| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Presented by National Grid | New York City was supposed to reach a goal of "zero waste" by 2030. This Earth Day, the progress report is discouraging. New Yorkers are throwing out more trash, recycling less and living with dirtier streets — and the city's pledge seems increasingly out of reach, our Sally Goldenberg and Danielle Muoio Dunn report. A few key numbers are going in the wrong direction: New York shipped out nearly 3.4 million tons of household trash between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, up from 3.2 million tons the prior year. The residential recycling rate dipped to 16.5 percent during the period of July 1, 2021, through Oct. 31, 2021, down from 17.6 percent in the fiscal year ending in June 2021, and 18.5 percent the year before. The city's compost program has been slashed, and despite a campaign pledge by Mayor Eric Adams to bring it back, his latest budget maintains the cuts. "Everything starts from the top with this mayor. It is very clear that he is governing this city as a very strong, heavy-handed executive and so he is going to have to set the tone," said City Council Member Sandy Nurse, chair of the sanitation committee. "If Mayor Adams wants zero waste to be a goal we are going to achieve, he is going to set the tone for that." Adams has indeed been paying some attention to trash lately, at least for Earth Week. To widespread delight, he launched a pilot program to use sealed containers to store the waste that piles up on curbs. It's a pretty simple concept, but potentially revolutionary in a city whose longtime waste storage method has been to just heap teeming garbage bags on the curb for all to smell and maneuver around like it's American Ninja Warrior. He also increased the budget for street sweeping this week by $11 million. But none of that will actually cut the amount of trash the city produces and sends to landfills. In the face of growing mounds of garbage, new Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch is tempering expectations. "Just to be straightforward, zero waste by 2030 is a really hard thing to do," she said this week. "I don't want to say it's achievable or not achievable. I want to dig in with the team and look hard at it and give you a really honest answer." | 
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WHERE'S KATHY? Making an electric bus announcement, making a campaign announcement with Rep. Grace Meng in Queens and then rallying with the Long Island Federation of Labor in Melville. WHERE'S ERIC? Making an environment-related announcement and an immigration-related announcement. ABOVE THE FOLD — New York's congressional maps were improperly gerrymandered, mid-level court concludes, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: A mid-level appellate court ruled late Thursday that the congressional maps enacted by New York Democrats in early February were improperly gerrymandered and has given lawmakers a little over a week to come up with a new plan. The case is expected to quickly be heard by the Court of Appeals, New York's top court, where every judge was appointed by Democrats. Oral arguments could occur as soon as next week. The ultimate decision could determine how the lines are drawn for the state's 26 congressional districts ahead of the June 28 primary and November elections. Democrats were hopeful the new lines could lead to a few pickups in November, but the court said the lines were not fairly drawn. "Democratic leaders in the legislature drafted the 2022 congressional redistricting map without any Republican input, and the map was adopted by the Legislature without a single Republican vote in favor of it," a decision from three of the five judges on the court said.
| | A message from National Grid: There Is A Better Way. National Grid is announcing our path to a fossil-free energy future. By using renewable natural gas, and green hydrogen produced from water using wind energy, we can achieve a fossil-free energy future by 2050 or earlier. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | "Brownsville Democratic Official Admits Board of Election Forgeries Came From Inside His Camp," by The City's Yoav Gonen and George Joseph: "Four Brooklyn residents have claimed that their signatures were forged on filings seeking to boot candidates for Brooklyn Democratic Party positions off the June primary ballot. Now, THE CITY has learned that the forgeries originated from inside the camp of an elected party official. Longtime 55th Assembly District Leader Anthony Jones said the forms submitted this month to the Board of Elections — which include the four forged signatures — were filled out by members of his Democratic club in Brownsville, but that he's not sure who. 'Somebody in our club filled out those papers, OK? And we're still trying to figure out who did it, but we just don't know,' he said in a phone interview on Wednesday." "Bill Clinton joins Hochul, Adams to unveil plan for making N.Y. high-rises carbon neutral," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt: "Former President Bill Clinton joined Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams at the Empire State Building on Thursday to roll out a blueprint for how to make high-rises in New York carbon neutral as the threat of greenhouse gas-fueled climate change continues to grow increasingly dire. Nearly half of New York's energy-related fossil fuel emissions come from buildings, and the 'Empire Building Challenge' plan unveiled by Hochul, Adams and Clinton aims to overhaul that reality while also spurring economic growth from new jobs required for the green retrofitting projects." "Mayor Eric Adams doesn't rule out floated rent hike for stabilized NYC apartments," by New York Post's Nolan Hicks and Bernadette Hogan: "Mayor Eric Adams refused Thursday to rule out supporting a controversial recommendation that the Big Apple's rent regulator approve major hikes — as much as 9% over two years — for stabilized apartments. 'We don't want to aggravate the eviction process, but we also got to look at small property owners,' Adams said during an unrelated press conference in Manhattan. 