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Hochul to resist Trump administration attempts to kill congestion pricing
Federal officials are giving the MTA until March 21 to end its congestion pricing program in Manhattan, but Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York will continue to mount an "orderly resistance" to the Trump administration’s attempts to kill the tolling plan.
Speaking at the monthly board meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Hochul addressed the uncertain future of congestion pricing after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a letter to her last week, said he was rescinding federal approval for the program and requesting an "orderly cessation" of the tolls.
"I will propose something in the alternative: orderly resistance," Hochul said. "The fight’s not over."
Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that Federal Highway Administration executive director Gloria Shepherd followed up Duffy's letter with another telling state, city and MTA officials they "must cease the collection of tolls" by March 21. MTA CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber yesterday confirmed federal officials have told the transit authority to "wind it up" in just over three weeks, but made it clear the MTA has no intention of complying unless ordered by a judge.
Launched Jan. 5 following years of planning, debate and legal challenges, the MTA’s Central Business District Tolling Program charges most vehicles $9 for driving on 60th Street and below in Manhattan during peak hours. The plan aims to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and generate funding for mass transit including the LIRR.
***
The Southampton Town Board this past Tuesday closed a public hearing on a proposal to phase out all sand mines on residentially zoned property in town. The board did not indicate when it would vote on the proposal, which has the support of its Democratic majority.
Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that after reading comments from the Town Planning Board, which also supported the measure, Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said at the February 25 meeting that the board would still have to review the proposed law to make sure it meets the standards of the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Opponents of the measure, who packed an initial public hearing, were nowhere to be found both Tuesday and last month when the board also solicited public comment. The Planning Board also recommended that the Southampton Town Board use money from the Community Preservation Fund to purchase former sand mines, a measure it said would speed up the amortization process. The amortization proposal, which was unveiled last October, would require mines that have extracted all of the sand allowed by their mining permits to close within a year. Those that still have sand left to mine would be allowed to petition the Zoning Board of Appeals for an extension of up to seven years to exhaust their allotments. They would also be allowed to argue before the ZBA that they should be given additional time.
***
A British-style boarding school complete with uniforms and boater hats is preparing to open in Oakdale in September, after receiving a provisional charter for a 6-12 school from the NYS Board of Regents.
Harrow International School New York is scheduled to be the first American affiliate of the 450-year-old Harrow School in London, whose alumni include Winston Churchill and Benedict Cumberbatch. The Oakdale campus is undergoing a $100 million-plus renovation, officials said.
Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Harrow officials led an open house at the 170-acre campus of the former LaSalle Military Academy and St. John’s University in Oakdale on Tuesday.
The school expects to open for up to 80 students this year, with plans to eventually accommodate about 400, a school official said.
***
With the infestation of the southern pine beetle on Long Island entering its 12th year, a separate insect and a fungus — along with humans, that is — could offer help over time with suppressing and managing outbreaks of the pine beetle. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that for decades, forest services in the southeastern United States have researched the pine beetle and its destructive effects, ultimately finding that the clerid beetle — a natural predator to the pine beetle — can help predict and identify outbreaks. Essentially, according to Polly Weigand, the Northeast fire projects manager for the Forest Stewards Guild, “based on the increased abundance of clerid beetles” in forests in the Southeast, researchers can “predict” outbreaks of southern pine beetles. While the predictive model used in the South has not shown results further north, Weigand said, over time, the clerid beetle — in conjunction with the nurturing of healthy forests — could eventually help suppress populations of the southern pine beetle. As the southern pine beetle has traveled farther north — having been first identified on Long Island in 2014 — so, too, has research, namely at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, into the clerid beetle, known scientifically as Thanasimus dubius. On Long Island, Weigand researched the predictive model used in the South with the Central Pine Barrens, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the CCE, failing to find correlative trends.
The beetle spreads predominantly through prevailing winds and pheromones. Essentially, female pine beetles release pheromones and the males travel upwind toward their mates. Weigand’s hypothesis is that the southern pine beetle invaded the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and from there, the prevailing north-northeast wind brought it to Long Island, where the pine beetle’s favorite host tree, the pitch pine, is abundant. In conjunction with warming winters, several factors have contributed to its suitability for Long Island’s ecosystem: a suitable habitat, drought conditions and the lack of natural predators. “So, it’s a win-win-win on all fronts for the southern pine beetle to continue its spread,” she said.
***
Despite reports to the contrary, the Elizabeth A. Morton U.S. Wildlife Refuge in Noyac appears to be operating as usual, with the parking lot open and restrooms unlocked, although there was no sign of employees at the 187-acre site at Jessups Neck over several visits this past week. Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that a weekend staff member was reportedly among 400 people who lost their jobs with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They were among thousands of federal employees to be issued pink slips by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The service oversees the Morton site as well as nine other properties under the umbrella of the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, including the Conscience Point Wildlife Refuge in North Sea and the Amagansett Wildlife Refuge. A woman who answered the phone at the Wertheim Wildlife Refuge in Shirley last week said that staff members are rotated to various refuges as needed and were not assigned to a single site. She referred additional questions to Keith Shannon, the chief of public affairs in the Office of Communications for the wildlife service’s northeast region. Reached Monday, Shannon requested an emailed list of questions and responded: “We have received your inquiry and are processing it in accordance with our current policy regarding media requests.” An answer was not received by THE SAG HARBOR EXPRESS as of yesterday.
