Relates to the publication of the City Record

Title of bill

An act to amend the general construction law and the New York city charter, in relation to the publication of the City Record

Summary of provisions

This law would amend section 60 of the General Construction Law and section 1066 of the New York City Charter (the "Charter"), to authorize the electronic publication of The City Record. Under General Construction Law §60, The City Record, as the long-standing official newspaper of the City of New York, is deemed a "newspaper" for the purpose of any law requiring the publication or advertisement of a notice in a newspaper. This law would clarify that The City Record is deemed a "newspaper" if it is published in print or electronic form. The law also would amend section 1066 of the Charter, which governs The City Record, to authorize New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to publish The City Record in electronic publication and to provide that electronic publication of the City Record would have the same force and effect as print publication.

Justification

The City Record is the official newspaper of the City of New York. It includes notices from City agencies concerning public hearings and meetings, property dispositions, procurement {solicitations and awards} , agency rules, and special materials, as well as court notices. The City Record is published each weekday. excluding official City holidays, by DCAS.

Currently, the circulation of The City Record is approximately 1,500 copies per day. Many of these are delivered to City offices, libraries, and media outlets. Only around 500 copies are delivered to private subscribers. Contractual costs for printing, mailing, and delivery of the paper were about $1.2 million in FY 2008.

By offering The City Record as an electronic newspaper, DCAS will be able to decrease costs significantly. At the same time, electronic publication will increase the ease of circulation and thus should expand readership. This law would also require DCAS, each borough president, each community board, and each council member to make available hard copies of The City Record in their respective offices to any member of the public, on request and free of charge. This will ensure that any resident without electronic means of reading the paper will be able to access the content.

Moving to an electronic format will also bring The City Record in line with the City of New York's PlaNYC carbon emission reduction goals. The printing, processing, and delivery of newsprint are energy and resource intensive processes.