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MTA Pushing Back Door Bus Exits
Mayor Praises Flood Task Force Effort
City Slashes Parking Permits
'Parking' Abuse Curbed
Recent Reports
Mapping Noise in Ft. Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY
(05/01/2008)
Neighborhoods in Transition: The Gentrification of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
(05/01/2008)
Estimation of Population Impacted by Flood Hazards in NYC
(05/01/2008)
PlaNYC Status Update
The status of PlaNYC a year after its launch is chronicled in this progress report by the Bloomberg Administration. It says that of the 127 initiatives that comprise the plan, 90 percent have been launched. Some of the highlights include the opening of 69 schoolyards as public playgrounds and the planting of 50,000 trees; the streamlining of brownfield cleanup programs; 60 miles of new bike lanes; the passing of legislation codifying greenhouse gas reduction targets and fuel efficiency standards for new cabs. One plan put on hold was an effort to enroll the city in a federal flood management program to reduce insurance rates. This was halted because it was found that insurance rates would not fall significantly enough. (04/24/2008)
Priorities and Progress in PlaNYC
With the anniversary of PlaNYC this month, the League of Conservation Voters has released a report that assesses the plan's progress and identifies priorities that the city should take as Mayor Michael Bloomberg's time in office winds down. One recommendation the League makes is increasing the cost of parking in the Central Business District. Another is requiring city funded cultural institutions to adopt energy efficiency measures. The report also calls for job training in green industries. (04/23/2008)
Energy Costs and Capacity in NY
Albany must curb energy costs and increase capacity to meet rising demand, the Manhattan Institute argues in a new report. It notes that New York City and Long Island have some of the highest electricity rates in the country, and for the city to meet electricity demand in the city through 2012 alone, it will need to add resources equivalent to a new 500 megawatt power plant. To address these issues in the city and statewide, the report recommends a variety of options from reauthorizing a power plant siting law called Article X to the relaxation of environmental regulations and a reduction in taxes and fees imposed upon energy generators and transmission companies. (03/13/2008)
Thoughts on Global Warming
A survey conducted by researchers at Columbia and Yale universities found that the majority of New Yorkers believe global warming is occurring now and city leaders must do more to address it. The survey, led by the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia, found 78 percent of New Yorkers thought global warming is happening now, and 82 percent thought it was caused mostly by humans or caused equally by humans and natural occurrences. (03/10/2008)
Renewable Energy in New York
A task force headed by Lt. Gov. David Paterson has issued 16 recommendations to generate more renewable energy in New York State. The group called for an eight-fold increase in solar power generation from photovoltaic cells, providing funding to enable 25 percent of the state's energy to come from renewable sources by 2013 and attracting renewable energy companies to New York. The task force maintains that increasing use of energy other than fossil fuels could produce revenues and create up to 43,000 new jobs. (02/27/2008)
Moving the City Beyond Oil
PlaNYC should be updated to address volatility in energy prices and supply caused by global warming and oil consumption, argues the Sierra Club NYC Group in a revised and updated report first published in May. They call for the formation of a taskforce to study the issue, and for requiring all city agencies to consider energy volatility in budgeting and planning decisions. Some of the other recommendations for reduced energy consumption include: the implementation of congestion pricing; encouraging local food production; and stricter energy efficiency standards for buildings and construction. (02/21/2008)
Buried in Bottles
The New York Public Interest Research Group released a survey last week that measured the amount of litter at 20 locations throughout the state. The survey found that 21 percent of the litter, by volume, included non-deposit containers that could be captured if the state were to expand its bottle bill to include non-carbonated beverage containers -- legislation the group is pushing for. The group contends recycling would increase if bottles, such as water or iced tea containers, were included in the state’s bottle bill, which requires a 5 cent refundable deposit on soda, beer or other carbonated beverage containers. (02/20/2008)
Preliminary Mayor's Management Report
An interim look at the performance of various city agencies was released yesterday in a report called the Preliminary Mayor's Management Report. Published annually, it takes a look at the city's performance in the first four months of the fiscal year and forecasts performance expectations. Much of the information can be broken down by individual agency, issue, or community. Some significant highlights were: Sewer back up complaints jumped by 23 percent; the average response time to heat complaints rose by 50 percent (although stays within the goal of seven hours); and major felony crimes in schools were nearly a third lower than the same quarter last year. (02/15/2008)
Preliminary Mayor's Management Report
An interim look at the performance of various city agencies was released yesterday in a report called the Preliminary Mayor's Management Report. Published annually, it takes a look at the city's performance in the first four months of the fiscal year and forecasts performance expectations. Much of the information can be broken down by individual agency, issue, or community. Some significant highlights were: Sewer back up complaints jumped by 23 percent; the average response time to heat complaints rose by 50 percent (although stays within the goal of seven hours); and major felony crimes in schools were nearly a third lower than the same quarter last year. (02/15/2008)
Commute Times Worst for Low-Income Minorities
The vast majority of drivers with long commutes are minorities and have annual earnings below the citywide median, according to a report by the Pratt Center's Transportation Equity Project. Using Census data, the report finds that over 750,000 New Yorkers have a commute that takes over an hour, and two-thirds them make less the $35,000 a year. Blacks have commute times averaging 25 percent longer than whites, and Hispanics' commutes average 12 percent longer than whites. (02/07/2008)
Transit and the Disabled
