BOMA/NY compiling a winning record.

While the behind-the-scenes advocacy efforts of BOMA/NY have often been touted by its leadership as the "strength behind the skyline," this year a series of legislative wins have placed the Association front and center at City Hall and beyond.

Its most recent, measurable accomplishment came June 24th when New York City's Mayor Bloomberg signed into law Introduction 126A (Intro #126A), which calls for alterations to the building code to enhance safety, including sprinkler installation, photo luminescent material application and emergency action plans for commercial buildings. BOMA/NY, whose Executive Director Roberta McGowan and Intro #126A Task Force volunteers had testified in open hearings and worked in committee for six months on this critical legislation, succeeded in obtaining several provisions favorable to the industry, and Task Force Co-Chair Jessica Handy, who helped spearhead BOMA/ NY's review of the legislation, attended the signing.

That legislative win followed quickly on the heels of the successful effort announced June 18 to extend the "make available" provision of the 2002 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act through to the end of this year. BOMA/ NY lobbied for this in conjunction with BOMA International and other members of the BOMA federation.

Just one month before, BOMA/NY fielded its largest team ever (26) to lobby in Albany, meeting with 16 legislators on issues that McGowan stated "expanded our role dramatically. We were not only lobbying for issues central to the conduct of our industry, but the health and welfare of millions of tenants in New York which building owners and managers serve and protect daily." Meetings covered pending legislation as far-ranging as mold, the siting of electricity generating plants, terrorism insurance, labor law reform and more.

Highlights of BOMA/NY's official "Advocacy Day" included:

* Mold: BOMA/NY lobbied for the proposed legislative task force to include industry professionals, focus on mold specific to the Northeast and require insurance companies to include mold-related losses in commercial real estate policies

* Article X: The Association threw its support behind Mayor Bloomberg's

push to solve the current impasse in Albany on this legislation before the summer recess break, and spoke out in favor of simplifying the permitting process for building new or re-powering existing facilities.

* Terrorism insurance: The December 31 extension aside, BOMA/NY continues to lobby for either an extension through the end of next year or indefinitely. BOMA/NY has also continued to focus attention on both the absence of reinsurance available in the market and coverage by private direct carriers for radiological, biological or chemical efforts.

* Labor Law 240: BOMA/NY voiced its strong support for the reform of Labor Law 240, which currently provides for absolute liability of owners and general contractors in the event of a "gravity related" worker injury. New York's law, the strictest in the nation, has placed an undue burden on carriers causing many to withdraw, and the resulting crisis has caused construction costs to skyrocket and rents to increase correspondingly.

* Water Board billing." BOMA/NY has been pushing for the amendment to increase, from four to six years, the amount of time available to challenge the New York City Water Board billing errors.

BOMA/NY's Codes & Regulations/Government Affairs Committee continues to scrutinize legislation and regulations in more than two dozen key areas, and is a major force in spearheading the adoption of the International Building Code, which will bring New York's antiquated and convoluted code into line with much of the rest of North America and make the City more "user friendly."

And while BOMA/NY has taken a far more public stance in recent months, it continues to strengthen its internal programs that mentor and cultivate the next generation of leaders, including educational seminars and coursework required for the RPA, FMA, SMA and SMT designations. Operational standards continue to be held to a higher standard every year as its challenging Pinnacle Awards gain greater prestige, and perhaps in the ultimate test of success, its membership now stands at the highest level ever. The New York Association is the largest local association in BOMA International.