City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York City
Tens of Thousands of School Buses Are Back On NYC Streets. Only 68 Are Electric.
State law requires every school bus across New York to be powered by clean electric energy by 2035, and bans non-electric school bus purchases by 2027. But only 68 of the 10,500 school buses in New York City’s fleet are currently electric, according to the city’s Department of Education.
Environmental groups fear that the city won’t meet the state's mandate, as efforts to distribute funding for the transition have been slow. “We have been consistently calling for an oversight hearing to take place at City Council this entire year, but it hasn’t happened yet,” said Lonnie Portis, director of policy and legislative affairs at WE ACT for Environmental Justice.
What started in 2009 to seek out climate commitments from business and government leaders attending the United Nations’ September General Assembly, Climate Week now includes hundreds of events citywide, both official and grassroots. Here’s how to get involved.
Opinion: When ‘Black Mayonnaise’ Becomes Real Estate Gold, And The Equity Challenges of Gowanus
“This tension illustrates the challenge of linking environmental restoration with housing policy: without careful calibration, initiatives meant to expand opportunity can unintentionally contribute to exclusion.”
Opinion: When It Comes to NYC’s Waterways, Don’t Let Oysters Do All the Dirty Work
“There’s something admirable about trying to restore life in the places that need it most. But without pairing those efforts with real investment in pollution control, especially wastewater infrastructure, we’re asking oysters to succeed in conditions that science says they can’t withstand long-term.”
