President of the operating engineers challenged new rules on crane operator
licenses. Edwin L. Christian, President and Business Manager of the International
Union of Operating Engineers, filed an article 78 petition challenging
amendments to the rules of the City of New York promulgated by the Department
of Buildings regarding licensing for crane operators. Christian challenged
the adoption of a rule which dispensed with the requirement that, for
a class A license, the applicant must have certain qualifying experience
acquired in New York City and under the supervision of New York City-licensed
operators. Christian also challenged the elimination of the City-administered
examination for both class A and class B license applicants in favor of
national certification.
The Supreme Court granted the petition and the City appealed. The Appellate
Division, First Department reversed and dismissed Christian’s petition.
The appellate court ruled that Christian lacked standing to challenge
the new rules. The safety-related harm on which Christian based his standing
was too speculative to show injury in fact. The court concluded that,
assuming that Christian had standing, Buildings had acted rationally in
adopting the amendments.
Matter of Christian v. City of New York, 2013 NY Slip Op 30321(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Feb. 5, 2013).