h/t @nancychadwick.bsky.social YET ANOTHER REVERSAL: ICE retracted its claim of buying the Chester, NY site. That’s the 2nd walk-back in 48 hours (after Lebanon, TN). ICE can’t be trusted. Moving forward, we’ll only mark sites 🔴 on the map once a deed is officially recorded with the state.

"It is by no means the limit," a senior Mamdani administration official said of the annual $5 million allotment for bus- and bike-lane projects. "I don't think we are saying that is the extent of where we want to invest."

Mayor Zohran Mamdani appears to have abandoned his campaign promise of dedicating 1% of the city budget to parks. Mamdani's preliminary budget proposal includes a $55,272,471 cut to the Department of Parks and Recreation in 2027.

Environmental groups sue Trump’s EPA over repeal of landmark climate finding

Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing - The Guardian  www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

NEW: Relay, a business to business delivery app, is shutting down operations in NYC, leaving all its workers without jobs starting April 1.

Whether developers can move on building out Hudson Yards is tied to $2 billion in tentative public subsidies that still need approval from Mayor Zohran Mamdani. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Even in the city's historic deep freeze, New Yorkers are getting around by bicycle, according to publicly available data.

In January the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation warned that the planned ICE facility in Chester NY could pose major environmental risks including potential threats to endangered species, freshwater wetlands, and the municipal water supply. wjffradio.org/new-york-dec...

It seems like a good time to remind folks that Volts is 100% listener supported. My only obligation is to you. Subscribe & help me keep doing it!

New York begins planning for data center boom, and its strain on the electric grid https://gothamist.com/news/new-york-begins-planning-for-data-center-boom-and-its-strain-on-the-electric-grid

Yesterday, Floodlight and The Guardian published a first-of-its-kind visual investigation. Using thermal drone imagery captured in Mississippi, our reporting shows how gas turbines are powering Musk’s AI operations — and why the findings raise serious legal questions.

It just got harder for shareholders to push companies on climate

New York State was supposed to pick its next offshore wind project today through a competitive process, but ended up not making any awards. Why? @nyserda.bsky.social cited the "federal actions disrupting the offshore wind market," which make developing new projects uncertain.

The EPA has reversed its own landmark determination that gives the government the ability to regulate climate-heating pollution. Check out this article from HEATED about why oil corporations may end up regretting the decision: heated.world/p/trump-is-w...

FOX NEWS: Do you believe climate change is a hoax? EPA ADMINISTRATOR LEE ZELDIN: It has been a con job of using this for more power and control

NYCHA has no concrete plan to replace rental assistance for the thousands of people set to lose it. gothamist.com/news/nyc-sti...

The head of a local #mentalhealth clubhouse plans to deliver a letter to Mayor Zohran #Mamdani calling for him to employ a voluntary state mental healthcare program as a solution to encourage unhoused individuals to voluntarily seek shelter during freezing temperatures.

Subscribe to @hellgatenyc.com, support worker-owned local NYC journalism, and get your open-streets-in-crisis news nearly a week before NYMag gets around to covering it! hellgatenyc.com/open-street-...

The Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding that underpins climate regulation, setting up legal battles. The fossil fuel industry lobby attempted to sue the EPA over the rule in 2010, and more recently Project 2025 called for its repeal. Report from May:

NYC has contracts with at least 3 of these companies--SLS, Garner, and CDR--for on call disaster relief services. Garner's contract is currently up for a $50 million renewal "pending oversight approval."

The cases show even those with stable living situations can be vulnerable to extreme weather: gothamist.visitlink.me/nFqyTg

NYC is developing its first comprehensive "Environmental Justice Plan" to address environmental inequities. The Mayor's Office of Climate & Environmental Justice is currently gathering feedback for the plan here: nycforms.cityofnewyork.us/f/ejnyc

The city Department of Transportation may be underestimating the number of pedestrians on outer-borough streets, due to a Manhattan-first bias that may end up putting pedestrians at risk, a new study finds.

NineDot Energy just raised $431 million to build batteries in New York City’s vacant nooks and crannies — a critical endeavor as electricity shortages loom.

