Important reporting on new eligibility criteria for the State’s energy-saving building upgrades program! Pratt Center research identified income eligibility rules as a major barrier, so this an important step toward expanding access for NYC’s low- and moderate-income communities. Read more ⬇️

🚨RED ALERT🚨 Governor Hochul is making a MAJOR PUSH to weaken the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA.) Assemblymembers are meeting today at noon to discuss. Email your Assemblymember and tell them to PROTECT NEW YORKERS: act.nyrenews.org/email-assemb...

NYC is experiencing dangerously cold temps following this week's snowstorm. Warming centers are open across the city — including locations in Harlem & Upper Manhattan If you or someone you know needs a warm place to go, don't wait Find locations and warming buses near you at the link in our bio

We're proud to present a new resource for organizations looking to help 1-4 family homes decarbonize: the EnergyFit Toolkit! It hosts learnings from our long-running program EnergyFit, which has delivered over 80+ free retrofits to homes in low-income communities: prattcenter.net/our_work/ene...

Join NY Renews in their mobilization to Albany to tell NYS to protect New York communities from ICE raids, sky-high costs, and the existential threat of the climate crisis. RSVP below!

Read @nyccli.bsky.social’s statement on the City Council’s decision not to override Eric Adams’ veto of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA).

Join this community meeting on improving bus service south of Grand Army Plaza on Flatbush Avenue, hosted by @ridersalliance.org! Our co-published research shows how bus delays disproportionately affect low-income Flatbush residents. Read our full report: prattcenter.net/our_work/bet...

The climate crisis is pummeling NY. While @governor.ny.gov claims this budget will help protect us from federal cuts and high taxes, she is abandoning the programs that would actually protect us from deadly heat, rising seas, and high energy bills: www.nyrenews.org/news/ny-rene...

In December we passed COPA thanks to a broad coalition of supporters. Big real estate $ funded misinformation campaigns and muddied the waters on what COPA is and what it isn’t. Now is the time to set the record straight 🧵

NYC is creating its first Environmental Justice Plan (EJNYC Plan). The Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice wants your input on priority EJ issues and solutions across the city. Take the survey & make your voice heard: nyc.gov/ej

"San Francisco’s results are clear: COPA works." Since 2019, COPA has preserved 436 homes for more than 1,000 residents without slowing the market. Read the latest op-ed in @nextcity.org that breaks down why it can work in New York City. nextcity.org/urbanist-new...

There's a lot in here about the proposed basement apartment legalization rules that sources called "cartoonishly absurd" and "draconian." I want to point to the piece of news that 🚨 NOT ONE 🚨homeowner made it all the way through the 2019 basement legalization pilot. www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/08/b...

📢NEW: Major @nydailynews.com op-ed backs COPA—and the fight for an affordable NYC. The piece from Fifth Avenue Committee's Michelle de la Uz lays out why the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act is essential to keeping New Yorkers in their homes. PASS COPA NOW! www.nydailynews.com/2025/12/09/n...

Long-awaited city regulations to let basement residences get legalized could add risks for homeowners, bring more harm than help, housing advocates and lawyers say. www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/08/b...

The city will hold a hearing this week on DOB rules for a basement legalization program — but, as our Director of Research & Policy Sylvia Morse said today in @thecity.nyc, "these rules cannot be passed as is, or else the program will fail."

In NYC, 1 out of every 8 homes is now owned by an investor; in Manhattan, 1 out of 2. Neither rents nor the purchase price of homes will become more affordable for most until we take the profit motive out of enough units. That's why @neweconomyproject.bsky.social is leading the fight to pass COPA.

“We are tired of seeing predatory speculators swoop into the Lower East Side and displace tenants. Pass COPA now!” —Illapa of Cooper Square Committee

Call for COPA! New Yorkers want real affordable housing, and COPA can deliver by giving CLTs and other nonprofits the first chance to buy buildings when landlords sell. bit.ly/CALL4COPA

The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act has: 1. A veto proof majority in City Council 2. Support from 200 community and youth groups, community land trusts, and mission driven developers 3. Mayor-elect Mamdani’s endorsement No time to lose! @nycspeakeradams.bsky.social pass #COPA!

🚨 Join this action on 10/22 to defend Empower+, the program that has provided thousands of New Yorkers with energy efficiency and electrification incentives is now expected to be gutted by NYSERDA and the Governor. RSVP: actionnetwork.org/events/nyser...

Install now, get money back later 💰 We’re excited to launch Save on Better Appliances, a nationwide campaign to help homeowners save money on home energy upgrades before the federal tax credits expire. Get started: rewiringamerica.org/save?utm_medium=social&utm_source=social&utm_campaign=SOBA (🧵)

There is legislation at both the New York City and State level that would accelerate the vibrant movement of New Yorkers seeking to take ownership of the resources in their communities and remove the profit from housing, writes Aviva Stahl.

Lisa Marshall of NYers for Clean Power called EmPower+ “one of the most successful programs the state has." Yet, upcoming funding cuts risk sidelining the very communities New York’s energy transition is meant to help. Read more: www.timesunion.com/state/articl...

What do NYC’s new draft fair housing goals mean for property owners facing climate risk? Pratt Center's Sylvia Morse told @citylimitsnews.bsky.social: “Identifying displacement risk as a fair housing problem is right—the challenge is ensuring we can actually carry out equitable solutions.”

