Op-eds by stakeholders, policymakers and other citizens of New York
‘Building safe and healthy communities with clean air, clean water, good-paying jobs and access to nature must be the focus of our state’s climate plans. The $3 billion Environmental Bond Act can help pave the way.’
‘Places to enter and exit the harbor safely in canoes, kayaks, rafts, sailboats, and rowboats, to educate by interacting with the water—or just to touch the water—remain strangely scarce for a city of over 8 million people.’
‘To reach those currently experiencing homelessness, it is essential for organizations with longstanding visibility to be empowered and unrestricted to vaccinate in non-traditional settings. Imagine a popup clinic under the GW Bridge, inside Port Authority or inside the MTA terminals at Barclay Center or Grand Central.’
‘In New York, the transportation sector alone is responsible for 36 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, and that number is growing.’
‘Now is the time to realize a new era for parks, a vision for recovery with green open spaces at the center of our new urban landscape. The first step towards doing that is restoring the devastating budget cuts that have brought us to this inflection point.’
‘It is time for New York to act like the economic powerhouse that it is. Right here and right now, we can generate the recurring revenue we need to create an economy that enables working families to flourish by ensuring that the ultrawealthy pay their fair share.’
‘We call on the next mayor to invest… $2.5 billion for affordable housing rental and homeownership opportunities and $1.5 billion for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and to move the city’s reporting structure away from raw production totals and into more meaningful areas, including racial equity and levels of affordability.’
‘Cuomo is proposing cuts to two vital funding streams that have worked for years to keep New York’s children safe…It is irresponsible and immoral.’
“While Cuomo’s plan acknowledges the social equity imperative of legalization, it allocates only $100 million in tax grants to communities most harmed. That’s a step – but it’s not enough.”
‘I believe if we want to preserve SoHo, we must rezone within reason. To address the disjointed policies and permits that currently cause headaches, but also to save the stunning landmarked buildings at the heart of this debate.’