New York City in brief

As solar developers prepare to shelve over 20 major New York renewable projects—jeopardizing power for 2 million homes—Assembly Member Sarahana Shrestha wants us to remember that the New York Power Authority, buoyed by $200 million budget boosts, could revive these efforts without appeasing private shareholders. If history repeats itself, we might find public power both electrifying and, dare we say, shockingly effective.

With rents in New York City ascending ever higher, affordable apartment lotteries now resemble a Sisyphean lottery ticket: tens of thousands apply for a handful of regulated units via NYC Housing Connect, only to be thwarted by steep eligibility rules and long odds—especially for Latino families living off the books. There’s no shortage of programs, only of apartments; sadly, hope remains the best-furnished room in many boroughs.

Long Island Rail Road may grind to a halt mid-May, as pay talks between the MTA and unions representing over half its workforce remain stalled—with workers eyeing a 5% raise and management countering at 3%. The MTA is threatening fare hikes and service cuts, meanwhile prepping a $550,000-a-day bus workaround for 300,000 stranded riders. Suddenly, the phrase “union express” takes on new meaning in New York suburbia.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority kicked off the first of six community workshops for the Interborough Express, a proposed rail line linking Brooklyn and Queens, in Elmhurst. If built, the IBX would trim travel times, connect 18 stations—13 with subway transfers—and potentially spare the city 22 million car miles a year. For now, locals test seat cushions while we await something more tangible than blueprints.

Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing to loosen New York’s 2019 climate law, a statute that promised to cut emissions 40% by 2030 and lower energy bills—neither of which seems imminent. Her administration has let required reforms languish, recently freezing a planned cap-and-invest program; meanwhile, lobbyists appear thrilled and bills tick upward. We await the promised climate action, though not, it seems, with bated breath.