Asbestos Removal

News From New York State
Senator Shirley L. Huntley
For Immediate Release: May 18, 2011
Contact: Bryant G. Gaspard| gaspard@nysenate.gov | (518) 455-3531

Senator Huntley Aims to Help Homeowners Save on Asbestos Removal

Legislation will lower building renovation costs, help families stay healthy

New York State Senator Shirley L. Huntley (D-Jamaica) announced the passage of legislation  (S. 748) that will lower the rates of the often cost-prohibitive asbestos project notification fees for owner occupied one or two family residential structures, which may result in hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of savings for homeowners across New York.
 
Often times homeowners who live in one or two unit residential structures, which accounts for a sizeable chunk of New York’s housing stock, want to improve their neighborhoods through renovation projects, Senator Huntley explained. However, in many instances removal fees are so cost-prohibitive that it has hindered their ability to address building code enforcement; oftentimes, asbestos can more than double the cost of smaller demolition projects at these owners occupied one or two unit homes.
 
“Neighborhood renovation and redevelopment projects benefit all homeowners and strengthen the entire community,” said Senator Huntley. “Asbestos removal is simply too expensive, so homeowners are either foregoing removal entirely or, dangerously attempting removal themselves. It was extremely important we pass this legislation to help families improve the health and safety of their homes, without the overwhelming cost currently associated with asbestos.”

The prospect of families in Queens having to spend inordinate amounts of money to remove asbestos from their homes mandated by New York City housing codes is an irresponsible cost burden. Many working class families in Queens are often trying to improve their homes due to an increase in the size for their families. Placing onerous costs on these families and homeowners can stifle home and neighborhood improvement.

As it stands now, a very small percentage of asbestos project notifications are received from projects involving owner occupied one or two family structures. It is believed that so few of these notifications are received because the current fee structure is so cost-prohibitive that homeowners decide to either do the project illegally themselves or not do it at all. This bill will establish a fee structure that will set the project fee at no more than $500 for owner occupied one or two family residential structures, which should enhance homeowners’ ability to make improvements to their homes because they will no longer incur unnecessarily high compliance fees.

Additional news available at http://huntley.nysenate.gov and facebook.com/Shirley L. Huntley

New York State Senate Email | shuntley@nysenate.gov | (518) 455-3531