More than a quarter of the city’s public school buildings are currently at risk from extreme stormwater flooding, according to an analysis by the Comptroller’s Office shared with City Limits. Teachers, students and environmental groups are pushing for more weather-resilient schools.
NYCHA residents at the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea complexes gathered Thursday for the first of three public meetings to discuss the potential environmental impacts of demolition.
“Parece un coro de tos en esa carpa”, dijo Luis Zambrano, de 62 años, quien contrajo neumonía este invierno mientras se alojaba en el complejo de carpas del refugio en Randall’s Island, donde la ciudad ha alojado a miles de inmigrantes recién llegados. “El frío que pasa a través y debajo del catre no se va ni con varias cobijas, así que siempre tienes frío durmiendo”.
Mayor Adams’ ‘City of Yes’ housing proposal includes a 20 percent density bonus for developers—if the additional units are income-restricted. While City Hall has yet to finalize exact affordability levels, officials said they would be aimed at households that earn lower than 80 percent of the Area Median Income, roughly $101,680 for a family of three.
“What we need is not haphazard compromise through gritted teeth, but the embrace of a coherent policy to safely and affordably house more New Yorkers. We need to build more housing and help more people afford it.”
The first evictions of migrant families with children under City Hall’s 60-day shelter policy began on Jan. 9. Since then, about 1,600 families have been forced to leave their shelters after their time expired, while another 7,200 have been given 60-day notices that will expire in the weeks to come.
Raised in Brooklyn’s Gowanus Houses, Zinerman says she wants to see more secure and better-funded developments in the New York City Housing Authority, and to support local tenants and property owners.
“There are so many issues that divide our nation, but one thing both Democrats and Republicans clearly understand and agree on is the urgent need for more housing, which is why reforms like these changes have received strong, bipartisan support in the past.”
“Our best hope for a better future lies in communities coming together to care for the land we inhabit. Losing city-funded community composting programs will make that much harder.”
“It looks like a coughing choir in that tent,” said Luis Zambrano, 62, who came down with pneumonia this winter while staying at the shelter complex on Randall’s Island, where the city has been housing thousands of newly arrived immigrants. “The cold that passes through and under the cot doesn’t go away with several blankets, so you are always cold sleeping.”
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
