This summer, utility companies must submit plans detailing how they’ll implement a series of solutions to make electricity rates more affordable for electric vehicles. But their plan has fallen short of giving the MTA the preferential rate it says it needs to able to foot the bill, as it seeks to transition its 5,800-bus fleet off fossil fuels.
Government
New Baby Bonds Bill Seeks to Help Kids Who Lost Parents to COVID
Anjali Tsui for THE CITY |
In April 2022, THE CITY’s MISSING THEM project—along with Columbia Journalism Investigations, Type Investigations and City Limits—published a story that revealed that more than 8,600 New York City children have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID, a population that would entirely fill 15 average-size city schools.
Education
Opinion: City Students Deserve Consistent Funding for Arts Education
Kimberly Olsen |
“New York City’s Department of Education recommends schools spend just $80.15 per student on arts education—yet school leaders can use that money for other classes and programs, often resulting in the total elimination of arts programming in a school.”
Government
Mayor Suspends Some ‘Right to Shelter’ Rules in Scramble to House Asylum Seekers
Daniel Parra, Jeanmarie Evelly and Emma Whitford |
The mayor defended the move, saying the city had little choice as it struggles to keep up with a ballooning shelter population. But advocates say the change undermines the city’s social safety net and protections to ensure homeless families with children have access to safe conditions.
Government
In Wake of Subway Killing, City Officials Grilled On Touchpoints With Unhoused New Yorkers
Emma Whitford |
At a Council hearing, officials said the city has recorded 318,000 “engagements” since February 2022 between street homeless residents and police or outreach workers, including instances where the same individual was contacted multiple times. Of those, 4,600 people have agreed to go into shelter; about 1,300 people remain in those placements.
Bronx
Opinion: New York Utilities Must Align With State’s Climate Goals
Karines Reyes and Sonal Jessel |
“New York State laid out the strategy for equitably addressing the climate crisis. Now we must pass the NY HEAT Act to ensure we can deliver on that promise and make New York a leader in addressing ‘the single biggest health threat facing humanity.'”
Economy
Más de la mitad de los inmigrantes en Nueva York no pueden cubrir sus necesidades básicas, según informe
Daniel Parra |
Los hogares encabezados por inmigrantes representan solo el 17 por ciento de la población de la ciudad, pero constituyen el 21 por ciento de los hogares que ganan por debajo del “costo de vida real”, utilizado como base para el informe.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Targeting SNAP With Work Requirements Misses the Point
Brad Martin |
“The focus on cutting life-saving programs like SNAP as a method to reduce the government debt is disingenuous, at best, and self-serving and cynical at worst. Taxing the rich would be a far more effective way to address the debt.”
Government
‘Justice 4 Jordan’: New Yorkers Who’ve Experienced Homelessness React to Subway Killing
Emma Whitford |
“Out there you are vulnerable. It’s safer in here behind doors,” Kevin, who declined to provide his last name, told City Limits outside the 30th Street Intake Shelter Thursday. He is among several currently or formerly homeless New Yorkers to empathize this week with the late Jordan Neely.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Improving Mental Health Outcomes in NYC Begins at Birth
Evelyn Blanck and Andrew Cleek |
“To most effectively and efficiently address New York City’s mental health challenges, we must focus on our youngest residents and their caregivers.”
Government
NY Budget Lays Groundwork for Cap-and-Invest Plan to Charge Polluters, But Details Are Lacking
Mariana Simões |
The bill determines how money generated from the program will be spent but fails to include protective measures for disadvantaged communities, environmentalists warn.