Guest op-eds, City Limits bloggers and reaction from readers
‘Under the CCIA, there would be fees on air pollution emissions, in recognition of the negative externalities they produce. Such fees are profoundly fair: it is not so much a punitive tax as it is correcting for market distortions by incorporating the costs society incurs from air pollution.’
‘The time has come to remove corporate profiteering from the picture altogether. Two new bills —the NY Build Public Renewables Act and the forthcoming NY Utility Democracy Act—would do just that, initiating a takeover of the state’s investor-owned utilities that would make them publicly owned and democratically accountable.’
‘In jurisdictions dominated by one political party like New York City, Ranked Choice Voting alone likely won’t be an effective remedy for political divisions, since the partisans of the dominant party might lack a real incentive to care about the concerns of voters from the opposition party.’
‘Across the state, 1 in 7 people – 2.3 million New Yorkers – have criminal records. They are denied jobs, housing, education, life insurance, loans, child custody, licensure and more. The lifelong barriers they face perpetuate poverty and racial inequality.’
‘We need Albany to act now. By addressing wage theft and giving exploited workers a more secure path to recouping unpaid wages we will be taking a major step towards making sure that immigrant workers are given the dignity entitled by their hard and important work.’
‘New York State could receive $23 billion as part of the ARPA, representing a once-in-a-lifetime financial base to significantly reduce childhood homelessness, a condition that often sets up the cycle for homelessness as an adult.’
‘Micromobility has proven its value as an affordable, efficient, and equitable transport option and should play a prominent role as our cities reopen and residents head back to work.’
‘It’s silly season on the mayoral campaign trail as candidates contort to convert voting blocs to their cause. But the mayor’s duty to assure quality education for all New Yorkers is too serious for this capricious campaign foolery.’
‘Supportive housing has been notably absent from most mayoral candidate housing discussions in spite of the fact that our homelessness crisis is the worst on record – and that it disproportionately impacts Black and brown New Yorkers. It is time for that to change.’
‘Our work here reduces healthcare disparities by providing care to under-resourced communities, but our centers can only operate if we receive necessary funding. As our city continues to confront issues of racism in health care and other aspects of our lives, a pandemic budget cut will cause irreparable harm to those who need the most help.’