People with disabilities encounter an array of problems using the city's subways and buses, according to a report prepared for the New York City Council. In addition to familiar pitfalls, such as inaccessible subway stations, a series of focus groups reported that many transit employees lack the expertise to deal with the disabled, that erratic repair schedules make transit unreliable for these customers, and that people with "hidden disabilities" often find it difficult to get assistance. The report, "Moving Forward," sets forth a series of recommendations to address such problems. (01/15/2008)
Lead Poisoning and Immigrants
Immigrant children are five times more likely than other New York City children to suffer from lead poisoning, according to a report by the city health department. Because children who have arrived in this country recently are the most likely to be affected, the health department thinks the children may have been exposed to lead in their countries of origin, where the toxic metal might be less tightly regulated. Exposure to lead is linked to learning and behavioral problems in young children. (01/07/2008)
Crosswalks Dangerous for the Elderly
A new report by Transportation Alternatives finds that crosswalks on the Upper East Side pose a danger to elderly New Yorkers. It finds that 56 percent of seniors stood in the street before crossing to get a head start and that they walk faster than normal when crossing wide streets. The report calls for new strategies to make crossing safer, such as: giving pedestrians priority over motorists at intersections, retiming traffic signals to provide more time to cross, and the repairing of street imperfections such as potholes to prevent falls. (12/21/2007)
Free Subways and Buses
By charging $16 for cars and $32 for trucks entering the Central Business District, imposing a surcharge on taxi medallions and charging higher curbside parking within the district, New York City could totally eliminate fares for subways and buses, says a preliminary report by Nurture New York's Nature, an advocacy group. The report says that the fees would reduce traffic in the district by 25 percent and 10 percent citywide, resulting in $4 billion in annual savings through increased productivity. (12/19/2007)
The Impact of Flight Delays On NYC
Escalating flight delays at New York City area airports, far outpacing those in the rest of the nation, are diminishing New York City’s competitive edge in the global marketplace and increasing pollution in adjacent neighborhoods, according to a new report by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. "One of the New York City’s major competitive advantages is its outstanding air connections with the rest of the nation and the world,” Thompson said. “This advantage is now being degraded by the declining reliability of air travel into and out of New York.” (12/03/2007)
Curbing the Pigeon Population
Councilmember Simcha Felder released a report that recommends fines for individuals who feed the city's pigeons and suggests that the city consider using birth control to control their numbers. The report contends the pigeon population causes infrastructure damage and poses a public health risk. In addition to banning the feeding of pigeons, Felder also recommends the appointment of a "Pigeon Czar," who would oversee the city's pigeon control programs. The czar would replace the fragmented oversight currently in place, where multiple agencies and departments have jurisdiction. (11/13/2007)
Alternatives to Congestion Pricing
A report released yesterday by the group Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free offered a variety of alternatives to congestion prices that it says would result in the same amount of traffic reduction as Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. Among the reports suggestions are: raising the cost of parking in the central business district and greatly reducing the amount of free parking in Manhattan, reducing the amount of parking placards given to city employees, increasing the amount of taxi stands, raising tolls on bridges and tunnels, increasing fines for parking infractions and modernizing traffic signals. (10/12/2007)
Preserving Jamaica Bay
With the marshes of Jamaica Bay rapidly disappearing, the city Department of Environmental Protection has issued a two-volume report proposing strategies to restore and maintain the vital wildlife habitat. Among other measures, the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan calls for reducing discharges into the bay. Such discharges, particularly of nitrogen from wastewater treatment plants, have been blamed for much of the area’s degradation. (10/10/2007)
Traffic Congestion
Traffic in the New York area continues to get worse, consuming ever more time and fuel, according to the latest report from the Texas Transportation Institute, which takes annual readings of congestion in American cities. It found that traffic delays in the metropolitan area cost more than $7 billion in 2005 (the most recent year) and consumed an excess 242 million gallons of fuel. While the average traveler wasted 14 hours in traffic delays in 1982, the year the institute began compiling that number, he or she now wastes 48 hours. (09/19/2007)
The City Council’s Federal Agenda
The City Council released its federal agenda yesterday focusing on funding for health care related to the September 11th attacks, affordable housing and health care for children from low-income families. The council is calling for nearly $2 billion in federal funding from 2008 through fiscal year 2012 to track the mental and medical care of World Trade Center workers, as well as for the expansion of health care for others affected by the attacks. The council also urges Congress to adopt protective measures for affordable housing at the risk of foreclosure and grants for the rehabilitation of affordable housing in bad condition. The council is also calling for the reauthorization of a federal and state subsidized health insurance program for children and its subsequent expansion to higher income families. (09/18/2007)
Report Faults EPA on 9/11 Clean Up
The federal Environmental Protection Agency was found to have underperformed in its second effort to clean building interiors of dust from the fallen Twin Towers, according to a report by an investigative arm of congress. The agency should have tested interiors above Canal St. and in Brooklyn, it said, but the testing it did perform was inadequate because it failed to check hard to reach places. The report by the Government Accountability Office also found that a majority of the members of an expert panel set up to help develop a cleaning program thought the panel failed in all of its goals. Furthermore, the agency was not entirely open with the public about the results about its first cleaning, the investigative office says. The agency told the public that the indoor testing showed most of the interiors to be safe from asbestos, but 80 percent of that testing was from samples taken after the residences were professionally cleaned. Also, since the results were based on a voluntary program, the report states that the samples were based on only 20 percent of eligible residences. (09/06/2007)
How "Green" are New York's Streets?
