“Congestion pricing is just one of many tools that will help tame some of the city street chaos a generation of car-centric planning left us with. And one of the primary benefactors of congestion pricing will be automobile drivers themselves.”
Health and Environment
In City’s Tent Shelter for Immigrants, Illness and Aging Pose Challenges
Daniel Parra |
“It looks like a coughing choir in that tent,” said Luis Zambrano, 62, who came down with pneumonia this winter while staying at the shelter complex on Randall’s Island, where the city has been housing thousands of newly arrived immigrants. “The cold that passes through and under the cot doesn’t go away with several blankets, so you are always cold sleeping.”
Government
New York’s Fracking Ban Threatened by CO2 ‘Loophole,’ Environmentalists Say
Mariana Simões |
A company launched last year is introducing a new fracking technique that uses carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of water to extract gas from underground—and it hopes to do business in New York. But environmental advocates see the plans as an attempt to circumvent the state’s prohibition on fracking.
Government
Environmental Review Kicks Off for Rebuilding Plan at Fulton & Elliott-Chelsea Houses
Tatyana Turner |
The plan would tear down and rebuild all 2,056 NYCHA apartments at the aging Manhattan campuses, and construct an additional 3,450 mixed-income units there. The public has a chance to weigh in by writing or at three public meetings in February.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: How a Writing Program Helped Homeless New Yorkers
Dayse da Cunha and Susan Buttenwieser |
“When neighbors have the chance to connect across housing status, it makes all of us and our neighborhoods kinder and stronger. It allows us all to learn from each other and imagine a better world. Every one of us has something to offer in building a city where everyone feels welcome.”
Economy
‘His One Move is to Cut’: Adams Admin in Hot Seat Over Budget Strategy
Emma Whitford |
While New York City must propose a balanced budget in January for the coming fiscal year, some say Adams’ approach to closing the gap—multiple rounds of budget cuts across most agencies—is a blunt instrument, and not the only option.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Four Steps to End the Impasse at Penn Station
Sam Turvey |
“This is a once-in-a-century opportunity to raise New York and the entire region to new heights of greatness by getting Penn Station right. We can and must do better.”
Housing and Homelessness
Esperar o pasaje de ida: inmigrantes se enfrentan a una nueva realidad al expirar estancias en refugios
Emma Whitford and Daniel Parra |
La reciente apertura de un centro dedicado a dar pasajes gratuitos de un sólo trayecto (Reticketing Center) ha sembrado la confusión, ya que se perfila como una de las únicas opciones —junto con las nuevas “zonas de espera”— para los inmigrantes recién llegados que se ven obligados a abandonar sus centros de acogida cuando llega el frío.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Screened Admissions Policies Only Worsen Segregation in NYC Schools
Gavin Healy |
“It’s easy to pretend to be colorblind when your head is buried in the sand. It’s easy to say you know what the community wants when your ‘community’ is meticulously curated.”
Housing and Homelessness
Uncertain Waits or Tickets Away: Immigrants Face New Reality as Shelter Stays Expire
Emma Whitford and Daniel Parra |
A recently-opened facility dedicated to “reticketing” has sown confusion, emerging as one of the only options—along with new “waiting areas”—for recently-arrived immigrants forced to leave their shelter placements as the cold sets in.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Fighting for Basement Apartment Tenants, 11 Years After Hurricane Sandy
Jessica González-Rojas and Harvey Epstein |
“Instead of turning a blind eye to the suffering of basement and cellar apartment dwellers, disproportionately low-income and from immigrant communities, we must find the political courage to face this challenge by legalizing and making them safe.”