Enacts "Yingyi's law"; requires municipal and government agencies, and individual members of the public to abstain from disposing and destroying of public trees, tree parts that are involved in property damage, personal injury or death to persons from trees growing within and across the public-right-of-ways, including parks and street trees; provides that trees and/or tree parts shall be inspected, analyzed and diagnosed for defects, disease and determine presumed/opinion as to the cause of failure by a full-time independent consulting arborist (CA) trained and skilled in tree diagnostic practices, lab sampling, photo documentation, forensics and legally binding report writing.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5912--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
July 1, 2013
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to requiring municipal and government agencies, and individ-
ual members of the public to abstain from disposing and destroying of
public trees, tree parts that are involved in property damage,
personal injury or death to persons from trees growing within and
across the public-right-of-ways, including parks and street trees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Yingyi's law".
2 § 2. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by
3 adding a new section 4-209 to read as follows:
4 § 4-209 Public trees. 1. The parks and recreation department and all
5 relevant agencies shall contract with a full-time independent consulting
6 arborist to inspect, diagnose and analyze for defects and disease all
7 public trees, tree parts involved in property damage, personal injury or
8 death within forty-eight hours. Such consulting arborist shall generate
9 a report which will be publicly available on-line within thirty days of
10 such inspection.
11 2. The condition and cause of the tree failure shall be documented.
12 Trees and/or tree parts shall be inspected, analyzed and diagnosed for
13 defects, disease and determine presumed/opinion as to the cause of fail-
14 ure by a full-time independent consulting arborist (CA) trained and
15 skilled in tree diagnostic practices, lab sampling, photo documentation,
16 forensics and legally binding report writing. The consulting arborist
17 with this skill set shall be a member of the national organization
18 representing the profession-the American Society of Consulting Arborists
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11617-02-3
S. 5912--A 2
1 (ASCA) and preferably referred to as a Registered Consulting Arborists
2 (RCA) by that organization.
3 3. The inspection/sampling and diagnosis must be made within forty-
4 eight hours of the incident. Every effort shall be made to provide the
5 consulting arborist with access to the specimen at the initial site of
6 occurrence and or any subsequent location that the specimen has been
7 moved to for storage and preservation within the borough of occurrence
8 in the city of New York.
9 4. Every reasonable effort must be made to save and preserve the tree
10 and/or tree part sample at the scene of the incident. In the event that
11 an independent consulting arborist is unable to visit the site to secure
12 the specimen or specimens in a reasonable period of time, a chain of
13 custody shall be established by the city of New York department of parks
14 and recreation forestry and/or climber and pruner personnel.
15 5. In the event the trees inhabit properties belonging to other agen-
16 cies such as the board of education, or DCAS, MTA, State DOT, NYCHA etc.
17 the chain of custody reverts to the individual agency. The city shall
18 maintain a list of approved consulting arborists, created from the issu-
19 ance of a request for proposals. A representative from the individual
20 agencies shall be designated to call the approved arborists.
21 6. Results on the findings about the condition of trees and/or tree
22 limbs involved in personal injuries and property damage must be made
23 permanently available on-line within thirty days of the incident on a
24 website maintained by the city of New York; and that the independent
25 reporting in the form of a consulting arborist report shall occur by the
26 consulting arborist who will verify the performed tree and/or tree part
27 diagnosis and lab analysis. The format of such report for on-line inter-
28 net availability shall be determined by the city of New York.
29 7. In the event of storms or a series of storms that result in a large
30 volume of tree losses or tree failures that cause property damage,
31 personal injuries or death to persons, every reasonable effort must be
32 made to mark, label and identify the tree/tree parts at that location by
33 the consulting arborist, once contacted.
34 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
