Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 6-301

Section 6-301

  § 6-301  Definitions.  a.  For  the purposes of this chapter only, the
following terms shall have the following meaning:
  (1) "Agricultural  wastes"  means  materials  that  remain  after  the
harvesting  or  production of annual crops, including but not limited to
rice, flax, wheat and rye.
  (2) "Architectural coatings"  means  any  coating  to  be  applied  to
stationary   structures   and   their   appurtenances  at  the  site  of
installation, to portable buildings at  the  site  of  installation,  to
pavements,  or  to  curbs.  This  term  shall not include the following:
marine-based paints and coatings; coatings or materials to be applied to
metal structures, such as bridges; or coatings or materials labeled  and
formulated for application in roadway maintenance activities.
  (3)  "Capital  project"  means a capital project as defined in section
210 of the charter that is paid for in whole or in part  from  the  city
treasury.
  (4)  "Carpet" means any fabric used as a floor covering, but such term
shall not include artificial turf.
  (5) "Carpet adhesive" means any substance used to adhere carpet  to  a
floor by surface attachment.
  (6) "Carpet cushion" means any kind of material placed under carpet to
provide softness when it is walked upon.
  (7)  "Cathode  ray  tube"  means  any  vacuum tube, typically found in
computer monitors, televisions and oscilloscopes, in  which  a  beam  of
electrons is projected on a phosphorescent screen.
  (8) "City's environmental purchasing standards" or "city environmental
purchasing  standard"  means any standards set forth in this chapter and
any directives, guidelines or rules promulgated by the director.
  (9)  "Composite   wood   or   agrifiber   products"   means   plywood,
particleboard,    chipboard,   medium   density   fiberboard,   standard
fiberboard, orient strand board, glulams, wheatboard or strawboard.
  (10) "Construction work" means any work  or  operations  necessary  or
incidental  to the erection, demolition, assembling or alteration of any
building, but such term shall not include minor repairs.
  (11) "Contractor" means any  person  or  entity  that  enters  into  a
contract  with  any  agency, or any person or entity that enters into an
agreement with such person or entity, to perform work or  provide  labor
or services related to such contract.
  (12)  "Copier"  means  any  device  that makes paper copies of text or
graphic material.
  (13) "Covered electronic device" means: (i) any cathode ray tube,  any
product containing a cathode ray tube, any liquid crystal display (LCD),
plasma  screen  or  other  flat  panel television or computer monitor or
similar video display product, any  battery  containing  lead,  cadmium,
lithium  or  silver,  any computer central processing unit that contains
one or more circuit boards and includes  any  desktop  computer  or  any
laptop computer, any computer peripherals including, but not limited to,
any  keyboard,  mouse  and  other  pointing  device,  printer,  scanner,
facsimile machine and card reader, and any copier, but not including any
automobile, household appliance, large piece of commercial or industrial
equipment containing a cathode ray tube, a cathode ray tube  product,  a
flat  panel  display  or  similar video display device that is contained
within, and is not separate from, the larger piece of equipment, or  any
device   used  by  emergency  response  personnel;  or  (ii)  any  other
electronic device designated by the director.
  (14) "CPG" means the Comprehensive Procurement Guideline for  Products
Containing  Recovered Materials, as set forth in part 247 of title 40 of
the United States code of federal regulations.

