 5 comments following its introduction here, including 6 proposed modifications to the plumbing provisions. 7 We look forward to the chance to work 8 with you to address any further changes made 9 necessary by these points. 10 We are very grateful for the 11 Council's leadership in this historic effort. Once 12 implemented this coming July and thereafter, our 13 work together will make this City a safer, more 14 sustainable and better place to live, work and 15 build. 16 We ask that you consider and pass 17 Intro. 659 expeditiously so we can begin the 18 publication process and put this legislation in 19 final form, into the hands of its ultimate users. 20 Thank you very much. We're happy to 21 take any questions you have. 22 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Okay, thank you, 23 Ms. Arnold. And just for the benefit of the members, 24 this is an initial hearing on this item. We don't 25 intend to vote it out today, and I would imagine 9 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 there would be room for some changes, if need be, as 3 they arise. 4 But to Ms. Arnold, what I want to ask 5 at the outset is, what changes, if any, if any, have 6 been made in this technical clean-up? Has there been 7 any changes that would enhance the Commissioner's 8 rule-making powers, that would maybe retract them. 9 And if more power was given or retracted, if you 10 could explain the reasons for the changes? 11 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ARNOLD: This bill 12 made no changes of the division of power and 13 authority. 14 The one thing we did do in the bill 15 was provide in Section 6 for the continuation of our 16 existing rules, and we did that to make sure that we 17 have no gap in the transition. 18 So what we provided there is that the 19 rules that are promulgated by the Department and in 20 place today, will stay in effect for the matters 21 that they cover, unless they're inconsistent with 22 the Code, until we modify or repeal them. 23 We've otherwise just tried to conform 24 these additions and omissions and other 25 clarifications to the scheme we've enacted, you've 10 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 enacted in the New York City Construction Codes. 3 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Okay, and how 4 about administrative and enforcement duties for the 5 agency, any of those change, in terms of 6 jurisdiction of enforcement or administrative 7 duties? 8 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ARNOLD: No. This 9 bill, as I say, what it does is, it, you know, it 10 adds some of the intervening legislation that had to 11 do with the Department's enforcement authority, but 12 in all other respects, all it does really is try to 13 conform those bills to the scheme that's reflected 14 in the codes passed last summer. 15 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Okay. So, what 16 changes, if any, would you like to see made into 17 Intro. 659? 18 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ARNOLD: Well, as 19 I said in my testimony, we've gotten some comments 20 from people who viewed it after it was introduced, 21 and we've gotten some comments from the plumbing 22 industry that suggests we need to tweak a little 23 language here and a little language there. 24 I've been made aware recently -- we 25 skipped one of the enacted local laws from this past 11 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 session, Local Law 16 of '07, that needs to be in 3 there. There are other really quite minor, as far as 4 we know, changes, but as I said, we're happy to sit 5 down and talk them through with you. 6 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Okay. At this 7 point, if my colleagues have any questions, I'll 8 take them now. 9 If not, and it doesn't appear that 10 there are any, we'd like to thank you for coming in 11 and for providing your testimony on this subject. 12 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ARNOLD: Thank 13 you. 14 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Thank you. 15 Okay, next I'd like to call up 16 Dorothy Harris of the International Code Council, 17 and police correct me if I mispronounce this, Janene 18 Jaeger, from the Master Plumbers Council. 19 Okay, and this is a split panel. I 20 see one is in favor and one is in opposition, but if 21 you could just state your reasons for support or 22 opposition, we'd love to hear them. 23 MS. HARRIS: Okay. Thank you, Chairman 24 Dilan and members of the City Council Committee on 25 Housing and Buildings for providing me the 12 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 opportunity to testify today on behalf of Intro. 659 3 in relation to technical corrections to the 4 Construction Code of the City of New York. 5 My name is Dorothy Harris, Vice 6 President of State and Local Government Relations 7 North for the International Code Council. The 8 International Code Council is a non-profit 9 membership association dedicated to building safety 10 and fire prevention. 11 Today the International Codes are 12 adopted in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 13 Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and over 14 21,000 local jurisdictions in the United States with 15 the authority to adopt and implement Building 16 Construction Codes. 