NYC will try a police-free approach to addressing mental health crises
All too often, instead of a specialized social care worker, emergency calls related to issues of mental health are inadequately addressed by the police. In New York City, though, that will soon no longer be the case. Thanks to a new pilot program, 911 calls in New York City that are evidently Read More...
This quiet garbage truck in Brooklyn runs on electricity
While we may not be able to get rid of the foul smell coming from garbage trucks, we can get rid of the smelly exhaust fumes coming out of their tailpipes. And that’s exactly what New York City is trying to do by testing its first all-electric garbage truck on the streets of Brooklyn. “This is Read More...
Fabscrap is repurposing New York's textile waste into usable materials
New York City is one of the fashion capitals of the world, but what does the industry do with all its waste at the end of each season? After seeing the true magnitude of fabric scraps and swatches going to waste in the city, Bureau of Recycling and Sustainability employee Jessica Schreiber decided Read More...
Brooklyn Bridge will feature sustainable tropical wood and wider bike lanes
A source of pride for New Yorkers, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, with thousands of pedestrians and cyclists crossing the bridge every day. A new project aims to reimagine the bridge as an icon of climate action and social equity by refurbishing the Read More...
What life is actually like at NYC’s hotels-turned-temporary shelters
With the coronavirus pandemic leaving hotels without guests, a few hotels in New York City’s Upper West Side have welcomed homeless residents temporarily. It is a great initiative, but it recently attracted negative press after the New York Post reported that “crime and chaos” had overtaken Read More...
Designers repurpose architectural mockups into useful community structures
Large-scale development projects usually require architectural mockups typically constructed from high-end, resilient materials, designed to simulate various parts of a planned building. Unfortunately, instead of being repurposed or put to good use after review, those architectural mockups are Read More...
We taught school outdoors in the past. Could we do it again?
The question of whether or not to send children back to classrooms this fall in the US looms large, and a growing number of parents are calling for kids to go back to school but not be back in school. Thousands of people have signed a petition for an open streets initiative to facilitate outdoor Read More...
Public vehicles in New York are doubling as air pollution monitors
New York City operates over 30,000 city-owned vehicles, the largest municipal fleet in the country. Police cars, fire engines, and public buses drive up and down the city streets performing their public services duties. But what if while completing their routine routes, doing their regular jobs, Read More...
New York is bringing down the hammer on plastic bottles
Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order banning the sale of single-use plastic beverage bottles on city-owned and -leased properties — which means the bottles could vanish from an area nearly equivalent to a quarter of the city. The move also bars city Read More...
NYC just passed a new law to protect migrating birds from crashing into windows
Sitting on the Atlantic Flyway, New York City is a well-known hotspot for avian biodiversity. Each year during the spring and fall migration seasons, New Yorkers can spot over a hundred species passing through the city. But as the cityscape is dominated by high-rise buildings with transparent Read More...