A new report by four alternative transportation groups across the country rates how "green" their respective cities' streets are. New York, which was assessed by Transportation Alternatives and ranked last out of the four, has much to be applauded, but has many areas of needed improvement, the report said. While it lauds the mayor's PlaNYC and the new transportation commissioner, the city must elaborate on details of that plan and create a strategy for pedestrian safety, the report said. (08/17/2007)
City Drinking Water Tunnel At Risk
The Delaware Aqueduct System - which supplies more than half of the city's drinking water - is leaking and in need of accelerated repair, a new audit by the state comptroller has found. Although the city jas been aware of the issue, the audit points out, it has not taken adequate steps to repair the pipe, nor has it developed an emergency response plan to deal with a potential collapse. (08/16/2007)
Possible Impacts in the Outer-Boroughs
Although Mayor Michael Bloomberg says his congestion pricing plan is integral to creating a more environmentally friendly and sustainable city, a report issued this week by Councilmember David Weprin contends the plan merely shifts environmental and health impacts to outer-borough neighborhoods outside of the congestion pricing zone. According to the report, “because areas with the highest incidence of asthma are generally the same areas with the greatest number of mass transit riders, it therefore follows that affected neighborhoods will be subjected to an even greater health risk should congestion pricing be implemented.” If mass transit alternatives are not accessible, the report warns, drivers would park in areas outside of the congestion zone and consequently increase traffic there. (07/19/2007)
Climate Control in the Northeast
If greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced from their current levels, Manhattan landmarks like Wall Street and Battery Park could be flooded once every decade by 2100, according to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists and a team of more than 50 scientists and economists. Unveiled at the New York Botanical Garden Wednesday, the report examines the effects of greenhouse gas emissions over the next century across the Northeast. The report looks at two scenarios: one with the continued reliance on fossil fuels and another that takes into account the incorporation of clean and renewable energy. By the end of the century, according to the report, the city could see temperature increases from 6 to 14 degrees above record levels, the extinction of Long Island Sound’s lobster fishing industry and a serious threat to its crops, such as apples and sweet corn. (07/12/2007)
Congestion Pricing Debate
With the mayor’s congestion pricing proposal bogged down in Albany, Assemblymember Richard Brodsky has issued a report sharply critical of the plan to charge motorists for driving in parts of Manhattan. Although conceding that congestion is a serious problem, the report questions the fairness of using “pricing mechanisms … for distributing scarce public resources or solving social problems.” It calls the plan a “regressive tax” that will largely burden working families.” The Drum Major Institute has issued a memo rebutting some of Brodsky’s criticism and arguing that congestion pricing would benefit most middle class New Yorkers. (07/11/2007)
Extreme Heat and Your Health
The New York City Office of Emergency Management offers safety information for the heat wave and locations of the city's 290 cooling centers. (07/10/2007)
Rethinking Environmental Review
The Manhattan Institute's report "Rethinking Environmental Review” lays out steps to improve the City Environmental Quality Review process. Environmental review was instituted so that public officials would understand the full environmental implications of a project and could plan for any necessary changes to municipal infrastructure and services. Over time, the report argues, the process has evolved to focus solely on legal disclosure as a kind of "litigation insurance” and needs to be reformed and streamlined. (05/18/2007)
Moving Beyond Oil Dependence
A report from the Sierra Club NYC Group, entitled "Moving NYC Toward Sustainable Energy Independence," offers short and long-term recommendations for energy conservation. Ideas include adjusting parking fees to discourage driving, instituting work weeks of fewer but longer days, and closing 42nd Street and Broadway to automobile traffic. (05/11/2007)
More Recycling Needed to Help Lower City
This report from the Independent Budget Office finds that the city’s cost for collecting and processing recyclables is expected to remain higher than the cost for collecting and disposing of refuse. It estimates that the total cost recycling will be $206 per ton in fiscal year 2008, 23 percent more than the $167 per ton it will cost to collect garbage. The higher per ton cost is due to the relative inefficiency of collecting the smaller volume of curbside recycling. (05/04/2007)
City's Air Quality
A report by the American Lung Association shows New York City's air is even more polluted than it was last year. Last year, New York City was ranked the 15th-worst region in the country for daily particle pollution. Pollution levels are even worse this year, according to the report. (05/02/2007)
