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The Burdens of the Abandoned

Who knows what combination of bureaucratic numbness, political payback or climate-change denialism drove the decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to defund its years-long study of how to defend the metropolitan region from the higher seas and stronger storms expected to come with global warming? Motives aside, the move is a shocking instance of government negligence in the face of undeniable risks to the country's biggest population cluster and financial heart.

That said, President Trump's crude skepticism ([link removed][UNIQID]) about the options the Corps was considering did overlap with nuanced misgivings that some local advocates expressed about the wisdom of building a harbor-wide sea wall from Sandy Hook, N.J., to Breezy Point in Queens. There were concerns ([link removed][UNIQID]) that the wall would have adverse affects on the health of local marine life ([link removed][UNIQID]) and the communities closest to the infrastructure. There was also the worry that the expense of building such a wall would sap government's ability to deal with other threats climate change will elevate, like extreme heat.

However, the big sea-wall wasjust one of the options ([link removed][UNIQID]) the Corps was considering. Other, more local measures on the table offered smaller price-tags, faster timelines and fewer environmental side effects.

It's possible the funding will be restored this year—or next year if control of the White House and Senate shift to people who accept the scientific consensus and lack some pathological dislike for New York City. And it's possible that the Corps will then quickly move to a more modest, nimble plan.

But the delay will have a cost. Already, decisive local action ([link removed][UNIQID]) to improve resiliency has been put off as we wait to figure out what the feds are going to do. So have decisions on whether retreat ([link removed][UNIQID]) is going to be necessary in some areas.

As with public housing and guns and so many other issues, New York City is going to have to chart its own course for surviving climate change while agitating for the federal government to do its duty. Hopefully the people running for mayor in 2021 will start offering cogent plans for how to do so—something better than mops and buckets.

- Jarrett Murphy, executive editor


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** Top Stories

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MTA Moves Forward with Changes to Access-a-Ride Pilot, Despite Protests from Users ([link removed][UNIQID])
The MTA plans to limit the number of trips Access-a-Ride users can take under a popular pilot program that allows them to book rides on-demand. Those changes will take effect by the end of the month, an MTA spokesman said.

City’s ‘Right to Counsel’ Law Fosters National Movement in Housing Courts ([link removed][UNIQID])
After the Right to Counsel law passed in New York, it created a ripple effect around the country.

Interim Borough President Set To Advise On Controversial Flushing Creek Rezoning ([link removed][UNIQID])
Other than the fact that there's been no environmental impact statement and an unelected official will provide the borough-wide recommendation on it, everything about the Flushing Creek plan is perfectly normal.

Many NYC Seniors Sill Face the Threat of Evictions ([link removed][UNIQID])
The city uses a patchwork of social services and subsidies to keep elders aging in place, but they can be difficult to qualify for and their funds are limited.

A Second Ruling Against City’s Approval of Two Bridges Skyscrapers ([link removed][UNIQID])
A judge ruled that the neighborhood organizations that brought the suit were right in arguing that the city had failed to abide by zoning rules governing ‘large-scale residential districts’ like Two Bridges.

Trump Administration’s ‘Public Charge’ Rule, Explained ([link removed][UNIQID])
Fear over implementation of the policy has led to many immigrants disenrolling in public benefit programs, sometimes needlessly.

Council Eyeing Moves Beyond Mayor’s Vision to Boost Small Businesses ([link removed][UNIQID])
Small business advocacy groups say the administration and the City Council are making small steps but there is much more work to be done in protecting and sustaining small businesses across the five boroughs.

Hopes for Improving Anti-Redlining Law Take a Backseat to Saving It ([link removed][UNIQID])
The CRA, a crucial but flawed tool intended to give communities leverage over banks, is up for reform—and though community advocates have long advocated for substantive changes to the law, they are currently worried about conservative moves to hobble it.

Hearing Ahead for East New York ‘Cease-and-Desist’ Zone ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘If won,’ the backers note, ‘this would be the only zone in all of Brooklyn, a borough rapidly undergoing gentrification.’
City Stat

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg has for years decried the influence of campaign donations on politicians who, unlike him, do not self-fund.

Despite those concerns, he's done plenty of donating.

Beginning with a $200 check to Daniel Moynihan's 1982 Senate campaign, Bloomberg has contributed more than $158 million to federal candidates and political action committees, according to a Federal Election Commission database.

Within New York State, he's donated at least $7.8 million to candidates and parties. Here are the 15 biggest recipients of donations within the Empire State from Bloomberg, now running for president as a Democrat:

Independence Party Of New York State $2,650,000
NYS Senate Republican Campaign Committee $2,290,000
New York County Independence Committee $400,000
New York League Of Conservation Voters Political Action Committee $350,000
NYS Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee $250,000
Kings County Republican Party $225,000
New York Republican State Committee $175,000
Republican Assembly Campaign Committee $175,000
New York Republican County Committee $160,000
Richmond County Republican Committee $160,000
Bronx County GOP Housekeeping $150,000
Queens County Housekeeping Account $130,000
28th Assembly District Republican Committee $120,000
Bellone For Suffolk $93,349
The IDC Initiative (Independent Democratic Conference) $75,000
S ([link removed][UNIQID]) ee the ([link removed][UNIQID]) FEC data. ([link removed][UNIQID])


** City Views
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Opinion: NY Must Reject Austerity and Rally Around a Unity Budget ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘Climate, education, healthcare, housing—these are urgent budget priorities set against the backdrop of a roughly $6 billion shortfall. True progressives have already drafted revenue-generating legislation that will fill budget holes and support these people-centered priorities.’


** Voices of New York
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New York Dominicans Protest D.R. Electoral Fiasco, Worry About Next Election ([link removed][UNIQID])
Dominicans in New York are frustrated by the political situation in their native country, where a recent election had to be rescheduled after a technology snafu. “You get disappointed to see that years go by and things stay the same.”

Jewish Community Leaders Dine in Chinatown in Show of Support Amid Coronavirus Fears ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘By dining here, we want to show that there is nothing to be afraid of in Chinatown and discrimination has no space here.’

Fight Over Korean Shelter in Queens Spotlights Struggles of City’s Asian Americans ([link removed][UNIQID])
Nanoom House has converted a two-story single family home into a refuge for 20 or so homeless Korean immigrants. Facing an onslaught of pressure from neighbors, the city and their landlord, the shelter is fighting for its existence.



** Una ciudad sin limites
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Uno de cada diez votantes del electorado es un inmigrante naturalizado ([link removed][UNIQID])
Más de 23 millones de inmigrantes naturalizados serán elegibles para votar en las elecciones de 2020.

Audiencia para establecer una zona de cese y desistimiento en el este de Nueva York ([link removed][UNIQID])
Una zona de cese y desistimiento ha hecho parte de la lista de deseos de las organizaciones comunitarias que plantearon su preocupación por la rezonificación del Este de Nueva York en 2016.
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