17 Several federal agencies, including 18 the Department of Defense, Department of State, the 19 General Services Administration, the National Park 20 Service, the US Forest Service and the Federal 21 Bureau of Prisons reference the International 22 Building Code, in addition to the international 23 codes to provide state-of-the-art building and fire 24 safety for their employees and visitors to their 25 facilities. 13 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 The International Codes are 3 comprehensive and fully coordinated family of codes, 4 which encourage the use of new materials, products 5 and systems that can address the issues important to 6 New York City, including economic growth, energy 7 conservation, and housing preservation and 8 affordability. 9 I commend Chairman Dilan and the 10 entire Committee for passing Intro. 578 last year, 11 the new Building and Construction Codes, based upon 12 the International Building, Mechanical, Plumbing and 13 Fuel Gas Codes. 14 I was there to witness the historic 15 day that Mayor Bloomberg signed the bill into law, 16 on July 3rd, 2007. Today you are reviewing these 17 final changes that must be incorporated into the 18 Building Construction Codes so that the Code can be 19 enforced on July 1, 2008. 20 The Code Council is producing the new 21 Construction Codes for the City, in order for these 22 new codes to be available for the public in advance 23 of the Code implementation date of July 1, the Code 24 Council must receive the final text of the Code. 25 As you recall, Intro. 578, the new 14 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 Code, was a voluminous piece of legislation. 3 Consequently, the Code Council publication staff is 4 eagerly awaiting this final piece, so that they can 5 incorporate the technical clarifications and 6 typographical corrections outlined in this 7 legislation. 8 The Code Council is pleased to 9 partner with the City of New York, and we look 10 forward to continuing to serve its needs. The Code 11 Council has developed several training courses 12 targeted for members of the construction industry 13 and organizations to assist in preparation of the 14 Code implementation effective date of July 1. 15 Additionally, the Code Council has 16 several certification programs for inspectors, 17 contractors and construction trades to enhance 18 expertise and professionalism. 19 Thank you for the opportunity to 20 provide testimony to you today. I am pleased to 21 answer any questions and provide any additional 22 information. 23 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Thank you. 24 Ms. Jaeger. When the light is off, 25 the mic is on. If you could just start your 15 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 statement over. 3 MS. JAEGER: Good afternoon, Chairman, 4 and City Council members. My name is Janene Jaeger, 5 Executive Director for the Master Plumbers Council 6 of the City of New York. While we are in favor of 7 the concept of a clean-up bill to revise various 8 sections of the previously approved International 9 Building Code, we do have some concerns over 10 specific sections of Intro. 659. I should clarify, 11 we're not in opposition of it, it's, we're more one 12 of those tweaks that Ms. Arnold was referring to 13 earlier. 14 Section 107.1.2, as written in Intro. 15 659 states "Exposure of work. It shall be the duty 16 of the permit holder to cause the work to remain 17 accessible and exposed for inspection purposes. The 18 permit holder shall be liable for any expense 19 entailed in the removal or replacement of any 20 material required to allow inspection." 21 This language is unacceptable to 22 members of the MPC and is most likely unacceptable 23 to any permit holder as conditions in the field 24 occur outside of the control of the permit holder. 25 For example, a Licensed Plumber 16 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 completes piping work in a bathroom. They leave the 3 job site and in some instances a general contractor 4 closes the walls. In this specific situation, which 5 does occur, the plumber should not be financially 6 held accountable for the action of someone else. 7 It is my understanding, however, that 8 there have been changes to the proposed legislation 9 proposed by the Department of Buildings. 10 Based on the revised language that I 11 received a copy of, Intro. 659-A, this language has 12 been amended to an acceptable format to us. 13 In addition, the same text as listed 14 under Section 107.1.2 is repeated in 192. Section 15 FGC 107 of Chapter 7 of the New York City Fuel Gas 16 Code of Chapter 9 of title 28 of the Administrative 17 Code of New York City, as added by Local Law Number 18 33 for the Year 2007, was amended in Intro. 659 19 under Section 107.1.3. Basically it was the exact 20 same provision that was changed to the same 21 acceptable text. 22 I appreciate the opportunity to speak 23 before you today. Unfortunately, there was not ample 24 time to thoroughly research and prepare for this 25 hearing, due to time constraints, and for that 17 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 reason, I would just want to encourage that the 3 amended language that the Department of Buildings 4 has agreed to has been included in Intro. 