Mayor heaves signs of relief:Pens 5 different bills into law
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Mayor heaves signs of relief
Pens five different bills into law to protect various constituencies - even four-legged ones that can't cast votes for Bloomberg
BY BRYAN VIRASAMI
STAFF WRITER
July 12, 2005
The mayor signed five bills into law yesterday that will provide relief for homeowners, immigrants, the homeless, drivers - even pets.
In front of an invited audience and lawmakers in the Blue Room at City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed the bills recently approved by the City Council.
One bill prevents the Department of Consumer Affairs from asking vendor applicants about their immigration status.
Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn) pushed the bill because, he said, it unfairly singles out immigrants.
In a rare sight, Bloomberg and Barron, a controversial critic of the administration, stood side by side for the bill ceremony and made friendly remarks about each other before the signing.
"Immigrants make a tremendous contribution to the economy, immigrants are the intellectual capital, the cultural capital of New York City," Barron said. "And if they can go die in Iraq and pay taxes, they should not be discriminated against."
Separate legislation aims to prevent New Yorkers who take out home improvement loans from being scammed by predatory lenders and contractors.
The new law, Bloomberg said, "prohibits home improvement contractors from acting as an agent, or from advertising, promoting or arranging for the services of any home improvement financing lenders."
The death of homeless people will be better documented under another bill.
Councilwoman Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) said the new requirement could help the city treat the homeless better.
"We need to have an accurate picture of what their life entails and unfortunately, even with the best efforts of the city, homeless people do die as a result of being homeless," Quinn said.
Another bill will raise, from $230 to $350, the amount drivers must owe in parking ticket fines before their vehicles are towed.
The change comes after the city raised fines for tickets, which resulted in the city towing a car for as few as two tickets.
Bloomberg explained the new threshold isn't a loophole.
"Let me still, however, urge everybody to obey the parking regulations so you don't get fined," he said. "This is not to let you off the hook."
The fifth bill signed into law requires pet owners to provide signed declarations from veterinarians that their pets have been vaccinated before being accepted by boarding kennels.
The aim is to prevent potentially sick animals from spreading contagious diseases while they are being put up.
