Latest News: New York City

Traffic is a notable problem in New York as mass transit is becoming riddled with delays, signal failures, and decades-old infrastructure. Congestion pricing would raise much-needed funding for long-term improvements to the region’s transit system, reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from cars, and decrease traffic congestion by encouraging the use of public transportation.

New York City released its roadmap to eliminate childhood lead exposure by 2029 by expanding blood-lead screening in children, increased enforcement and interagency collaboration, and increasing public education on lead risks. NYLCV believes that while all of these measures will help reduce incidences of lead poisoning, the most critical step towards eliminating lead in paint and dust, the main source of exposure in children, is stronger enforcement that are on the books.

A new $1.25 million pilot program spearheaded by New York City Council Member Rafael Espinal will put electric school buses on the road in NYC, an effort NYLCV has supported. In addition, the City Council Environmental Protection Committee recently held a hearing on Council Member Danny Dromm’s bill, Intro. 455, to speed up the transition to cleaner school buses.

At a City Council Environmental Protection Committee hearing last week, NYLCV testified in support of groundbreaking legislation that would make New York City the first in the world to set carbon emissions standards for buildings, which generate 70% of greenhouse gases in the City.

The City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection held a hearing last week on legislation that would set greenhouse gas emissions for buildings over 25,000 square feet.

Congestion pricing can be much more than just a subway-fixing fund. It could also enable the electrification of the city’s entire bus fleet – a move that would save fuel costs, reduce the city’s carbon emissions and improve air quality for millions of New Yorkers that live, work and learn along the city’s maze of bus routes.

Film and TV production can be glamorous and it plays an important role in our local economy. It can also be wasteful, using fuel-guzzling generators, bulldozing sets and filling landfills with props and other leftovers from film shoots. Now, the industry that brought Technicolor to the world is institutionalizing sustainable practices on multiple fronts.