  (15) "Desktop computer" means any  personal  computer  or  workstation
designed  to  operate only on alternating current power and to reside on
or under a desktop.
  (16)  "Desktop-derived  server" means any computer designed to provide
services to other computers on a network and that contains an EPS12V  or
EPS1U form factor power supply.
  (17)   "Director"   means   the  director  of  citywide  environmental
purchasing.
  (18) "Electronic product environmental assessment tool" means  a  tool
for  evaluating  the  environmental  performance  of electronic products
throughout their life cycle developed  by  the  federal  government  and
other stakeholders.
  (19)  "End-of-life  management" means promoting the recycling or reuse
of a product through features of the product or materials from which the
product is manufactured.
  (20) "ENERGY STAR labeled"  means  a  designation  indicating  that  a
product  meets  the  energy efficiency standards set forth by the United
States environmental protection agency and the United States  department
of energy for compliance with the ENERGY STAR program.
  (21)  "Flow  rate"  means the volume, mass, or weight of water flowing
past a given point per unit of time.
  (22) "Green cleaning product"  means  any  environmentally  preferable
cleaning  product  whose  use has been determined to be feasible through
the pilot program established pursuant  to  the  local  law  that  added
subchapter 6 of this chapter or through any other testing and evaluation
conducted by the director.
  (23)  "Hazardous  substance"  means any substance that, because of its
quantity, concentration, or physical or chemical characteristics,  poses
a  significant present or potential hazard to human health and safety or
to the environment if released into the workplace or the environment.
  (24) "Incandescent lamp" means any lamp in which a filament is  heated
to incandescence by an electric current to produce visible light.
  (25)  "Lamp" means any glass envelope with a gas, coating, or filament
that produces visible light when electricity is applied, but  such  term
shall not include automotive light bulbs.
  (26)  "Local  area  network"  means  any  two  or  more  computers and
associated devices that share a common communications line  or  wireless
link  and  typically share the resources of a single processor or server
within a small geographic area.
  (27) "Minor repairs" means replacement of any part of a  building  for
which  a permit issued by the department of buildings is not required by
law, where the purpose and effect of such  work  or  replacement  is  to
correct  any deterioration or decay of or damage to such building or any
part thereof and to restore same, as nearly as may  be  practicable,  to
its  condition  prior  to the occurrence of such deterioration, decay or
damage.
  (28) "Persistent, bioaccumulative and  toxic  chemicals"  means  those
chemicals that are toxic to living organisms, persist in the environment
and  build  up  in  the  food  chain.  This definition shall include any
substance on the United States environmental protection agency's list of
priority  chemicals  published  under  the  national   partnership   for
environmental priorities, as well as hexavalent chromium, polybrominated
biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers.
  (29) "Postconsumer material" means a material or finished product that
has  served  its  intended  use  and has been diverted or recovered from
waste destined for disposal, having completed its  life  as  a  consumer
item.  Postconsumer  material  is  a  part  of  the  broader category of
recovered materials.

  (30) "Power supply" means any device intended to convert line  voltage
alternating current to one or more lower voltages of direct current.
  (31)  "Printer"  means  any  device  that  prints the text or graphics
output of a computer onto paper.
  (32) "Reasonably competitive" means  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  that
permissible under section 104-a of the general municipal law.
  (33)  "Recovered  material" means waste materials and byproducts which
have been recovered or diverted from solid waste, but such term does not
include those materials and  byproducts  generated  from,  and  commonly
reused  within,  an  original  manufacturing  process.  For  purposes of
purchasing paper  and  paper  products,  "recovered  material"  includes
"post-consumer  recovered  paper" and "recovered materials, for purposes
of purchasing paper and paper products", as those terms are  defined  in
the CPG.
  (34)  "Recycled  product"  shall  mean  recycled product as defined in
section 104-a of the general municipal law.
  (35)  "Volatile  organic  compound"  means  any  compound  of  carbon,
excluding  carbon  monoxide,  carbon  dioxide,  carbonic  acid, metallic
carbides or carbonates, and ammonium carbonate,  which  participates  in
atmospheric  photochemical  reactions,  as  specified  in part 51.100 of
chapter 40 of the United States code of federal regulations.

Section 6-302

Section 6-302

  § 6-302   Applicability.  a.  Except  where  otherwise  provided,  the
provisions of this chapter shall apply to any product:
  (1) purchased or leased by any agency;
  (2) purchased or leased by any contractor  pursuant  to  any  contract
with  any  agency where the director has designated such contract as one
subject to this chapter in whole or in part; or
  (3) purchased or leased by any contractor  pursuant  to  any  contract
with  any  agency  for  construction work in any building; provided that
this paragraph  shall  only  require  that  such  contractors  meet  the
requirements   of   subdivisions  a,  b  and  c  of  section  6-313  and
subdivisions a and b of section 6-306 of this  chapter.  Notwithstanding
the  foregoing,  except  when otherwise determined by the director, this
paragraph shall not apply to any such contract:
  (i) subject to green building standards pursuant to subdivision  b  of
section 224.1 of the charter;
  (ii)  subject to energy efficiency standards pursuant to subdivision c
of section 224.1 of the charter; provided, however, that this  exception
shall  only  apply  to  the purchase of energy using products and to the
extent the purchase or lease of  any  such  products  is  necessary  for
compliance with such subdivision;
  (iii)  subject to water efficiency standards pursuant to subdivision d
of section 224.1 of the charter; provided, however, that this  exception
shall only apply to the purchase of water using products;
  (iv)  where  construction  work is for a portion of a building that is
less than fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet;
  (v) where construction work  is  in  any  building  or  portion  of  a
building  leased  by the city; provided, however, that this subparagraph
shall not apply to any product purchased or  leased  by  any  contractor
pursuant  to any contract with any agency for construction work that (1)
is a capital project and (2) is in a building or portion of  a  building
that is leased for the use of a single agency where such single agency's
lease is for more than fifty thousand (50,000) square feet of space; or
  (vi)   where   the   commissioner   of   the  department  of  citywide
administrative  services  determines  that  the  requirements  of   this
paragraph  will  result  in significant difficulty in finding a suitable
site  for  an  agency  facility  and  that  such  a  circumstance  could
materially  adversely  affect  the  health,  safety,  or welfare of city
residents.
  b. Notwithstanding subparagraph (v) of paragraph 3 of subdivision a of
this section, for any building where any single agency leases less  than
fifty  thousand  (50,000) but more than fifteen thousand (15,000) square
feet of space, the contracting agency shall nonetheless make good  faith
efforts  to  apply  subdivisions  a,  b  and  c  of  section  6-306  and
subdivisions a and b of section 6-313 of this  chapter  to  any  capital
construction work.

