City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York

NYC Heat Mapping Study Finds Higher Temps in Lower-Income Neighborhoods

For instance, during one data collection, neighborhoods surrounding Central Park measured between 80 and 82 degrees, while parts of The Bronx and upper Manhattan were between 88 and 89 degrees at the same time.

By Liz Donovan

New York City

Opinion: Remembering the Wayne Barrett I Knew

By Fred Smith

Una Ciudad sin Límites

¿Cómo el estado de Nueva York elabora su presupuesto? Le preguntamos a los expertos

By Ese Olumhense

Health and Environment

Federal COVID Test Delivery Program Out of Reach to Some NYC Shelter Residents

By David Brand

News

Government

NY’s ‘Excluded Workers’ Push State for Protections Beyond Pandemic Aid

A coalition of groups representing undocumented immigrant workers, cash earners and others excluded from traditional worker benefits are campaigning for a stronger social safety net for these employees, who they say were essential to keeping New York running throughout the pandemic.
By Jeanmarie Evelly
Podcasts

City Watch: A Universal Right to Counsel in NYC Housing Court?

“What we need to do is to ensure that, no matter how much money you’re making, you can access a free attorney if you’re at risk of eviction,” North Brooklyn Councilmember Lincoln Restler said during an appearance on WBAI’s City Watch Sunday.
By David Brand
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

Opinion: Mayor Eric Adams Shouldn’t Just Listen to Students—He Should Employ Them

By training and paying students to support their peers on the path to college, not only do schools reduce their student-to-counselor ratio, they also make an investment in the student leaders themselves.
By Reid Higginson
Housing and Development

A Trickle of Tenants at Bronx Housing Court as Eviction Moratorium Ends

For the first time in nearly two years, New York’s expansive COVID-related eviction protections have come to an end for tenants who owe back rent. Landlords are rejoicing, renters are feeling the heat and city officials are bracing for impact.
By David Brand
Opinion

Opinion: NYC Needs a Mayor’s Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs

‘AAPI New Yorkers deserve to be heard in the halls of power, and we need a mayor who will recapture our diverse communities’ support and confidence.’
By Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung

Mapping the Future

What Ever Happened to CBAs? The Rise and Fall of ‘Community Benefits Agreements’ in NYC

Once a seemingly promising structure to ensure that real estate groups don’t run roughshod over local neighborhoods in development deals—and still a common practice in other cities—CBAs are now disdained by many New York City community groups and developers alike. The mechanism’s demise is a lesson, development experts say, in both the strength and limitations of demanding concessions in exchange for neighborhood-changing construction projects.
1,300 Households Apply for Reopened Rent Relief Portal as NY’s Eviction Freeze Nears End

New Yorkers who owe back rent can once again apply for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) after judge ordered the state to reopen applications, citing what could be a substantial second round of funding in March. But the federal government has yet to approve a new round of cash for the tapped-out fund, and eviction protections end Saturday.
Aggressive Subway Policing Contrasts Mayor’s Pledge to Involve Outreach Workers

Video of two NYPD officers dragging and handcuffing a man at the 8th Ave L train station Monday underscores concerns about Mayor Eric Adams' new plan to send more cops into the subways, advocates say. And an accompanying initiative to have state-funded social service workers conduct outreach in lieu of police won't roll out until spring.
What’s Ahead for Tenants Displaced by Deadly Bronx Fire?

The Bronx apartment fire that killed at least 17 people Sunday has also left more than 100 families homeless, in some cases with no clear timeline for a return to their apartments.
Hochul, Housing and Homelessness: 5 Takeaways from the Governor’s 2022 Plan

Kathy Hochul's first State of the State proposal included sweeping plans for affordable housing, free legal assistance for low-income tenants and sending social workers into the subways to conduct homeless outreach. But the governor failed to address other high-profile issues, like the end of pandemic eviction protections and the "Good Cause" eviction bill.

Podcasts

► Decorative play icon links to post: City Watch: A Universal Right to Counsel in NYC Housing Court?
City Watch: A Universal Right to Counsel in NYC Housing Court?

“What we need to do is to ensure that, no matter how much money you’re making, you can access a free attorney if you’re at risk of eviction,” North Brooklyn Councilmember Lincoln Restler said during an appearance on WBAI’s City Watch Sunday.
By David Brand
► Decorative play icon links to post: ¿Libertad bajo fianza para inmigrantes detenidos, el caso Garland contra Gonzalez?
¿Libertad bajo fianza para inmigrantes detenidos, el caso Garland contra Gonzalez?

El martes 11 de enero la Corte Suprema llevó a cabo dos audiencias para decidir si los inmigrantes detenidos que llevan largos períodos privados de la libertad pueden ser liberados bajo fianza mientras sus casos avanzan y luchan contra la deportación.
By Daniel Parra
► Decorative play icon links to post: City Watch: Should NYC Land Use Decisions Consider Hospital Capacity?
City Watch: Should NYC Land Use Decisions Consider Hospital Capacity?

