Kathy Hochul

New York lifts mask mandate on public transit

Image courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit on Flickr

September 7, 2022

New York lifts mask mandate on public transit

Masks are no longer required on public transportation in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. During a press conference in Harlem, the governor said masks are now optional for riders traveling on New York City's subways and buses, as well as MetroNorth and Long Island Rail Road. The state's mandate has been in place since April 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Brooklyn’s Marsha P. Johnson Park to get new ‘ornamental’ entrance

All renderings courtesy of NY State Parks on Flickr

August 26, 2022

Brooklyn’s Marsha P. Johnson Park to get new ‘ornamental’ entrance

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday revealed the design of a new gateway to Williamsburg's Marsha P. Johnson State Park. Located at the Kent Avenue and North Eighth Street entrance, the ornamental entrance is meant to "communicate Marsha P. Johnson's spirit and legacy" while complementing the park and surrounding neighborhood. The design of the gateway will continue through the fall of 2022 and construction is expected next year.
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Events & Things To Do

New York commits $8M to renovate Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Image of the Schomburg Center via Wiki Commons

August 18, 2022

New York commits $8M to renovate Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced the state will commit $8 million for upgrades to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The investment will go toward the refurbishment of the building's facade, replacement of the roof and windows, and the installation of much-needed safety and energy-efficient features. The state's announcement comes during Harlem Week, a weeklong celebration of the neighborhood's history and culture.
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New York will invest $70M to ‘decarbonize’ NYCHA

Gov. Kathy Hochul made the announcement to install 30,000 new heat pumps at NYCHA buildings at the Woodside Houses in Queens; Photo courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office on Flickr

August 3, 2022

New York will invest $70M to ‘decarbonize’ NYCHA

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new investment by the state aims to make New York City public housing more environmentally friendly and effective for tenants. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced an initial investment of $70 million in a clean energy initiative to install 30,000 new heat pumps, considered more eco-friendly than traditional units, at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings across the city. The investment is part of the state's Clean Heat for All Challenge, which launched in 2021 to spur ideas on how to revamp the way NYCHA units are heated and cooled.
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Hochul, Adams reach agreement on financing for Penn Station rebuild

Photo by Danazar on Wikimedia

July 19, 2022

Hochul, Adams reach agreement on financing for Penn Station rebuild

By Michelle Cohen

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that they have reached an agreement on who will pick up the tab for the planned reconstruction and expansion of Penn Station and the redevelopment of the surrounding area. The financial agreement between city and state assures that a consistent level of property tax revenue is maintained and underscores a commitment to not raising taxes or transit fares by using funds from privately financed development to help pay for the project.
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Policy

NYC parks, pools, and rec centers will distribute free at-home Covid tests

Image courtesy of Gerardo Romo/NYC Council Media Unit on Flickr

July 13, 2022

NYC parks, pools, and rec centers will distribute free at-home Covid tests

By Aaron Ginsburg

As New York City faces a sixth Covid wave, Mayor Eric Adams is expanding the city's network of at-home test distribution sites. Starting Wednesday, New Yorkers will be able to pick up a free rapid Covid test from 57 NYC Parks locations, including parks, pools, nature centers, and recreation centers. With these new NYC Parks distribution sites, the city's at-home test distribution program includes 1,220 sites.
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Policy

June 23, 2022

MTA pledges to make 95 percent of subway stations accessible by 2055

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reached a class action settlement agreement to make 95 percent of currently inaccessible subway stations accessible to those with disabilities over the next three decades, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday. Currently, just 27 percent of the New York City subway system, including Staten Island Railway stations, are fully accessible to riders with disabilities. Under the agreement, which still requires court approval, the MTA will make accessible 81 stations by 2025, another 85 stations by 2035, another 90 stations by 2045, and the last 90 stations by 2055.
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New York looks for architect to design new $7B Penn Station

All renderings courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

June 9, 2022

New York looks for architect to design new $7B Penn Station

By Devin Gannon

The plan to modernize Penn Station has officially entered the design phase. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced the state is now requesting proposals from architecture and engineering firms to redevelop the dark and crowded Midtown transit hub into a light-filled train station "worthy of being the epicenter of the most vibrant city on the planet," according to the governor. Proposals are due July 28 and a winning bid could be selected by late summer or early fall.
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421-a tax break will continue to cost NYC revenue for decades after it expires, report finds

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

June 7, 2022

421-a tax break will continue to cost NYC revenue for decades after it expires, report finds

By Aaron Ginsburg

The 421-a tax abatement program, which gives real estate developers who construct new residential buildings a property tax exemption in exchange for designating a portion of the homes affordable, will expire on June 15 after state lawmakers last week did not renew it during the final day of this year's legislative session. Even with it set to lapse, the controversial program will continue to cost the city revenue for decades, according to a new report. According to findings published Monday by the Independent Budget Office of New York City, the tax abatement program will cost the city over $1 billion annually until 2034, with total costs not ceasing until the fiscal year 2056.
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MTA’s East Side Access project renamed ‘Grand Central Madison’

