by Caroline G. Harris, Esq. Goldman Harris LLC and Eric Vath, Esq. Goldman Harris LLC

A slide from the presentation of the City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality at the City Planning Commission featuring an ESS on the Barclays Center. The application was certified on April 24, 2023. Click to enlarge. Image Credit: DCP

To meet the climate goals of the 2016 Paris Agreement, New York State and New York City have adopted aggressive energy efficiency goals.  The Mayor’s 2022 City of Yes program announced numerous initiatives to make the city sustainable, resilient and equitable.  One of them, the City of Yes: Carbon Neutrality, aims to reduce our reliance on carbon-based fuels by modernizing the zoning rules to make our homes, businesses, electric power grid and waste stream much cleaner.  A key element of the Carbon Neutrality initiative is to support an increase in the use of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. To be successful, the program will require changes in the City’s zoning resolution. (more…)

Mayor Adams signs the e-bike bills into law. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

On March 20, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams announced a new plan to address lithium-ion battery fires and powered mobility device safety. Following an increase in fires due to faulty or refurbished batteries, both the Mayor’s Office and City Council have worked to develop solutions to improve fire safety and reduce avoidable fires while promoting methods of micromobility that thousands of New Yorkers, including delivery workers, depend on daily.  (more…)

The E-Scooter Pilot Program will expand across all of the East Bronx later this year. Image Credit: NYC DOT.

Over 480,000 trips have been taken since the program launched last August. On March 24, 2022, the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that the E-Scooter pilot program which brought e-scooters to parts of the East Bronx last year will expand the pilot program to more neighborhoods across the East Bronx. Through the program, e-scooters from Lime, Bird and Veo are available to rent as an alternative form of transportation. (more…)

Map of the pilot areas for the e-scooter program across the East Bronx. Image Credit: DOT

Over two years, the program will serve an area of over 500,000 residents in the East Bronx. On August 17, 2021, the Department of Transportation’s E-Scooter Pilot program will launch in the East Bronx. Through the program, E-Scooter companies Bird, Lime, and Veo will bring 3,000 e-scooters in the first phase of the program, with an additional 3,000 scooters to be rolled out in Phase 2 of the program next year.  (more…)