WHEREAS, on December 1, 2019, and continuing thereafter, a
severe winter storm began to impact New York State, posing an imminent danger
to vital public transportation, utility service, public health, and public
safety systems within the counties of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer,
Schenectady, Saratoga, and Ulster, and contiguous counties; and
WHEREAS, this winter storm is anticipated to produce
snowfall amounts of up to 24 inches, at a rate of up to one to two inches per
hour, with ice and sleet. These conditions may cause widespread power outages
and road closures, travel disruptions, and damage to public and private
property throughout the impacted areas and will pose a threat to public health
and safety.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ANDREW M. CUOMO, Governor of the State
of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the
State of New York and Section 28 of Article 2-B of the Executive Law, do hereby
find that a disaster is imminent for which the affected local governments are
unable to respond adequately. Therefore, I hereby declare a State Disaster
Emergency effective December 2, 2019 within the territorial boundaries of the
counties of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, and
Ulster, and contiguous counties. This Executive Order shall be in effect until
December 9, 2019; and
FURTHER, pursuant to Section 29 of Article 2-B of the
Executive Law, I direct the implementation of the State Comprehensive Emergency
Management Plan and authorize, effective December 2, 2019, the State Office of
Emergency Management, the Department of Health, the Department of
Transportation, the Division of State Police, the Division of Military and
Naval Affairs, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of
Corrections and Community Supervision, the Public Service Commission, the
Office of Fire Prevention and Control, the Department of Labor, the Office of
Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Office of General Services,
the Thruway Authority, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Services, other State agencies as necessary, and the American Red Cross to take
appropriate action to protect State property and to assist affected local
governments and individuals in responding to and recovering from this disaster,
and to provide such other assistance as necessary to protect the public health
and safety.
IN ADDITION, this declaration satisfies the requirements of
49 C.F.R.
390.23(a)(l)(A), which
provides relief from Parts 390 through 399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations (FMCSR). Such relief from the FMCSR is necessary to ensure that
crews can clear vital roadways and hasten the movement of utility power
restoration crews into New York State.
FURTHER, I, ANDREW M. CUOMO, Governor of the State of New
York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 29-a of Article 2-B of
the Executive Law to temporarily suspend specific provisions of any statute,
local law, ordinance, orders, rules or regulations, or parts thereof, of any
agency during a State disaster emergency, if compliance with such provisions
would prevent, hinder or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster,
hereby temporarily suspend, for the period from the date of this Executive
Order through December 9, 2019, the following laws:
Section
38(1) (2) and (3) of the
Highway Law and Article 4-C of the Economic Development Law, to the extent
necessary to authorize the award of emergency contracts and/or to combine
design and construction services in contracts and to use such services when
needed;
Section
97-G of the State Finance Law, to the
extent necessary to purchase food, supplies, services, and equipment or furnish
or provide various centralized services, including but not limited to, building
design and construction services to assist affected local governments,
individuals, and other non-State entities in responding to and recovering from
the disaster emergency;
Section
112 of the State Finance Law, to the extent
consistent with Article V, Section I of the State Constitution, and to the
extent necessary to add additional work, sites and time to State contracts, to
award emergency contracts or award leases for relocation and support of State
operations under Public Buildings Law Section 3, to award emergency contracts
under Public Buildings Law Section 9, to award emergency contracts for
professional services under Section
136-a of the State Finance Law and to
award emergency contracts for commodities, services, technology, and materials
pursuant to Section
163 of the State Finance Law;
Section
136-a of the State Finance Law, to the
extent necessary to combine design and construction services in one contract
and/or to obtain design and construction inspection services;
Section 359-a and Section
2879 of the Public Authorities Law to the
extent necessary to purchase necessary goods and services without following the
standard procurement processes;
Sections 375, 385 and 401 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
to the extent that exemption for vehicles validly registered in other
jurisdictions from the vehicle registration, equipment and dimension
requirements is necessary to assist in disaster preparedness and recovery
efforts;
Part F of Chapter 60 of the Laws of 2015, and Chapter 59 of
2017 to the extent necessary to award design-build and best value contracts
without following the proscribed procurement process; and
Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law, and Part
15 of Title 17 and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Code of Rules and
Regulations, to the extent that the Commissioner of Transportation, the
Commissioner of General Services, or the Commissioner of the Division of
Homeland Security and Emergency Services determines that work is immediately
necessary for the replacement, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of
structures.
FURTHER, I hereby temporarily modify, for the period from
the date of this Executive Order through December 9, 2019, the following
laws:
Section
24 of the Executive Law; Sections 104 and 346
of the Highway Law; Sections 1602, 1630, 1640, 1650, and 1660 of the Vehicle
and Traffic Law; Section
14(16) of the Transportation
Law; Sections 6-602 and 17-1706 of the Village Law; Section
20(32) of the General City
Law; Section 91 of Second Class Cities Law; Section 19-107(ii) of the New York
City Administrative Code; and Section
107.1
of Title 21 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, to the extent
necessary to provide the Governor with the authority to regulate traffic and
the movement of vehicles on roads, highways, and streets.
Signed: Andrew M. Cuomo
Dated: December 2, 2019