'You know, if you are a mom-and-pop that owns a 10-family unit, and you have, you know, your electric bills are going up, your water bills are going up, this is your only source of income.' Adams spoke a week after the Rent Guidelines Board received a staff report calculating that rents for stabilized buildings would need to rise by between 4.3% and 9% for two-year leases in order for landlords to maintain their current profit margins and repairs. One-year leases for the roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments in the five boroughs — roughly one-third of the city's entire housing stock — could jump by 2.7% to 4.5%." — " NYC Council Speaker and colleagues demand more from Mayor Adams on housing, homelessness," by New York Daily News' Michael Gartland "Dozens of NYC educators placed on leave for alleged fake vax cards ," by New York Post's Cayla Bamberger: "Dozens of New York City Department of Education employees will be placed on leave without pay starting Monday for allegedly submitting phony proof of COVID-19 vaccination, The Post has learned. The staffers in question, including teachers and administrators, were notified via email Wednesday not to come back to work after spring break, the DOE confirmed." " NYC to get $88.9M for treatment from opioid maker suits, AG Letitia James says," by New York Post's Sam Raskin: "New York City will receive nearly $90 million worth of opioid overdose prevention and education efforts this year funded by settlements with large pharmaceutical companies, state Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday. The $88.9 million dedicated to the efforts — $11.5 million of which will be allocated this week — represent part of the first tranche of payments from the $1.5 billion the Empire State received from settlements reached with manufacturers and distributors of opioids after state lawsuits. … Overdose deaths have almost doubled from pre-pandemic levels in the five boroughs, according to new city data. The city Department of Health reported that 1,233 people died from drug overdoses during the first half of 2021 — a 78% increase from the same period in 2019, and a 28% increase from the same period in 2020."
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world's most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO's special edition "Global Insider" so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "Hochul won't ask Brian Benjamin to move out of state as way of disqualifying him from primary ballot," by NY1's Luke Parsnow And Zack Fink: "New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday she will not ask former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin to move out of state following his resignation as Democratic officials continue to grapple with a way of removing him from the primary ballot. Benjamin stepped down last week after facing a five-count corruption indictment stemming from allegations he received campaign donations for his bid for New York City comptroller in exchange for state grant funding. He also suspended his short-lived campaign for a full term as Hochul's second-in-command, but it's too close to the June primary contests for Benjamin's name to be taken off the ballot. The only ways of disqualifying Benjamin under state law now would be his death, his nomination for a second office or moving out of state. Benjamin is allowed to travel to parts of Virginia and Georgia as part of the bonding agreement with federal prosecutors." — Democrats still hopeful they'll get Benjamin off the ballot, but options narrow , by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: Democrats remain optimistic that they can get former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin off the June 28 primary ballot following his arrest and resignation last week. But one of the paths for them doing so — having Benjamin move to another state while he waits a federal trial on corruption charges — seemed to officially be taken off the table on Thursday. "There are a number of ideas that we're working on, and nothing's settled yet — nothing I want to go into detail over," said State Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs. "But we're working on it."... The clock is ticking, however. The deadline for mailing ballots to military voters stationed overseas is May 13. Any attempts to change the ballot would likely need to be made far enough in advance of that date to work their way through the courts. — "Attorney general gave some campaign donations from indicted developer to charity," by Times Union's Joshua Solomon NYPA study: Fossil fuel peakers could be replaced with batteries by 2030, by POLITICO's Marie J. French: The New York Power Authority wants to explore installing battery storage at its fleet of power plants in New York City and on Long Island, citing promising results of a study in conjunction with environmental justice groups. NYPA is issuing a solicitation for battery storage or other energy solutions at five of its seven peaker plants that were built in 2001. The siting of some of those peaker plants is viewed as a legacy of environmental injustice that led to legal challenges from community groups, who decried the additional air pollution in already-polluted low-income communities of color. … The announcement of the solicitation was coordinated with the release of a 39-page study of the potential to fully replace the fossil fuel plants, which run roughly 10 percent of the time, with batteries. That landmark study included input from the PEAK Coalition, which wants to shut down the NYPA plants and older fossil fuel peakers in the city. " New York homeowners could qualify for geothermal tax credit," by Spectrum's Nick Reisman: "New York homeowners who purchase and install geothermal heat pump systems could be in line for a tax credit under a provision given final approval in the state budget this month. The measure will make homeowners eligible for a 25% tax credit of up to $5,000 for the installation of geothermal systems as New York seeks to transition to renewable and cleaner forms of fuel in the coming years. The tax credit is the latest incentive for homeowners to transition to a renewable form of energy as New York wants to make 2 million homes electrified and energy efficient by 2030. 'We've taken some great strides within New York State when it comes to meeting our ambitious climate goals over the next decade, but more is required if we're to stave off the worst effects currently projected of a heating planet,' said Assemblyman Jon Rivera, who sponsored the measure with state Sen. Tim Kennedy." #UpstateAmerica: NunBetter Chocolates, a Syracuse-area custom chocolate shop run by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities for years, is no longer.
