Latest News: New York City

In his second climate speech in two weeks, Governor Andrew Cuomo joined former Vice President Al Gore at Columbia University to announce New York's participating in a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has taken a major step forward for New York City’s parks. According to the Daily News, the city is adding additional funding its Community Park Initiative, allowing for park redesign and improvements.

Governor Cuomo gave an impassioned speech touting the work his administration has been doing to take on climate change. Cuomo has been consistently out in front talking about climate change as a reality after the state was battered by three one-hundred year floods in his first term alone.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is bringing his push against greenhouse gas emissions into the private sector. One year after announcing his One City, Built to Last plan to retrofit 3,000 city-owned buildings with green technology, the mayor unveiled the next phase of his plan.

Mayor Bill De Blasio’s rezoning process for East New York will include upgrades to existing infrastructure, thanks to efforts by Council Member Rafael Espinal.

According to the annual Mayor’s Management Report, New York City’s Department of Sanitation has increased its recycling rate to 16% for the 2015 fiscal year, up from 15.4% in 2014. The recycling rate measures the amount of waste diverted from landfills, and channeled into various recycling streams.

Manhattan’s underground pipelines leak three to five times more than cities with newer infrastructure, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In a recent survey, the EPA found that Manhattan suffers 90% more methane leaks per mile than Cincinnati, Ohio and Durham, North Carolina.