659. 5 Thank you. 6 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Okay. 7 So, just generally you're working 8 with the Department of Buildings on technical 9 languages, and after that's done, you would be 10 supportive of the technical amendments? 11 MS. JAEGER: Correct. 12 Originally I was under the impression 13 that 659-A would be introduced, not that the 14 amendments would be to Intro. 659, which you're 15 hearing today. 16 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Yes. 17 MS. JAEGER: So as long as those 18 provisions are included in what is accepted, which 19 I'm comfortable that it will be, we are in favor. 20 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Do any of my 21 colleagues have questions for this panel? 22 If not, we'd like to thank you both 23 for coming in. 24 Next we will have Mr. Evan Lipstein. 25 MR. LIPSTEIN: I retract my desire to 18 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 testify. 3 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Okay, we will duly 4 note that. 5 Then the last person to testify would 6 be Mr. Dennis Boyd. Okay, Mr. Boyd is here on behalf 7 of the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. 8 MR. BOYD: Thank you, Chairman Dilan. 9 I wanted to thank Chairman Erik Dilan 10 and other members of the Committee, the Housing and 11 Buildings, for inviting me to testify today. 12 Dennis Boyd, a senior staff attorney 13 at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and I 14 served on the Technical Committee of the Department 15 of Buildings on Accessibility that was involved in 16 the drafting of Local Law 33 of '07. 17 So, I really just had a series, a few 18 concerns that I wanted to address in the testimony 19 today. 20 There are things that I have put into 21 writing here and presumably I will forward to the 22 Department of Buildings, if that would be helpful. 23 But none of these issues were raised in the 24 technical committee during our meetings and there 25 really are just a few of them. 19 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 Let me just start by saying, though, 3 that I do support the single amendment in Section 4 112 to Chapter 11, which relates to accessibility 5 that has been put into Intro. 659. 6 The first Intro. I wanted to address 7 is regarding a loophole regarding existing 8 buildings, which was, I consider a major oversight 9 in the way in which it ended up being drafted, 10 because this is an issue that we hadn't addressed in 11 the technical committee, which our understanding was 12 would be separately addressed, and I believe it 13 still will be. But in the interim, the way in which 14 it was addressed in Local Law 33 creates a series of 15 potential problems in the way in which it might be 16 applied prior to the time that the Committee and the 17 Council may have an opportunity to address potential 18 changes to existing buildings law. 19 As a result of the language that made 20 its way into Local Law 33, compliance with the "1968 21 Building Code is permitted with respect to existing 22 buildings." 23 In the drafting of this language, not 24 only my provisions developed in the period since 25 1968 that were intended to improve disability 20 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 access, such as Local Law 58 of '87 not be 3 applicable to alterations of pre-July 2008 4 buildings, but there may be thousands of buildings 5 in existence when Local Law 58 -- 33 takes effect 6 that might not even be considered existing buildings 7 at all. And this is a general concern. 8 How this came about is that the 1968 9 Building Code is defined in Section 28 101.5, 10 Chapter 1 of Title 27 of the Administrative Code as 11 hereinafter in effect, and the phrase as hereinafter 12 in effect incorporates the new Section 27 123.3's 13 limited definition of existing buildings. 14 In sum, this is a concern that the 15 way in which that particular technical language is 16 drafted, it may mean that if the option to apply the 17 68 Code is taken, there may be situations in which 18 the whole series of buildings that are altered in 19 the period between the passage of Local Law 33 and 20 any subsequent fix regarding existing buildings 21 might in fact not have a whole series of amendments 22 from '68 to 2008 that have improved access to 23 existing buildings. 24 I go into greater detail in the 25 written report that I make but I just wanted to 21 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 highlight that for the Committee. 3 The second issue that I raise is that 4 there is a treatment of ramps that encroach on the 5 public way. In the new Administrative Code, Section 6 28 101.4.3, it requires that encroachments onto the 7 public way, such as ramps, must comply with Chapter 8 32 of the new Building Code. 9 Under Section 3202, of the Building 10 Code, the language of the current 27 308 is 11 replicated. Rather than the higher standard of the 12 current RS406. And it allows only for an 13 encroachment of 18 inches that would otherwise be 14 permitted under 3202. And where there is a large 15 encroachment, up to 44 inches, the law as enacted 16 requires that the alterations be, essentially not be 17 permanent. So that they may be removed at any time. 18 This is a direct quote, "such that they may be 19 removed at any time without endangering the 20 structural safety or fire safety of the building." 