City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York City
Community-Led Project Looks to Grow Gowanus Canal’s Mussel Population
A bevy of New York City youth organizations are pressing lawmakers to pass the “Livable Futures” package—five bills focused on immigration, climate change, housing and transgender rights, crafted in part to push back against Trump administration policies.
It includes a bill that would tighten rules for Local Law 97, the city's landmark climate law that limits how much pollution large buildings can produce—requiring property owners to green their buildings to lower their emissions, or pay penalties.
As a whole, the legislation “is about understanding the future we are fighting for as a generation, as a youth movement,” said Keanu Arpels-Josiah, an organizer with Fridays For Future NYC, a youth-led climate justice organization started in 2018 by Greta Thunberg.
“It’s also a future where all these basic human rights are guaranteed, where we’re able to go home and study and afford the rent,” he said.
After Shutdown Delay, New York Opens Applications for Annual Heating Assistance Program
After a month-long delay caused by the federal government shutdown, New York households can now apply with the state for a subsidy to help them pay their winter heating bills. Assistance is doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis.