Photo by Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

June 1, 2022

MTA’s East Side Access project renamed ‘Grand Central Madison’

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's long-awaited 700,000-square-foot East Side Access Project will be renamed "Grand Central Madison." The project, which brings Long Island Rail Road service to Grand Central Terminal, will increase LIRR service systemwide by 40 percent during morning peak service and significantly increase reverse peak service. Grand Central Madison is expected to open in December.
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Construction begins on massive $100M affordable complex in Far Rockaway

By Aaron Ginsburg

Construction officially kicked off on a huge housing development that will rise on a former hospital site in Far Rockaway. Edgemere Commons is an 11-building complex with more than 2,000 affordable homes, retail, community space, medical facilities, and outdoor public space planned. The first phase involves the construction of a 17-story building with 194 homes.
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The Q70 bus to LaGuardia Airport will now be free year-round

Photo by Tdorante10 on Wikimedia

April 27, 2022

The Q70 bus to LaGuardia Airport will now be free year-round

By Devin Gannon

While getting to LaGuardia Airport via mass transit won't get easier any time soon, at least it won't cost anything for some travelers. During a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board meeting on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the Q70 bus, known as the LaGuardia Link, will be free year-round to travelers starting May 1.
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Transit

More than 30,000 of NYC’s luxury building workers could go on strike

All images courtesy of 32BJ SEIU

April 14, 2022

More than 30,000 of NYC’s luxury building workers could go on strike

By Aaron Ginsburg

Tens of thousands of doormen and other residential building service workers in New York City could go on strike if a deal is not reached on a new collective bargaining agreement by April 20. Members of the union 32BJ SEIU on Wednesday voted to authorize the committee to call for a strike if the Realty Advisory Board (RAB) does not create a new contract for the city's 32,000 building workers with fair wage increases and full employer-paid healthcare. The strike authorization followed a rally of nearly 10,000 32BJ SEIU members down Park Avenue.
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Policy

Booze-to-go is back on the menu in New York

Photo of New Yorkers drinking on St. Mark’s Place by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

April 8, 2022

Booze-to-go is back on the menu in New York

By Michelle Cohen

As part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's state budget negotiations, restaurants will once again be able to add alcoholic drinks to delivery and takeout orders. To keep restaurants afloat at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, to-go cocktail, wine, and beer service was given the green light for 15 months. When public health precautions were scaled back, customers returned to the city's eateries, and alcoholic drink delivery was 86'd. The law, which will take effect when the budget is passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, will allow restaurants to offer to-go booze for the next three years, Gothamist reports.
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Members of the #GasFreeNY campaign protested outside of Speaker Carl Heastie’s office on Thursday; Photo credit: Pete Sikora of NYCC

April 7, 2022

Landmark legislation banning natural gas in new buildings in New York cut from state budget

By Devin Gannon

Landmark legislation that would have banned the use of natural gas in new buildings across New York was cut from this year's state budget, according to Hudson Valley-based news site The River. While it looked like the legislation, dubbed the All-Electric Buildings Act, would make it into the final budget, which is already a week late, a staffer close to negotiations told The River "the gas ban is officially dead in the budget."
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Policy

New York to distribute 20M at-home Covid tests statewide to prepare for potential surges

Image courtesy of Gerardo Romo/NYC Council Media Unit on Flickr

March 18, 2022

New York to distribute 20M at-home Covid tests statewide to prepare for potential surges

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced New York will distribute more than 20 million over-the-counter Covid-19 tests to bolster New York's ongoing preparation efforts and as virus cases rise in other parts of the world. The tests will be sent to nursing homes, adult care facilities, and schools across the state. Over 1.7 million tests will be reserved for NYCHA tenants, according to the governor. The state will also create new distribution points for tests and partner with local officials to improve public access to kits.
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Policy

Brooklyn Point in Downtown Brooklyn offers 421-a benefits through 2045; Rendering by Williams New York

March 17, 2022

NYC Comptroller calls for end of 421-a tax break, estimated to cost city $1.8B in revenue this year

By Devin Gannon

The controversial 421-a tax abatement program that provides a tax break to developers who set aside affordable housing at new developments should not be replaced when it expires in June, says New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. According to an analysis released Wednesday by Lander's office, the tax program will cost the city $1.77 billion in forgone tax revenue in 2022, without creating homes that are affordable to most New Yorkers. While Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a replacement plan as part of her budget, the comptroller, along with other elected officials, called the governor's proposal too "modest" and instead wants deeper structural reform of the property tax system.
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Policy

New York receives just $119M of the $1.6B requested for rent relief

Photo by Daryan Shamkhali on Unsplash

March 16, 2022

New York receives just $119M of the $1.6B requested for rent relief

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York on Tuesday received an additional $119 million in rent-relief funds from the U.S. Treasury Department, a fraction of the $1.6 billion requested by Gov. Kathy Hochul in January. Hochul's office estimated 8,500 pending applications for rent relief will be fulfilled with this new funding, as Crain's reported.
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Policy

Hochul recommends five historic places in NYC to be added to state and national registers

Photo showing storefront stands on Ninth Ave. looking south from just north of West 40th St., 1936.(Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library.

