Trucking industry takes City Hall rallying against “Onerous, Ill-Conceived” program which targets trucks for idling

Drivers say 'Citizens Air Complaint Program' strips operators of their Right to Due Process, handicaps trucking companies and fails to address climate impact

Trucking industry drivers, operators, and owners will gather on the steps of City Hall onWednesday, Sept. 18 from noon to 1:00 p.m. to rally against the Citizens Air Complaint Program, which unfairly targets trucking and logistics companies. The rally takes place ahead of a New York City Council Committee on Environmental Protection, Resiliency and Waterfronts oversight hearing, which oversees the program. 

The Citizens Air Complaint Program allows individuals to report trucks idling for anywhere between one and three minutes. In turn, these self-appointed emissions police receive a 25% commission on each reported violation. The Trucking Association of New York (TANY), which represents the state’s trucking industry, is hosting the rally to call attention to how this punitive program kneecaps our industry, harms our logistics systems and fails to consider the myriad steps the industry has taken and continues to take to move to zero emissions. 

“This program is punitive not reformative by encouraging freelance ‘bounty hunters’ to target trucking companies without introducing long-term solutions to prevent idling or protect the cleaner, more efficient trucks that are currently on the road,” said Kendra Hems, president of the Trucking Association of New York. “The city should work on collaborating with the trucking industry to create truly effective solutions that will both support our hard-working truck drivers and improve air quality, while incentivizing continued investments in zero and near zero emission vehicles”. 

Trucking companies believe the ill-conceived Citizens Air Complaint Program infringes on their right to due process. Fleets are not notified of the complaint until months after it is filed, and several additional months pass until a hearing is scheduled. 

Respondents are unable to view submitted videos before the hearing, and vehicle owners can’t transfer liability when using contractors or lessees. This inexcusably hamstrings the industry by limiting companies’ ability to effectively defend themselves, discouraging the delivering of essential goods across the five boroughs. For more information on the Trucking Association of New York, please visit their website. *MEDIA MUST RSVP TO ATTEND* Please contact Gian DeFilippis at [email protected] WHO: The Trucking Association of New York WHAT: Truck Drivers Protest Citizens Air Complaint Program WHERE: City Hall Steps City Hall Park, New York, NY 10007 WHEN: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024