The Dept. of Buildings has the power to offer a mediated resolution to landlords who don’t comply with the city’s building emissions law, bypassing fines if they promise to get back on track. But lawyers fear the provision leaves the door open for DOB to evoke it too freely, and question whether the agency has the staff capacity to monitor such deals.
“Blue cities and states have much more pension fund money than red states. As the saying goes, money talks. It’s time for Comptroller Lander to put money that he manages where his mouth is. New Yorkers need him to fight for our interests at least as hard as red state politicians fight for the oil and gas corporations.”
A new state-wide report on the impacts of climate change shows New York City will be impacted on all fronts: The Big Apple is getting 6 to 10 degrees warmer, and will see more precipitation and tidal floods in the coming decades. “We have to understand that this stuff is going to happen, it’s already happening,” one state official said.
“If New York is serious about meeting its climate goals, the city must then live up to its stated priorities and give programs the resources to meaningfully follow through on their legislative mandates.”
En 2022, la gobernadora Kathy Hochul cedió en las negociaciones y dio luz verde a la ampliación de Medicaid para dar cobertura a los inmigrantes indocumentados mayores de 65 años. El Departamento de Salud del estado puso en marcha el programa el mes pasado después de un retraso de un año.
“This absence of unified design and management can compound inequality. Where some areas of the city have seen the lion’s share of the city’s attention, other areas have been and are in danger of continuing to be completely left behind.”
In 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul relented and gave the green light to expand Medicaid to cover undocumented immigrants 65 and older. The state’s Department of Health launched the program last month after a year-long delay.
New York joined eight other states in an agreement to ensure heat pumps make up 65 percent of residential heating and cooling equipment sales by 2030. The technology is a green alternative to traditional systems that run on fossil fuels and contribute to global warming.
“Emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 84-87 times more potent than CO2 as a planet warmer, has actually increased. Methane now comprises 40 percent of New York’s total net greenhouse gases, up from 39 percent in 2019.”
More than a quarter of the city’s public school buildings are currently at risk from extreme stormwater flooding, according to an analysis by the Comptroller’s Office shared with City Limits. Teachers, students and environmental groups are pushing for more weather-resilient schools.
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