By Jeff Wice and Alexis Marking
VOTING RIGHTS
Attorney General To Intervene in Cheektowaga Voting Rights Act Challenge
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has informed the Erie County State Supreme Court that her office will intervene in the state voting rights act challenge filed against the Town of Cheektowaga over town board vote dilution. In that case, the town is challenging the constitutionality of the New York … <Read More>
TOMORROW IS PRIMARY DAY. DON’T FORGET TO VOTE IF YOU HAVE COMPETITIVE CONGRESSIONAL OR STATE LEGISLATIVE CONTESTS WHERE YOU LIVE.
State Commission Meets to Approve New Budget
The Independent Redistricting Commission met in Albany on June 20 to adopt a new budget and to let the public know that they would be busy at work preparing a report to send to the state legislature by end the of the year. The meeting, which lasted less … <Read More>
On April 17, 2024, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) announced that construction has commenced on the five new Green Infrastructure playgrounds at schools in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. The playgrounds are designed to absorb more than 3.5 million gallons of stormwater every year to curb runoff that floods nearby streets and overwhelms local sewer systems in addition to polluting the East River.
On January 19, 2024, the Department of Design and Construction announced the completion of the renovation of the historic steps in front of City Hall in Lower Manhattan. City Hall is a designated New York City landmark.
The report uses data aggregated by Department of Finance to highlight the economic benefits of open streets laws. On October 25, 2022, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced the release of Streets for Recovery, a report on Open Streets policy developed in collaboration with Bloomberg Associates. This first-in-the-nation report uses Department of Finance data to highlight the economic benefits of Open Streets during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new agreement stresses the need for internet access. On November 24, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announce efforts to tackle the digital divide in New York City by ensuring that Verizon builds out its FiOS footprint to 500,000 additional householders, making high-speed fiber broadband available to more New Yorkers. Verizon failed to meet the terms of its current cable franchise agreement made with the Bloomberg administration to build out its FiOS network.