City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York City
As Parks Get Shortchanged on City Budget, NYC Biodiversity Faces Risks, Report Says
Most people think of New York City as a concrete jungle where nature is hard to find. But the city is also a rich ecological hotspot that rare species like the Monarch Butterfly, the Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog, and the endangered Butternut tree call home, a recent report notes.
And a chronically underfunded Parks Department—which has received between 0.5 and 0.6 percent of the city’s total budget for 30 years—plus the lack of a citywide biodiversity protection plan puts the city’s natural wonders at risk, it says.
“We have a lot of nature here. It’s really important to highlight that because when we don’t, city officials undermine it,” said botanist Marielle Anzelone, lead author of the report and co-founder of the NYC Biodiversity Task Force, which published it.
What Would Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Mean for New York’s Green Transition?
The legislation gets rid of Biden-era federal tax incentives that made solar and wind projects more affordable, and kills residential tax incentives for homeowners making energy efficiency upgrades.
“Heat is an infrastructure problem, an economic problem, a policy problem, a community problem, and a health problem. It requires a coordinated approach on all these fronts.”