New Queens Councilmember Lynn Schulman wants to incorporate hospital capacity into New York City’s zoning process, following decades of medical facility closures, including several in Queens.
By David Brand

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Special Projects

City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York

NYC Heat Mapping Study Finds Higher Temps in Lower-Income Neighborhoods

For instance, during one data collection, neighborhoods surrounding Central Park measured between 80 and 82 degrees, while parts of The Bronx and upper Manhattan were between 88 and 89 degrees at the same time.
Researchers Focus on Central Park to Study Climate Impact on Urban Green Spaces

The Central Park Climate Lab will start data collection this spring to examine how extreme weather could affect the park’s plants and wildlife.
Gov. Hochul Sets Bold Climate Goals — But Advocates Push for Funding Commitments

Since the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act was signed into law in 2019, laying out aggressive benchmarks for NY to reduce its carbon emissions, advocates have pushed for a funding mechanism to ensure it will be implemented.

Age Justice

Seniors’ Housing Needs are a Special Challenge

Rents are rising for seniors as they are for everyone else. But a fixed income, vulnerability to harassment and age-related physical impairments raise the housing stakes for elder New Yorkers.
Aging in New York: City Wrestles with Poverty Among Seniors

Amid the debates about how the minimum wage or better schools might reduce poverty are a million New Yorkers who are largely beyond the reach of those policies. And one in five of them are poor.
Opinion: The New Administration Must Invest in Older New Yorkers—& The Nonprofits Serving Them

‘We implore the new administration to seriously consider the Human Services Council #JustPay campaign, and ensure that all New York City contracted employees, who on a daily basis perform critical lifesaving work, make a living wage.’ Our new mayor, administration, and city council have taken office at a challenging time for New York City—but especially […]

The Ride

Aggressive Subway Policing Contrasts Mayor’s Pledge to Involve Outreach Workers

Video of two NYPD officers dragging and handcuffing a man at the 8th Ave L train station Monday underscores concerns about Mayor Eric Adams' new plan to send more cops into the subways, advocates say. And an accompanying initiative to have state-funded social service workers conduct outreach in lieu of police won't roll out until spring.
Opinion: It’s Time for Permanent, Equitable 24/7 Open Streets

'The limited Open Streets we have are not distributed equitably. There are no active Open Streets in any of the six community boards that have the fewest residents living near parks. Of all the active Open Street miles in operation today, only 2.2 percent are in the Bronx.’
Opinion: Redesigning SoHo’s Streets for People and Community

‘SoHo is a picturesque, architectural gem of a place to live and work...But it is also an impossible mess of traffic, mini skyscrapers of garbage bags, and elbow wars of crowds in the street and on the sidewalk.’

Investigations

Health and Environment

Company Settles With Home Health Aides Seeking Unpaid Wages For Round-the-Clock Care

State guidelines and federal regulations mandate that home health aides working 24 hours at a client’s home get eight hours for sleep and three hours of meal breaks, all unpaid. But many workers say the rule routinely leads to underpayment because their patients actually need constant care, leaving the aides little time to sleep or take breaks.
By Liz Donovan
Zoned Out: Examining the Impact of NYC's Rezonings

3 Years After Bronx Rezoning, Jerome Avenue Auto Shops Under Pressure

As part of the 2018 Jerome Avenue rezoning deal, city officials committed $1.5 million in financial assistance for area merchants, intended to help relocate existing businesses that would be displaced. But officials have yet to issue any such grants, a City Limits investigation found.
By Daniel Parra and Ese Olumhense
A Family Affair: Parents, Children and NYC's Homelessness Crisis

‘They Were Uninhabitable’—Ex-Landlords Leave Raft of Hazards at Former Bronx Cluster Sites

In June, the city spent $122 million to purchase 14 former cluster site buildings, turning them over to nonprofit organizations to fix up and operate as permanent housing. The organizations have their work cut out for them: There were more than 1,100 open Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) violations across the portfolio at the time of purchase.
By David Brand
Housing and Development

NYC’s ‘Hollowed Out’ Enforcement Units Struggle to Keep Pace on Housing Discrimination Cases

Source of income discrimination constitutes the most common form of illegal housing bias in NYC. Yet the city has only a handful of attorneys and staffers at the two agencies dedicated to tackling the monumental problem.
By David Brand
nyc mayoral race

Ray McGuire’s Billions in Deals Triggered Thousands of Layoffs

The New York City mayoral candidate says his achievements as a financier will equip him well to steer the city. But many of the mega-mergers he brokered left big batches of workers behind.
By Jarrett Murphy

City Limits - In-depth New York City News

City Limits - In-depth New York City News

City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York

NYC Heat Mapping Study Finds Higher Temps in Lower-Income Neighborhoods

By Liz Donovan

New York City

Opinion: Remembering the Wayne Barrett I Knew

By Fred Smith

Una Ciudad sin Límites

¿Cómo el estado de Nueva York elabora su presupuesto? Le preguntamos a los expertos

By Ese Olumhense

Health and Environment

Federal COVID Test Delivery Program Out of Reach to Some NYC Shelter Residents

By David Brand