Section 6-303

Section 6-303

  § 6-303 Exemptions and waivers. a. This chapter shall not apply:
  (1)  to  any  product purchased or leased before the effective date of
the local law that added this chapter;
  (2) to any procurement where federal  or  state  funding  restrictions
precludes the city from imposing the requirements of this chapter;
  (3)  to  small purchases pursuant to section three hundred fourteen of
the charter;
  (4) to  emergency  procurements  pursuant  to  section  three  hundred
fifteen of the charter;
  (5)  to  intergovernmental purchases pursuant to section three hundred
sixteen of the charter;
  (6)  where  compliance  with  the  city's   environmental   purchasing
standards  would  conflict  with the purpose of chapter 3 of title 25 of
this code;
  (7) to any product if there are fewer than  three  manufacturers  that
produce   such  product  meeting  the  city's  environmental  purchasing
standards and that are capable  of  producing  any  such  product  in  a
quantity  and  within  a  time  period  that are adequate for the city's
needs;
  (8) where the  contracting  agency  finds  that  the  inclusion  of  a
specification  otherwise  required  by  sections  6-306 or 6-310 of this
chapter would not be consistent with such agency's ability to obtain the
highest  quality  product  at  the  lowest  possible  price  through   a
competitive  procurement,  provided  that in making any such finding the
contracting agency shall consider life-cycle cost-effectiveness; and
  (9) where the  contracting  agency  finds  that  the  inclusion  of  a
specification  otherwise  required by subchapters 5 or 6 of this chapter
would not be consistent with such agency's ability to obtain the highest
quality product at the  lowest  possible  price  through  a  competitive
procurement,  provided  that  in making any such finding the contracting
agency  shall  consider  the  health  and  safety   benefits   of   such
specification.
  b.  The city's environmental purchasing standards may be waived by the
director upon application by any agency:
  (1)  where  compliance  with  the  city's   environmental   purchasing
standards would conflict with any consumer, health or safety:
  (i) regulation of any agency; or
  (ii) requirement of the federal government or state of New York or any
nationally recognized testing laboratory designated by the director; or
  (2)  for  any  product if there are fewer than five manufacturers that
produce  such  product  meeting  the  city's  environmental   purchasing
standards  and  that  are  capable  of  producing  any such product in a
quantity and within a time period  that  are  adequate  for  the  city's
needs.
  c.  Any  application  for any waiver pursuant to this section shall be
made in writing by the applying agency. The  director  shall,  within  a
reasonable  period  of time, issue a written determination on whether to
grant any such waiver application and shall include  an  explanation  of
any such determination.
  d.  Except  as  otherwise  provided  in this chapter, the director may
exempt from the provisions of this chapter up  to  the  following  total
dollar  amounts,  provided  such  amounts  shall be indexed to inflation
beginning in the second year after the effective date of this local law,
of contracts for goods or construction  work  in  the  following  fiscal
years  if in his or her judgment such exemption is in the best interests
of the city:
  (1) for fiscal years  2007  and  2008,  one  hundred  million  dollars
($100,000,000);

  (2)  for fiscal year 2009, seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000);
and
  (3) for fiscal year 2010 and any fiscal year thereafter, fifty million
dollars ($50,000,000).