| | | | A message from National Grid:   | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — City and state pension funds that own more than $5 billion of Amazon stock are urging fellow shareholders to vote against the reelection of two board members over worker safety concerns. — The city rejected a request for a religious exemption from the Covid-19 vaccine mandate from a city worker who professed a belief in the religion of Dudeism — born of the movie "The Big Lebowski." — NewYork-Presbyterian finally agreed to accept payments from a federally funded program that aids sick 9/11 survivors. — New York will spend nearly $640 million on clean water projects and sewer upgrades. — A new Wadsworth Laboratory will be designed and constructed by Gilbane/Turner, in association with the design firm HOK. — Earth Day protesters attempted to block the trucks that contain The New York Times' Friday newspaper from leaving its College Point, Queens facility. — The new food hall at Moynihan Station is expensive and inconvenient. — 'Syracuse police had other options for dealing with 8-year-old accused of stealing. They didn't use them.' — Guilderland is probably going to ban digital signs. — Bird flu is back in New York (but just in birds, so far). — DEC is launching an enforcement "blitz" this week on diesel trucks that are out of compliance on emission standards.
| | | | JOIN US ON 4/29 FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CNN's Arlette Saenz … WaPo's Eugene Scott … Dahlia Lithwick … McKinsey's Elizabeth Anderson Ledet and Allie Medack … SKDK's Josh Dorner ... Glenn Simpson MAKING MOVES — Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, a veteran of the Manhattan district attorney's office, is joining the Manhattan Institute as a fellow. … U.K. PR agency The Romans has opened its first overseas office in New York, which will be led by partner and executive vice president Sarah Jenkins. She was previously senior vice president of account services at NVE and is a BCW alum. MEDIAWATCH — CNN+ to shut down weeks after its launch, by POLITICO's Sam Stein and Max Tani WHAT THE ART WORLD IS READING — " He rose to fame painting Trump realism. He is doing just great with him gone," by POLITICO's Daniel Lippman: "Jon McNaughton put MAGA to canvas. He says his life is just fine with his muse not in office." FOR YOUR RADAR — Axios' Russell Contreras: "A nonprofit group that coordinated help for Afghan refugees to the U.S. is launching a new effort to recruit 100,000 American residents to sponsor Ukrainian refugees. … Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, a member of the Welcome.US CEO Council, said in a statement that his team 'felt a responsibility to act' to help Ukrainians forced to flee their homes and that 'we will continue to support the Ukrainian people in their hour of need.'"
| | A message from National Grid: National Grid is announcing our path to a fossil-free energy future for our customers and communities. Our fossil-free plan will help achieve the Northeast's aggressive climate goals and set a new standard for energy companies.
We will use renewable natural gas, green hydrogen generated from wind and solar power, battery storage, and greater energy efficiency to make our National Grid system fossil-free by 2050 or earlier. Climate scientists say renewable natural gas is a win-win for the environment.
There Is A Better Way to keep energy affordable, reliable, and clean. That's why we are creating a hybrid pathway that preserves customer choice while delivering the clean, affordable energy future our customers want and deserve. See How. | | | | | Real Estate | | "Union Square Subway Entrance a Smelly Mess Despite Ritzy Private Ownership," by The City's Jose Martinez: "At Zeckendorf Towers, the 29-story condominium building on the southeast side of Union Square, a one-bedroom rental is listed for more than $6,000 a month and apartments are on the market for as much as nearly $3.4 million. Downstairs, however, at a station entrance reeking of urine, subway riders have had to trudge on stairs past escalators that have been out of service for much of the year — earning the landlord the latest in a string of violations and four-figure fines. 'I'm homeless, and I wouldn't sleep over there,' said Sureno Williams, 45, who was smoking a cigarette by the entrance last week. The 14th Street entryway to the fourth-busiest subway station in the city and its two escalators are maintained by Zeckendorf, a 645-unit residential building whose 1987 opening helped lead Union Square's transformation from shabby to chic." | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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