Your local park is bringing in the green (and by that, we mean money)

I’ve now seen one story since the NYC power grid added just a massive amount of renewable energy. About 20% of the city’s grid is now renewable energy! Should be a huge good news story! Share the news: www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/06/03/c...

A puny snowpack and widespread drought have experts predicting a severe U.S. wildfire season. They’re worried that the federal firefighting effort that’s in the midst of reorganization will struggle to cope.

Can anyone pry this parkland in Brooklyn from the judges who park there? Plus, more news for your Monday. hellgatenyc.com/columbus-par...

Hazardous disposal vapes are everywhere and can’t go in the garbage. These New Yorkers have made it their mission to lay them to rest properly.

NEW: Hell Gate got an exclusive first look at City Hall's plans for housing repair and enforcement teams that will focus on the city's most persistent "bad actor" landlords, with the ultimate aim at either getting them to shape up or ship out. hellgatenyc.com/zohran-housi...

NYC has already gotten its first taste of summer heatwaves, and the A/C is powering on. For some New Yorkers, this summer is different: They're running the A/C with stored power from Every Electric power banks, saving money and helping to create a more stable grid. Read how at tinyurl.com/yey8bjt5.

New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul announced revisions to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions targets that will push off its 2030 deadline, but, organizers say residents are already suffering.

Did you know: NYC has a LOT of private beach clubs — and they had a lot of water-quality closures last season ... buff.ly/dOEU6zp

Rising temperatures and heat-related deaths on New York construction sites highlight the need for better worker protections.

During one day of the heat wave this week, 29 people in NYC went to the ER with heat-related illnesses when the temp hit 97 degrees. That's the most ER visits on a single day in May since 2022, according to health department data.

A viral video has people asking: What's going on with privately-owned public spaces like the plaza at 780 Third Avenue? hellgatenyc.com/780-third-av...

The law would apply only to pet stores. Poultry shops can still sell live chickens, turkey, and other fowl.

From our archives: What to do when you're apartment is too hot.

"The lack of a defense of New York’s climate law from Ocasio-Cortez — and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — also highlights the Democratic Party’s shifting rhetoric on climate action as affordability concerns are paramount." www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Chemical recycling is one of the “major stumbling blocks” in efforts to reduce plastic waste in New York, a state lawmaker says.

NEW: Nearly $400,000 in relief funds that a Bronx nonprofit raised after a catastrophic fire in 2022 have finally been distributed to the affected families, more than four years after the tragedy. nysfocus.com/2026/05/15/b...

Happening now: Activists are blocking the entrance to Con Edison headquarters in Manhattan to call on Mayor Mamdani & City Council to pass Gas Free NYC, restrict ConEd from hiking rates, & to upgrade heating systems in 1 & 2-family homes to lower rates. @sunrisemvmt.bsky.social @xrnyc.bsky.social

Residents of Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn have been plagued by earth-shaking pile driving, by companies that have racked up countless violations, fines and stop-work orders over the years. By @lillysabs.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/14/p...

The EPA wants to shift monitoring of toxic coal ash to states

What you catch when you're fishing in New York City gothamist.com/arts-enterta...

Packaging reduction bill revived with changes poised for its passage www.timesunion.com/state/articl...

Mayor Mamdani’s decision to build a park over part of an unused rail line in Queens could make it impossible, or at least very difficult, to build a transit line for the same route — at least according to the depressing trajectories of similar efforts in Maryland and Georgia.

New York City has major building decarbonization goals. Temperature-sensing tech can help high rises meet them. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/carbon-free-buildings/software-avalonbay-parity-nyc

James Gennaro, the chair of the city council’s Committee on Environmental Protection & Waterfronts, has proposed a bill that would amend the city’s fire code to make it easier for some New Yorkers to install battery storage in their homes. thefootprint.substack.com/p/new-bill-w...

The city housing department has repeatedly sued the owners of a Manhattan building where three people died in a blaze last week, alleging “immediately hazardous” conditions at properties in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been a vocal critic of Israel's "occupation" of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. But the city's environmental agency won't comment on the current status of a 2015 deal with Jerusalem's water provider, which advocates accuse of servicing "illegal" settlements.

