City Limits rounds up the latest housing and land use-related events, public hearings and affordable housing lotteries that are ending soon.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Securing the Future of New York’s Supportive Housing
Pascale Leone |
“New York is a national model of supportive housing, which has been proven time and again to be among the most successful methods of ending chronic homelessness. But the system has grown unwieldy, thanks to the vast disparities in available services, funding, and unit maintenance.”
Health and Environment
Rain, Rain, Go Away. New York Kids Are Trying to Play.
Aria Young, Feet in 2 Worlds |
Across New York City, workers are tearing out concrete and asphalt from schoolyards and replacing them with rain-absorbing surfaces that are more climate resilient, according to reporting by Aria Young of Feet in 2 Worlds.
Bronx
Advocates, Lawmakers ‘Baffled’ By Exclusions in Basement Legalization Plan
Chris Janaro |
“I’m surprised, I’m baffled, I’m angry,” said City Councilmember Sandy Nurse, who represents East New York, where the city ran an earlier basement conversion pilot in 2019. The area is excluded from the new program, which will only apply to 15 of the city’s 59 community districts.
Government
Some Gains, Many Losses: What Went Wrong for Climate in This Year’s State Budget
Mariana Simões |
“We are outraged,” said Rami Dinnawi, a steering committee member of the climate coalition New York Renews. “To see a budget come out that fails to address any of the urgent policies related to climate is an abdication of responsibility from the governor and from lawmakers.”
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: NY State Legislature Must Act to Curb the Perils of Plastic
Harvey Epstein, Jane Selden and Victoria Augustine |
“To ensure a livable planet for future generations, reducing plastic from the outset is the best way to gain control of how much we’re polluting our air, land, waters, and ourselves. Legislation now is key.”
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Embracing Progress―Reflecting on the City’s Role in New York’s Sustainable Future
Sana Barakat |
“Setting our sights on the future, I am confident in the city’s ability to not only catch up with, but actually surpass Local Law 97’s next target: a 50 percent carbon emission reduction goal by fiscal year 2030.”
Education
What Do NYC Youth Want for Earth Day? An End to Fossil Fuels.
Mariana Simões |
“My house gets flooded every single year,” 16-year old Diana Ramirez told City Limits, one of many New York City youth who took to the streets in the lead up to Earth Day to demand people in power stop funding fossil fuels. “The rising sea levels and flooding caused by climate change are affecting me heavily.”
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: New York City’s Young People Need Spaces of Their Own
Molly Delano |
“By engaging students in conducting research and advocacy in the process of creating and running programs, and maintaining the street itself, schools can turn Open School Streets into canvases for students to reimagine what their communities can and should look like.”
Government
Bill Would Codify City Government Ban on Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles
Mariana Simões |
Legislation introduced in the City Council Thursday would stop government agencies from buying water in plastic bottles smaller than one gallon. The ultimate goal is to use water coolers or water packaged with paper cartons and aluminum instead.
Brooklyn
How Climate Change Could Threaten New York’s Historic Black Cemeteries
Marina Dunbar |
“My concerns are that if these storms keep getting worse, ancestral remains might come to the top,” said Shantell Jones, secretary of the Flatbush African Burial Ground (FABG) Coalition, a Black-led, multiracial team that has spearheaded efforts to track down remains previously buried here that were removed due to city development.