Increasing Recycling
While recycling costs more than conventional garbage disposal, that gap will narrow in the future as it becomes increasingly expensive to ship garbage to landfills and incinerators outside the city, according to the Independent Budget Office. Recycling could become more economical if the city promotes recycling and, if the market for recyclable materials expands. In that event, recycling could help the city “slow the projected growth in sanitation costs.” (05/02/2007)
Public Advocate's "Green" Proposals
In response to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposals to make the city more environmentally sustainable, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum has released a report, "Twelve for 2030," which proposes ways to expand access to commuter lines, attract “green” businesses and jobs to the city, and create incentives to protect affordable housing. (05/01/2007)
Relieving Congestion
Traffic congestion is a major problem throughout New York City, not just in Manhattan, and private cars, many driven by people who live in the city – are the key cause, according to "CITYinFLUX: Understanding and Untangling Traffic and Transportation in New York City," a report by Schaller Consulting. To reduce the congestion, the report recommends a multi-faceted approach, including improvements to public transportation, more efficient use of street space, and charging motorists to use some roads and to park. (04/20/2007)
New York
The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft "Filtration Avoidance Determination," which names New York City as one of only five large cities in the country with drinking water that does not need traditional purification. The city has agreed to spend $300 million over the next 10 years to acquire undeveloped land in the watershed as a means of protection. In addition, the city is constructing a facility to provide water disinfection using ultraviolet light to maintain the quality of drinking water. (04/17/2007)
Counting Greenhouse Gas Emissions
An inventory of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, released yesterday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, finds that the city’s emissions in 2005 accounted for approximately 1 percent of the U.S. total. While per capita emissions were far lower here than in the United States as whole, they have been increasing in recent years, the inventory found. The figures on the emissions, which are considered largely responsible for global warming, will serve as the benchmark for reducing such pollution by 30 percent between now and 2030, a target the mayor set late last year. (04/11/2007)
Traffic and Health Problems
Over two million New Yorkers live within 500 feet of a major roadway, putting them at risk for pollution-related health problems, according to this report by Environmental Defense. "All Choked Up: Heavy Traffic, Dirty Air, and the Risk to New Yorkers" sums up the science of these risks, and suggests some solutions. (03/29/2007)
Scaffold Safety
The Scaffold Worker Safety Task Force, created in response to a series of deaths and injuries (there were 29 construction deaths in fiscal year 2006, a two-thirds increase from the year before), issued a series of 13 recommendations in this report, “Steps To Safety,” (e.g., increase enforcement of safety rules; improve training programs; promote use of 311 to report unsafe conditions), which Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced his administration would invest $6 million to begin implementing. Most of the money will go to the creation of a Scaffold Safety Unit within the Department of Buildings. (02/09/2007)
Energy Alternatives And Economic Growth
New York City must begin to change its energy consumption, conserving and focusing less on fossil fuel, according to "Repowring Gotham," a report by the NYC Apollo Alliance, which makes recommendations so that "the city can exchange its dangerous reliance on fossil fuels for a diversified energy portfolio, foster a new industrial sector within the regional economy and enhance the health and performance of our built environment through a sustainable development approach." (02/08/2007)
Traffic Data
The New York City government does not have the information it needs to address the city’s traffic congestion problem or to plan for anticipated growth in auto and truck traffic, according to a report by Schaller Consulting, released by Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group. While the city government does collect information about traffic in Manhattan, it does not collect important data about travel within and to business districts in the other, increasingly congested, boroughs, the study found. (01/24/2007)
Clean Technology and Jobs
The emerging market for clean technology has the potential to be a source of many new jobs for New York, according to this study by the New York City Investment Fund, the economic development arm of the Partnership for New York City. Combining upstate New York's underutilized manufacturing base, raw materials and research talent with the capital available in New York City would allow the state to get ahead of the curve on the trend towards cleaner technology, it argues. It gives several specific proposals. (01/18/2007)




