| ENVIRONMENT: Hochul wants to plant 25 million trees by 2033 as part of an initiative to combat extreme heat, but first, she needs a strategy. That’s from Alexander Kobald, an associate director of the Design Across Scales Lab at the at Cornell University. He helped design “Tree Folio NYC,” a “digital twin of New York City’s tree canopy.” The design demonstrates where trees provide the most shade and where it would be needed most. “The state of New York’s tree planting program is an exciting investment that is certainly needed in urban areas throughout the state,” he said in a statement. “However, making the most of new tree planting is critical.” – Shawn Ness RIVER CLEANUP: Local officials are pushing for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to decide that the dredging of the Hudson River didn’t fully protect human health. They sent a letter earlier this week urging the EPA to make the determination as part of the delayed, five-year review process. “The data trends clearly indicate that the selected remedy is not on track to meet the goals needed to protect human or ecological health,” the officials wrote. The EPA is undertaking a third five-year review of the effectiveness of General Electric’s dredgin g to remove toxic PCBs the company dumped in the river. The last review deferred a decision on whether the dredging effectively protected human health, pending additional data. Environmental advocates have argued, based on the available data, that the river is not on track to meet the targeted levels of contamination in fish that the EPA thought would result from the dredging effort. “Fishing has been observed and fish are being consumed, putting a particularly unjust burden on those who rely on fish for subsistence,” the officials wrote. The community advisory group for the Hudson River Superfund cleanup is set to meet Jan. 18, and the EPA will likely provide an update on the review. The EPA plans to release the draft of the five-year review, which includes data collected from 2017 to 2021, early this year. — Marie J. French CLOSING A LOOPHOLE: Advocates for survivors of sexual assault are hoping a suite of bills aiming to bring justice to victims will be passed in Albany this session. The push comes just two months after the Adult Survivors Act expired in late November. That bill gave survivors of sexual assault a year-long suspension of the statue of limitations on sexual assault and misconduct, enabling lawsuits against big names like Sean Combs, Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump. Perhaps the most significant legislation survivors’ advocates are looking to pass this year is the “Voluntary Intoxication Loophole Bill,” which prevents accused perpetrators of rape from using a victim’s voluntary intoxication as a defense. “I don't think any of us in New York State walk around thinking this is actually the state of the law,” said Lizzie Asher, president of Cura Collective, a group advocating for the passage of the bills, S4555A and A1065, which are sponsored by lawmakers Nathalia Fernandez and Jeffrey Dinowitz. Asher pointed to a 2009 case where two NYPD officers were acquitted of rape under the loophole and noted how other states like Minnesota and North Carolina have put measures in place to close it. “In what other crime where you are the victim, if you are intoxicated, the person who inflicted harm gets a pass?” Asher said. — Jason Beeferman HOUSING: Housing costs in the New York City region have jumped more than 68 percent in the last decade – outpacing other cities, according to a new report from state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. The increase has put significant strain on residents, and it comes amid a slowdown in development as New York faces a housing shortage, the report noted. Homeowners and renters in the city and surrounding counties spent $30,300 on average on housing in 2021 and 2022 – an all-time high surpassed only by the San Francisco and Seattle metro areas. The sum, which included costs around shelter, utilities, maintenance and furnishings, made up 40 percent of households’ total expenses. Meanwhile, as of October 2023, nearly a fifth of city residents were behind on their rent, compared to 12 percent nationally, the report said. And 53 percent of households – some 1 million tenants – were rent-burdened in 2021, meaning they spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent. The report attributed the slowdown in housing development to high interest rates and the lapse of the 421-a tax incentive, which expired in 2022. “City and state leaders recognize New York’s housing affordability problem but need to implement cost-effective solutions more quickly,” DiNapoli said in a statement. — Janaki Chadha GAMBLING GLUT: The state has collected over $1.5 billion in mobile sports betting taxes – two years since the bets became legal in New York. Most of the money goes toward state education funds. The state collected an additional $200 million in licensing fees during 2022, which brings total state revenue to $1.75 billion since its Jan. 2022 legalization took effect. The state said the figure “shattered national records for mobile sports wagering” and ranks in revenue overall only behind New Jersey and Nevada, which have had sports betting well before New York. “New York is the clear leader in providing responsible entertainment for millions while bringing in record-shattering revenue for education, youth sports, and problem gambling prevention," Hochul said in a statement. "I look forward to this third year of our successful gaming policies CANNABIS: New York cannabis regulators approved two medical marijuana operators to enter the adult-use market today after not acting on a similar agenda item during a contentious Dec. 29 meeting. Fiorello Pharmaceuticals, owned by Green Thumb Industries, and Citiva Medical, owned by iAnthus Holdings, got the go ahead from three Cannabis Control Board members to co-locate recreational marijuana sales with one of their medical marijuana dispensaries. So far, the only medical marijuana operator who has paid the $5 million initial fee to launch adult-use sales is Pharmacann. — Mona Zhang
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