March 14, 2022

Hochul recommends five historic places in NYC to be added to state and national registers

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul last week announced 21 nominations for possible placement on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The list of nominations includes a diverse set of locations that are intricate to the history of New York. Nominations include early automobile manufacturing sites in Buffalo and Syracuse, a Mohawk Valley cemetery home to the author of the Pledge of Allegiance, and the only remaining 19-century textile mile in Troy. Of the total nominated places, five are located in New York City, including an abandoned Bronx train station designed by Cass Gilbert and an area in Hell's Kitchen once home to a famed open-air market.
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Penn Station’s transformation takes next steps with removal of low-hanging beams

All images courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA

March 9, 2022

Penn Station’s transformation takes next steps with removal of low-hanging beams

By Aaron Ginsburg

A major step in the transformation of Penn Station has begun. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Tuesday announced they would begin the removal of seven massive low-hanging beams known as "head knockers," dated structural beams that have limited the height of passageways in Penn Station's Long Island Rail Road Concourse to under 7 feet. The removal of these beams will help project crews reach their goal of increasing the ceiling height to 18 feet across the entire concourse, doubling the width of the 33rd Street corridor to 57 feet, and improving lighting.
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Port Authority releases mass transit options as possible alternatives to LaGuardia AirTrain project

Rendering courtesy of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

March 3, 2022

Port Authority releases mass transit options as possible alternatives to LaGuardia AirTrain project

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Wednesday released a set of alternative options to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain project, a 1.5-mile elevated rail that would connect the airport with the subway system at Willets Point and link to the Long Island Rail Road. After Gov. Kathy Hochul halted the project last October and urged developers to look for alternate options, Port Authority has come up with 14 alternatives including two subway extensions, five light rail routes, five bus options, a ferry service, and options utilizing "emerging technologies."
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Manhattan borough president calls for seizure of Russian oligarchs’ NYC properties

220 Central Park South as seen in May 2020. Photo by Jim.henderson (cropped) via Wikimedia Commons.

February 28, 2022

Manhattan borough president calls for seizure of Russian oligarchs’ NYC properties

By Michelle Cohen

High-profile sales deals with wealthy Russian buyers have made headlines–Dmitry Rybolovlev's $88 million condo buy at 15 Central Park West, for example–and Manhattan's trophy condos have been seen as a safe investment for Russian oligarchs. But since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there have been calls to seize those properties, The Real Deal reports.
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Hochul says 190 homes at Inwood Tower will remain affordable for next 30 years

Image courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

February 25, 2022

Hochul says 190 homes at Inwood Tower will remain affordable for next 30 years

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced an agreement with New York State Homes and Community Renewal (NYHCR) to preserve affordability for 30 years for 190 households at Inwood Tower, a Mitchell-Lama cooperative development in Washington Heights. By terms of the agreement, NYHCR will grant the co-op a $7.6 million subsidy loan that the development will use for essential repairs. With this grant, the state has ensured that more than 22,000 Mitchell-Lama apartments remain affordable for low and moderate-income New Yorkers as part of its five-year housing plan.
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Affordable Housing

NYC announces plan to stop homeless New Yorkers from sheltering on the subway

Photo by Charles16e on Flickr

February 18, 2022

NYC announces plan to stop homeless New Yorkers from sheltering on the subway

By Devin Gannon

New York City will increase enforcement of certain rules in the subway system as part of a broader safety plan to address homelessness announced by Mayor Eric Adams and the MTA on Friday. The NYPD will boost their enforcement of the "rules of conduct," which includes the prohibition of lying down or sleeping in a way that interferes with others, exhibiting aggressive behavior, spitting, smoking, using drugs, and "using the subway for any purpose other than transportation," according to the 17-page plan. "No more just doing whatever you want," Adams said on Friday. "Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard, ride the system, and get off at your destination."
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Hochul lifts New York’s indoor mask mandate

Photo: Don Pollard/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

February 9, 2022

Hochul lifts New York’s indoor mask mandate

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced New York will be following in the footsteps of New Jersey and California and dropping its indoor mask mandate. The mandate, which required all businesses to verify proof of full vaccination or require mask-wearing, was set to expire on Thursday. Masks will still be required in schools, childcare centers, health care facilities, and public spaces like subways, trains, buses, and airports.
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Policy

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