A Crown Heights building in limbo could inspire more landlords to deregulate through demolition—or more tenants to fight to stay in their homes.
Education
How Climate Change is Hitting NYC Public Schools
Mariana Simões |
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.
Citywide
‘Why Are You Making It So Difficult’? NYC Cash Aid Applicants Face Denial Surge
Emma Whitford and Patrick Spauster |
The volume of cash assistance applications in New York City has increased dramatically in recent years. But as more households receive aid, the city is also issuing more procedural denials, in the hundreds of thousands.
Economy
Lawmakers Plan to Reintroduce Deforestation Bill Vetoed Last Year
Mariana Simões |
Gov. Hochul tried to water down a bill that sought to stop companies that have contracts with the state government from contributing to tropical deforestation. Now, lawmakers plan to reintroduce the bill and fight for its integrity.
Government
‘I Feel Defeated’: Shelter Deadlines for Immigrant Families Expire, as System Frays
Emma Whitford, Mariana Simões, Daniel Parra, Belle Cushing and Jeanmarie Evelly |
While the Adams administration has been issuing shelter deadlines to adult immigrants for months, and to some families with kids in hotels as part of a separate initiative, Tuesday’s evictions were the first to apply to families with children under City Hall’s broader policy, which officials say is an effort to manage more than 168,500 new arrivals since 2022—69,000 of whom remain in the city’s care.
Government
Tracking NYC’s Record-High Homeless Shelter Population
Patrick Spauster, Adrian Nesta and Emma Whitford |
With additional city agencies now providing more emergency lodging than ever before in a system that officials say is at a breaking point, monitoring the total number of people in shelter has only become more important—and more complicated.
Government
Efforts to Block Gas Bans Across the Nation Are Growing. Will it Work in New York?
Mariana Simões |
After a lawsuit in California toppled the city of Berkeley’s efforts to replace gas stoves with clean electric energy in new buildings, fossil fuel industry groups are testing the same legal strategy in New York.
Brooklyn
The Quest to Clean Up Coney Island Creek, Part 1: Industrial Past Collides with a Superstorm
Nina Dietz |
While the last decade has seen cleanup efforts planned or launched at some of the city’s most polluted waterways, like Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek, the community has struggled to get traction for a comprehensive cleaning plan for Coney Island Creek, despite its continued recreational use and multiple requests for action by local leaders.
Government
NYC Promised More Apartments to Break a ‘Vicious Cycle.’ Where Are They?
Emma Whitford |
A 2019 plan to expand the Justice Involved Supportive Housing program would satisfy a commitment in former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Points of Agreement to close the city’s notorious jail on Rikers Island. The existing operators aren’t biting.
Housing and Homelessness
As Chelsea Demo Plans Move Ahead, A Look Back to NYCHA’s Brooklyn Razing
Tatyana Turner |
There are several key differences between PACT and Hope VI, the now-defunct federal program that facilitated demolition and displacement in Brooklyn decades ago. But, despite contemporary safeguards, advocates say they’ll be keeping a close eye as plans to raze and rebuild the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses move forward.
Government
‘A Lot of False Hope’: City Data Show Ongoing Barriers To Supportive Housing
Emma Whitford |
While the Department of Social Services says more people were accepted into supportive housing last year than the year prior, a new report shows persistent barriers and rejections, including some that violate the city’s own guidance.
