NYLPI, together with pro bono partner Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP, filed an amicus brief in the Appellate Division on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, in defense of Local Law 152, the Waste Equity Law. NYLPI was instrumental in the passage of Local Law 152, which passed the City Council and was signed by Mayor de Blasio in 2018 after more than a decade of advocacy. The Law reduces the amount of waste that can be processed at facilities clustered in communities who have shouldered the burden of our city’s trash for too long, and its passage was celebrated by NYLPI’s Environmental Justice program’s partners and clients.

Shortly after the Waste Equity Law was passed, a national consortium of waste companies filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the law. NYLPI filed an amicus brief at the trial level, representing Cleanup North Brooklyn, the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 813, and OUTRAGE. The trial court upheld the law, and cited NYLPI’s amicus brief in its opinion, pointing to the important public health and safety benefits for communities who have borne the impact of our waste system for so many years.

The industry then appealed to the Appellate Division, where NYLPI filed a brief again in support of the City’s defense of the Law. Senior Staff Attorney Melissa Iachan led the drafting of both amicus briefs, and appeared to argue in defense of the law at the trial court as well.