Extreme weather is a part of New Yorkers new reality. As our environmental and housing crises collide, those living in basement apartments are most at risk. @voteshekar.bsky.social and I are calling on NYS to expand basement conversion programs across flood-prone communities like ours.

In June, we released a new report on the City's racial equity tools four years after their launch in NYC’s land use process. We talked with co-authors Tara Duvivier and Eve Baron about what inspired them and why community-led tools are essential for equitable city planning.

📢 Important reporting on basement apartments—and why their safety is needed to enforce protections from future climate disasters. ‼️‼️

Are you data-savvy? Care about NYC policy? Ready to use your mapping skills to advance a more equitable city? Join our team! We're #hiring a Data & GIS Manager to lead mapping, analysis, and data visualization at Pratt Center.

We’ve been weighing in on major rezoning proposals across the City— from the Garment District to Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Read our testimonies below:

Want to build a legal basement apartment under a year-old New York pilot program, or build an ADU thanks to City of Yes? You can't, because those laws are meaningless until city agencies promulgate rules that actually enable them. @smaldo.bsky.social from the frontlines of abundance.

Home flipping in NYC is unfairly targeting NYC's neighborhoods of color & scarce affordable housing, driving up prices and pushing residents. Earlier last year, released a report with policies to stop it. Read our full report and read below for key findings: prattcenter.net/our_work/fli...

“Racial impact studies don’t block or delay rezonings,” @prattcenter.bsky.social's Tara Duvivier & Pratt Institute's Eve Baron write. “What the backlash reveals is how uncomfortable some developers are with giving communities the tools to demand more from a broken status quo.” bit.ly/4e9B7MR

The #CommunityLandAct gives communities real tools to fight displacement and secure permanent affordability. We were proud to testify in support last week. A must-read from @neweconomyproject.bsky.social, and others: citylimits.org/opinion-nyc-...

Incredible news! We're so grateful to have been part of this push led by @ridersalliance.org. Read more about the participatory action research we did to make the case for new bus lanes on Flatbush Avenue here: prattcenter.net/our_work/bet...

NYC’s racial equity tools are a step toward more accountable land use—but they’re not being used to their full potential. We reviewed every Racial Equity Report from 2022–2024 and found clear opportunities to strengthen them. Read our newest report: prattcenter.net/our_work/rac...

Today, the City Council is hearing the Community Land Act—a series of #SocialHousing bills that advance community land trusts and tenant power. This morning we were at Foley Square supporting the CLA and testifying in favor. #PASSTHECLA

The state commits 30% of its energy efficiency & building electrification funds for low- and moderate- income New Yorkers. The rest is earmarked for properties linked to homeowners or renters in higher income brackets, something advocates fought to change. bit.ly/3ZueJrN

For the 3rd time, NYS Assembly failed to fund the GAP Fund & NY HEAT — leaving 1.2M families behind on energy bills. Vulnerable communities can't wait. The PSC must act now: shift 50% of NENY funds to energy upgrades for low/moderate-income New Yorkers. www.harlemworldmagazine.com/ny-assembly-...

Tune in now to @wnyc.org's Brian Lehrer Show to catch our climate reporter @marianasimoes.bsky.social discuss her reporting on how the Trump administration's EPA layoffs are impacting NYC communities. Here's her most story: bit.ly/3RITgXF

FYI: The Neighborhood Pillars program is back! This program provides financing to qualified non-profit housing providers to purchase distressed rent stabilized apartments and run them as permanently affordable housing: www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/ser...

Pratt Center is standing with the Thriving Communities Coalition at Mayor Adams' Charter Commission hearing to call for planning rooted in community needs—not real estate interests. NYC doesn’t need less public input. It needs comprehensive planning. #OurNeighborhoodsOurPlan

The program not only provides cooling assistance for low-income families during the summer, it helps subsidize energy bills when cranking up the heat in winter becomes too costly. citylimits.org/trump-cuts-p...

New York has $5 billion in funding to help upgrade homes with the latest energy-efficient measures. It’s critical that this money goes to those who need it most: low and moderate-income households. Read why from @weact4ej.bsky.social: www.timesunion.com/opinion/arti...

Trump's latest order attack on “climate superfund” and cap-&-invest laws is yet another attempt to destroy our constitutional rights and punish states taking action on climate crisis. It condemns us to astronomical energy bills, extreme weather & health consequences. Full statement: bit.ly/NYR040925

“Every day of delay means more pollution, more suffering, and more costs for people who can least afford them.” bit.ly/42oiejM

For anyone in NYC, I’m moderating a climate justice panel Wed. at @newmarkjplus.bsky.social The talented @angelymercado.bsky.social & @smaldo.bsky.social will join me to talk about centering folks most impacted by climate change and leading solutions! www.journalism.cuny.edu/events/cente...

The bill was included in both the Senate and the Assembly’s “one-house” budget proposals. If it makes it into the final budget, it automatically passes both houses, and just needs Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature to become law. bit.ly/4c7pPrI

Take action with to support the #NYHEAT Act for #CleanerHeatLowerBills! Act Now: p2a.co/6CeN6z9

Ordinary New Yorkers need energy bill relief—"New Yorkers are paying more every year for the same outdated, dirty system, when we could be paying less for new, better technology." (3-minute read) bit.ly/4iXmgGY #NYHEAT @renewableheatnow.bsky.social

We're standing alongside our friends @weact4ej.bsky.social. The #CLCPA is law. NYS needs to respect the law and the people it is meant to protect. All New Yorkers deserve the benefits of climate action—particularly those that have been left behind for too long!