City Council Passes Local Law 75 Related to Carbon Monoxide Detectors

If you are a tenant or landlord please note the law just passed related to carbon monoxide detectors. It might sound like a boring topic but checking to make sure your CO detector is still functional could save your life, or the life of a loved one.

Gregory

********

Dear New Yorker,

We hope everyone's New Year has gotten off to a terrific start.

In case you missed it during the post-holiday rush, this past month the City Council passed and Mayor Bloomberg signed into law legislation aimed at keeping New Yorkers and their families better protected from possible carbon monoxide poisoning.

Under legislation passed by the City Council in 2004, landlords were required to install carbon monoxide (CO) detectors for their tenants. However, the detectors that were installed after that law went into effect are now coming to the end of their useful life but tenants and landlords might not be aware that they are no longer functioning. As a result, many city tenants may soon be at risk.

Local Law 75, introduced by Council Member Mark Weprin, requires landlords to replace CO detectors when they reach the end of their useful life with models that emit an audible beep reminding folks that they need to be replaced.

Too many New Yorkers' lives are in danger because their CO detectors have died and they don't know it. This new law, which is scheduled to take effect in April, will help keep New Yorkers safe by requiring newly installed CO detectors to be equipped with an audible warning chirp.

We'd like to thank Council Member Weprin and his staff for all of their hard work and effort getting this important piece of legislation passed.

We'd also like to encourage all New Yorkers to check the dates on the back of their detectors to ensure they are still being fully protected by these potentially lifesaving devices. If your unit has expired, contact your landlord. As with the original mandate, tenants will be required to pay $25 towards the cost of replacement, but it's well worth the investment.

If you have any questions about Local Law 75, please don't hesitate to contact Ben Goodman in the City Council's Infrastructure Division at bgoodman@council.nyc.gov. You can also email us directly at speakerquinn@council.nyc.gov.

Thanks and we hope to be in touch again soon with additional news and updates.

Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn

Speaker

NYC Council

Erik Martin Dylan

Chair, Housing & Buildings Committee

NYC Council