On Thursday, a coalition of labor rights and environmental groups will rally on the City Hall steps to support the re-introduction of Council Member Tiffany Cabán's Delivery Protection Act, which would force Amazon to directly hire its delivery drivers. buff.ly/9SjWGsE

NYC @mayor.nyc.gov released a schedule for Rental Ripoff hearings. Testimonies shared "will directly inform policy changes to strengthen city policies to protect tenants." www.nyc.gov/main/rental-...

In case anyone's wondering how Jeff Bezos feels about climate policy these days, the Washington Post editorial board just heartily endorsed Trump ripping up the EPA's "endangerment finding," which allows the federal government to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants.

"Sanchez pointed out that since enforcement is determined by citizen participation, the language restriction for complaints can lead to chronically lower enforcement in areas with high rates of non-English speakers." thefootprint.substack.com/p/nycs-air-q...

If the city enacted consequences for Lyft neglecting its Citi Bike infrastructure, maybe we'd have a functioning bikeshare system the next time it snows.

"several meeting attendees said they left feeling like their questions were unanswered, after the council spent less than seven minutes of the more than two-hour meeting discussing the issue. (It spent longer discussing the replacement of a field's astroturf.)" hellgatenyc.com/morning-spew...

At a public meeting Monday night, Hudson River Park Trust leaders dodged, deflected, and even laughed off questions about its ongoing contract with ICE that allows federal agents to park their vans at Pier 40, a popular public venue where dozens of local teams play soccer.

NEW: The Amawalk Reservoir, which provides drinking water to three northern Westchester County towns and New York City, has become the center of a battle over who pays for environmental cleanups in the state.

ALL city hospitals are operating as warming centers. 311 is directing people to call 911 if unhoused folks are outdoors. Scattered power outages across the boroughs, density in Bushwick. DO NOT USE YOUR OVEN TO HEAT YOUR HOME

Delivery workers risk life and limb during frigid weather – and still might be iced out of a good tip.

Great reporting from @documentedny.bsky.social, but this list is incomplete. NYC also has active contracts worth hundreds of millions with Motorola Solutions, which has been widely reported as a major ICE contractor. This one is worth 323 million: www.checkbooknyc.com/contracts_la...

New York Democrats propose sweeping pause on data center construction

Some signs from a protest at New York Power Authority's HQ in December:

New York Power Authority's allocations of low-cost power to data centers produce ~156 times fewer jobs on average than allocations of low-cost power to hospitals.

As record numbers of New York residents struggle to afford their electric bills, NYPA allocates over 16 MW of low-cost electricity to data centers across New York State. That's enough electricity to power roughly 14-15 thousand homes. thefootprint.substack.com/p/as-new-yor...

Delivery workers are less likely to run red lights, ride on sidewalks and ride without helmets than their recreational counterparts — defying claims that they sow street chaos, according to a new observational study of more than 1,700 cyclists.

The US oil lobby will target the EU's landmark climate regs in 2026, per its new policy agenda. But US oil cos have already been leveraging Trump and trade tensions to tear apart the law behind the scenes, documents show. My latest with @desmog.com www.exxonknews.org/p/top-us-oil...

5 more elected officials have called on Hudson River Park Trust to terminate their contract with ICE immediately, including congress members Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler. www.chelseanewsny.com/news/thirtee...

A Trump-appointed district judge described the conditions of ICE detainees with no criminal history held in a temporary cell in the Central Islip federal courthouse on Long Island for days — putrid, cramped, inhumane and unlawful.

Mayor Mamdani said city medical examiners are still looking into the causes of death: gothamist.visitlink.me/g8L2rw

We can apportion the blame later in the day, but the greatest walkable city in North America is completely impassible to people on foot or in wheelchairs as the workweek begins. Send us your stories and photos of snow blocking bus exits and sidewalks. nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/01/26/c...

6 deaths outside in NYC being investigated for links to the extreme cold https://gothamist.com/news/6-deaths-outside-in-nyc-being-investigated-for-links-to-the-extreme-cold

As Mayor Mamdani put it in his inaugural address, “every blizzard and flood we withstand, together.” The question of how well New Yorkers withstand them, and how the city responds, rests in the hands of the Mamdani administration. And it’s a heavy burden. insideclimatenews.org/news/2401202...

Hudson River Park Trust, which is under scrutiny for letting ICE stash their vans on park property, was also involved in an NYPD crackdown on e-bike riders using the Hudson River Greenway, according to a @nyc.streetsblog.org report from 2021. nyc.streetsblog.org/2021/03/15/c...