21 This restriction unnecessarily limits 22 access and should be removed so that in the City's 23 discretion, you know, the City obviously passes on 24 any application for an application to extend ramps 25 beyond the 18 inches and into the public way. It 22 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 would allow for a permanent installation of 3 accessibility, accessible ramps so that they'll be 4 reliable, they'll be permanent, and once they're 5 established, the maintenance of access will be 6 continued. 7 Finally, I just wanted to quickly 8 address one more issue and that is a single issue 9 regarding destination-oriented elevators. Section 10 101.4.3.3 requires compliance with the new elevator 11 standards. Under those standards, it permits 12 destination-oriented elevators, which are a concern 13 for me and for the disability community generally. 14 They severely diminish accessibility for people who 15 are blind and visually impaired. 16 The way in which they work is that 17 they eliminate control buttons in elevator cars and 18 allow patrons to choose from a panel in the lobby 19 what floors they want to go to and then particular 20 elevators are assigned to go to those floors. People 21 who are blind have a very hard time navigating to 22 those elevators and once on the elevator aren't 23 always informed of the floor they're arriving at. 24 So, I just think that it's something that should 25 really be addressed. 23 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 The only place I've seen them is in 3 the Mariott Marquis in Times Square, and the way in 4 which it works there, it's a couple of panels of 5 elevators that run around a curve and all the 6 elevators aren't visible or within clear access from 7 the point at which you initiate the process of 8 choosing the floor you want to go to. 9 And, so, essentially our position is 10 that destination elevators should not be allowed 11 under the Code without additional mandates that 12 would require that equal access for patients who are 13 blind and visually impaired occur, such as audio 14 announcements that direct users to the elevator, 15 they will use audio prompts that indicate where that 16 elevator is for people that are navigating on their 17 way to those elevators, and displays that allow 18 patients who are blind to find those elevators, 19 audio displays that is, and announcement is at every 20 floor that inform people adequately where they are 21 as they go upstairs in highrises. 22 Thank you all for your time and 23 attention to these matters, and I invite you all to 24 please contact me if you have any particular 25 questions about my testimony. 24 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 CHAIRPERSON DILAN: Okay. I would say 3 thank you and we'll take your testimony into 4 consideration. And I'm sure that the Committee staff 5 will probably reach out to you and work in 6 conjunction with the Building Department to see if 7 potentially any of these can be addressed. 8 Do any of my colleagues have any 9 questions? 10 If not, I'd like to say thank you, 11 Mr. Boyd, for coming in and providing testimony. 12 Is there anyone else who wishes to 13 testify on this matter before we close? 14 Okay, seeing none, I've received 15 testimony from -- oh, excuse me, I have to 16 acknowledge that we've been joined by Council Member 17 Leroy Comrie of Queens, and Mr. Joel Rivera of the 18 Bronx, who is seated directly behind me. 19 We've received testimony, for the 20 record, from the American Chemistry Council and 21 their comments will be submitted for the record, as 22 well as testimony of Mr. Stewart O'Brien, who is the 23 Executive Director of the Plumbing Foundation of New 24 York City. 25 Their comments will be entered into 25 1 COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND BUILDINGS 2 the record. Intro. 659 will be laid aside, and with 3 that, that will adjourn this hearing. 4 (Hearing concluded at 1:45 p.m.) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 2 CERTIFICATION 3 4 5 STATE OF NEW YORK ) 6 COUNTY OF NEW YORK ) 7 8 9 I, CINDY MILLELOT, a Certified 10 Shorthand Reporter, do hereby certify that the 11 foregoing is a true and accurate transcript of the 12 within proceeding. 13 I further certify that I am not 14 related to any of the parties to this action by 15 blood or marriage, and that I am in no way 16 interested in the outcome of this matter. 17 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto 18 set my hand this 28th day of January 2008. 19 20 21 22 23 --------------------- 24 CINDY MILLELOT, CSR. 25 27 1 2 C E R T I F I C A T I O N 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I, CINDY MILLELOT, a Certified Shorthand 10 Reporter and a Notary Public in and for the State of 11 New York, do hereby certify the aforesaid to be a 12 true and accurate copy of the transcription of the 13 audio tapes of this hearing. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ----------------------- CINDY MILLELOT, CSR. 25