The bridges that support Newkirk and Foster avenues above the B and Q subway lines were built in 1907. They haven't undergone any major rehabilitation since: gothamist.visitlink.me/uEd2WK

3 children in critical condition after Bronx apartment fire in Fordham gothamist.com/news/3-child...

If you have been flitting about the edges of the @hellgatenyc.com experience—reading our newsletters, listening to our podcast, clicking the odd link, etc., but have been waiting for some sign to actually support our work, here it is: a big sale! This week only. hellgatenyc.com/the-hell-gat...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been a vocal critic of Israel's "occupation" of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. But the city's environmental agency won't comment on the current status of a 2015 deal with Jerusalem's water provider, which advocates accuse of servicing "illegal" settlements.

A "wave" of New York municipalities have moved to ban data centers: ithacavoice.org/2026/05/wave...

How are elevator upgrades in a NYCHA senior home an essential part of climate adaptation? This story, reported by some of my current grad students, gets to the heart of it. (So proud!) citylimits.org/as-summer-ap...

New York City promised to shield Edgemere from future storms after Sandy. More than a decade later, residents say little has changed. Floodlight went to Queens to hear what it’s like to live with rising seas and broken promises: “We’re the forgotten. We are the forgotten here.”

Being unable to cite one single law or regulation against trash cleanup hasn't stopped cops from harassing the people who do it nygroove.nyc/cops-vs-broo...

Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery leaders launched a push for a greenway and new entrance gate at its Sunset Park side. nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/05/07/g...

You can tell the city where you want to see the upcoming secure bike parking lockers, one more small step towards this whole thing actually happening nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/05/04/t...

City parks are the closest thing many New Yorkers have to a backyard: gothamist.visitlink.me/4iTzP6

If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, after China and the U.S. So why isn’t food waste part of the climate conversation?

NYC’s only solar incentive is a property tax abatement that most nonprofit and affordable housing providers can’t use. A bill in Albany would provide them with direct payments instead, what advocates say would help more cash-strapped buildings go green: citylimits.org/state-bill-w...

The New York City Council on Thursday passed a package of bills seeking to do more to educate parents about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines as immunization rates show signs of starting to dip. Via Healthbeat

Lime pushes for NYC e-scooters expansion to break up Citi Bike’s micromobility monopoly gothamist.com/news/lime-pu...

Most farmed seafood comes from fin fish, but a new study urges shifting production toward bivalves and seaweed.

A new report by @energyandpolicy.org found that Con Edison CEO Timothy Cawley received a $4.9 million raise in 2025 while New Yorkers struggled to afford rising bills. Some elected officials say it's evidence that the power grid should be publicly owned. thefootprint.substack.com/p/nyc-electe...

Scoop for @heatmap.news: HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is asking the federal government to review & study the health effects of noise and EMF radiation from data centers

The Energy and Policy Institute released a report analyzing compensation of utility CEO’s across the country. From 2017-2025, reported CEO pay has reached over $5 billion. Meanwhile, customers are told to turn down the thermostat to afford their bills. bit.ly/42iIJHR

The Energy and Policy Institute analyzed utility CEO's 2025 compensation. While CEOs and the utilities they oversee got a windfall, customers have been faced with higher bills and have only one option for their energy provider. Read the report here: bit.ly/42iIJHR

What happens when an unstoppable force (Columbia Waterfront Montessori school parents) meets an immovable object (community garden stewards navigating City bureaucracy) on the battleground of New York City's public commons? Behold: hellgatenyc.com/columbia-wat...

“While New Yorkers faced blackouts and rising bills, Con Edison’s CEO receiving a $4.9 million raise shows exactly what’s wrong with a for-profit utility system” @cmshahanahanif.bsky.social said in a statement to The Footprint. thefootprint.substack.com/p/nyc-electe...

In Roxbury, NJ, local leaders are fighting ICE's plan to convert a warehouse into an immigrant detention center while still voicing support for ICE. I wrote about the situation there, and how advocates across the U.S. are using environmental regulations to stop construction.