***
Black homeownership on Long Island is higher than the national average and increased to about 70% in 2023 compared to about 63% a decade earlier. But challenges remain for Black homebuyers, including a significant gap in homeownership rates compared to white households. Jonathan LaMantia reports in NEWSDAY that the homeownership gap reflects ongoing wealth disparities, historical discrimination in housing and a competitive real estate market that favors buyers with the largest down payment, among other factors, local real estate agents said.
About 86% of white, non-Hispanic households on Long Island own their homes, a 16-point gap compared to the Black homeownership rate in Nassau and Suffolk.
***
Organización Latino Americana of Eastern Long Island {OLA} operates two programs that last week appeared threatened by federal funding cuts, and while the money for one has been reinstated, the other remains jeopardized. As for the former, the Immigrant Justice Corps sent a law fellow — funded through the federal government — to work with the Latino-focused nonprofit advocacy organization to help migrant workers find pathways to citizenship. Last week, a stop-work order that OLA received was rescinded, said Executive Director Minerva Perez, “so we are back in business at the moment.” Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that funding for the second program — the one that remains cut — came from the CDC Foundation, a nonprofit authorized by the U.S. Congress to pursue the center’s mission. The program contracted OLA for at least five years of funding, of which OLA has so far received four, intended to boost the organization’s Healthy East End Initiative. Initially, the program was designed to provide access to testing and vaccines, but since then, it “morphed very quickly into just health access,” Perez said, and “getting out into the community to talk with people about health access and make sure they actually have health access.” Each year, OLA was to receive between $100,000 and $120,000 from the CDC Foundation for the initiative. “We are hoping to get that reinstated, and we shall see because it was a contract and the contract is legally binding,” Perez said. Further, Perez addressed the pro bono legal work that OLA does in immigration cases. With that, Perez said, “a lot of our community members have viable cases,” though the volume can add up for the organization. “When we can work with folks and know that there is a viable pathway and we can move forward, that’s what we’re leaning into,” she said. “So, the Know Your Rights Training is what to do if you experience ICE at your door.”
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By WLIW-FMFederal officials are giving the MTA until March 21 to end its congestion pricing program in Manhattan, but Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York will continue to mount an "orderly resistance" to the Trump administration’s attempts to kill the tolling plan.
Speaking at the monthly board meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Hochul addressed the uncertain future of congestion pricing after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a letter to her last week, said he was rescinding federal approval for the program and requesting an "orderly cessation" of the tolls.
"I will propose something in the alternative: orderly resistance," Hochul said. "The fight’s not over."
Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that Federal Highway Administration executive director Gloria Shepherd followed up Duffy's letter with another telling state, city and MTA officials they "must cease the collection of tolls" by March 21. MTA CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber yesterday confirmed federal officials have told the transit authority to "wind it up" in just over three weeks, but made it clear the MTA has no intention of complying unless ordered by a judge.
Launched Jan. 5 following years of planning, debate and legal challenges, the MTA’s Central Business District Tolling Program charges most vehicles $9 for driving on 60th Street and below in Manhattan during peak hours. The plan aims to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and generate funding for mass transit including the LIRR.
***
The Southampton Town Board this past Tuesday closed a public hearing on a proposal to phase out all sand mines on residentially zoned property in town. The board did not indicate when it would vote on the proposal, which has the support of its Democratic majority.
Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that after reading comments from the Town Planning Board, which also supported the measure, Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said at the February 25 meeting that the board would still have to review the proposed law to make sure it meets the standards of the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Opponents of the measure, who packed an initial public hearing, were nowhere to be found both Tuesday and last month when the board also solicited public comment. The Planning Board also recommended that the Southampton Town Board use money from the Community Preservation Fund to purchase former sand mines, a measure it said would speed up the amortization process. The amortization proposal, which was unveiled last October, would require mines that have extracted all of the sand allowed by their mining permits to close within a year. Those that still have sand left to mine would be allowed to petition the Zoning Board of Appeals for an extension of up to seven years to exhaust their allotments. They would also be allowed to argue before the ZBA that they should be given additional time.
***
A British-style boarding school complete with uniforms and boater hats is preparing to open in Oakdale in September, after receiving a provisional charter for a 6-12 school from the NYS Board of Regents.
Harrow International School New York is scheduled to be the first American affiliate of the 450-year-old Harrow School in London, whose alumni include Winston Churchill and Benedict Cumberbatch. The Oakdale campus is undergoing a $100 million-plus renovation, officials said.
Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Harrow officials led an open house at the 170-acre campus of the former LaSalle Military Academy and St. John’s University in Oakdale on Tuesday.
The school expects to open for up to 80 students this year, with plans to eventually accommodate about 400, a school official said.
***
With the infestation of the southern pine beetle on Long Island entering its 12th year, a separate insect and a fungus — along with humans, that is — could offer help over time with suppressing and managing outbreaks of the pine beetle. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that for decades, forest services in the southeastern United States have researched the pine beetle and its destructive effects, ultimately finding that the clerid beetle — a natural predator to the pine beetle — can help predict and identify outbreaks. Essentially, according to Polly Weigand, the Northeast fire projects manager for the Forest Stewards Guild, “based on the increased abundance of clerid beetles” in forests in the Southeast, researchers can “predict” outbreaks of southern pine beetles. While the predictive model used in the South has not shown results further north, Weigand said, over time, the clerid beetle — in conjunction with the nurturing of healthy forests — could eventually help suppress populations of the southern pine beetle. As the southern pine beetle has traveled farther north — having been first identified on Long Island in 2014 — so, too, has research, namely at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, into the clerid beetle, known scientifically as Thanasimus dubius. On Long Island, Weigand researched the predictive model used in the South with the Central Pine Barrens, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the CCE, failing to find correlative trends.
The beetle spreads predominantly through prevailing winds and pheromones. Essentially, female pine beetles release pheromones and the males travel upwind toward their mates. Weigand’s hypothesis is that the southern pine beetle invaded the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and from there, the prevailing north-northeast wind brought it to Long Island, where the pine beetle’s favorite host tree, the pitch pine, is abundant. In conjunction with warming winters, several factors have contributed to its suitability for Long Island’s ecosystem: a suitable habitat, drought conditions and the lack of natural predators. “So, it’s a win-win-win on all fronts for the southern pine beetle to continue its spread,” she said.
***
Despite reports to the contrary, the Elizabeth A. Morton U.S. Wildlife Refuge in Noyac appears to be operating as usual, with the parking lot open and restrooms unlocked, although there was no sign of employees at the 187-acre site at Jessups Neck over several visits this past week. Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that a weekend staff member was reportedly among 400 people who lost their jobs with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They were among thousands of federal employees to be issued pink slips by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The service oversees the Morton site as well as nine other properties under the umbrella of the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, including the Conscience Point Wildlife Refuge in North Sea and the Amagansett Wildlife Refuge. A woman who answered the phone at the Wertheim Wildlife Refuge in Shirley last week said that staff members are rotated to various refuges as needed and were not assigned to a single site. She referred additional questions to Keith Shannon, the chief of public affairs in the Office of Communications for the wildlife service’s northeast region. Reached Monday, Shannon requested an emailed list of questions and responded: “We have received your inquiry and are processing it in accordance with our current policy regarding media requests.” An answer was not received by THE SAG HARBOR EXPRESS as of yesterday.
***
Black homeownership on Long Island is higher than the national average and increased to about 70% in 2023 compared to about 63% a decade earlier. But challenges remain for Black homebuyers, including a significant gap in homeownership rates compared to white households. Jonathan LaMantia reports in NEWSDAY that the homeownership gap reflects ongoing wealth disparities, historical discrimination in housing and a competitive real estate market that favors buyers with the largest down payment, among other factors, local real estate agents said.
About 86% of white, non-Hispanic households on Long Island own their homes, a 16-point gap compared to the Black homeownership rate in Nassau and Suffolk.
***
Organización Latino Americana of Eastern Long Island {OLA} operates two programs that last week appeared threatened by federal funding cuts, and while the money for one has been reinstated, the other remains jeopardized. As for the former, the Immigrant Justice Corps sent a law fellow — funded through the federal government — to work with the Latino-focused nonprofit advocacy organization to help migrant workers find pathways to citizenship. Last week, a stop-work order that OLA received was rescinded, said Executive Director Minerva Perez, “so we are back in business at the moment.” Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that funding for the second program — the one that remains cut — came from the CDC Foundation, a nonprofit authorized by the U.S. Congress to pursue the center’s mission. The program contracted OLA for at least five years of funding, of which OLA has so far received four, intended to boost the organization’s Healthy East End Initiative. Initially, the program was designed to provide access to testing and vaccines, but since then, it “morphed very quickly into just health access,” Perez said, and “getting out into the community to talk with people about health access and make sure they actually have health access.” Each year, OLA was to receive between $100,000 and $120,000 from the CDC Foundation for the initiative. “We are hoping to get that reinstated, and we shall see because it was a contract and the contract is legally binding,” Perez said. Further, Perez addressed the pro bono legal work that OLA does in immigration cases. With that, Perez said, “a lot of our community members have viable cases,” though the volume can add up for the organization. “When we can work with folks and know that there is a viable pathway and we can move forward, that’s what we’re leaning into,” she said. “So, the Know Your Rights Training is what to do if you experience ICE at your door.”