Colin Kinniburgh

Why Did Hochul Back Down on New York's Gas Ban? Just last month, the state argued in court that it couldn’t halt the all-electric buildings law even if it wanted to. Then it abruptly changed course.

NEW: After Hochul’s administration agreed, a federal judge approved a deal last week that will likely suspend New York’s all-electric building law for at least a year.

Just last month, the state argued that delaying the gas ban would cause “irreparable harm."

Rep. Salazar on Venezuela: "We're about to go in ... we need to go in ... Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day"

How a Brush With Mall Security Can Lead to Arrest by Border Patrol In at least one case, police may have violated a state court ruling prohibiting local law enforcement from conducting civil immigration enforcement.

At least 15 people have been taken into federal immigration custody this year after Cheektowaga police called Border Patrol, according to documents obtained by @nysfocus.bsky.social. Five of the arrests started with a call to police by Macy’s security guards.

The fund boards still needs to vote to approve. Next meeting is on December 11 www.nycers.org/board-meetin...

NYC’s Lander Recommends Dropping $42 Billion BlackRock Mandate New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging three of the city’s pension funds to drop BlackRock Inc. because of “inadequate” climate plans, the latest move to penalize investment firms for failing...

⚠️ Brad Lander urges NYC pension funds to pull $42 billion from Blackrock over climate risk concerns.

This could be one of Lander’s last big moves as comptroller, and comes after lots of pressure from climate groups, especially New York Communities for Change. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

A Court Ordered New York to Issue Major Climate Rules. What’s Next? “We have time to work it out,” Governor Kathy Hochul said.

Background: nysfocus.com/2025/10/30/c...

B. Promulgation of Regulations by the Court’s Deadline is Impossible It is impossible for the Department to comply with the Court’s deadline because it cannot promulgate compliant regulations––a mammoth task that, as noted, entails regulating emissions across large swaths of New York’s economy––by February 6, 2026. First, “promulgate” generally means publication of a final rule. Although SAPA uses the term “adopt” for the completion of the rulemaking process, it also provides for judicial review once a rule is finalized and states that rules shall be “promulgated in substantial compliance” with SAPA’s procedures but that failure to properly notify a person does not “invalidate any rule promulgated hereunder” (SAPA § 202[8]). Thus, SAPA contemplates that a rule is “promulgated” only if the full procedures laid out in SAPA §§ 202-203 have been followed.

C. Publication of Proposed Rulemaking by the Court’s Deadline is Impossible Even if the Court only intended to order the Department to publish proposed, rather than final, regulations by February 6, 2026, compliance would still be impossible. As explained in the accompanying affirmations, the Department cannot, in good faith, propose regulations without foundational modeling and updated assessments of economic pressures in light of the current federal and State regulatory landscape (Michael Sheehan affirmation [Sheehan aff] at ¶ X; Vladimir Gutman-Britten affirmation [Gutman-Britten aff] at ¶¶ 3-6). The Department relies on data analysis and modeling conducted by the Authority, which will take, at minimum, four months to complete (Gutman-Britten aff at ¶ 4). Notably, the Authority must update its models to reflect the forecasts and conclusions in the recently released draft State Energy Plan (id. at ¶ 6). These include anticipated delays in clean energy rollouts, changes in State populations, and other factors that are significantly different from the assumptions upon which the scoping plan was based (id.). Four months is the minimum time it will take to simply create the models, but that

It’s official: The Hochul administration has appealed the court ruling against it on cap & invest, arguing that it would be impossible to issue climate law regulations by the judge’s February deadline. iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/Docum...

Careers New York's only statewide newsroom dedicated to holding Albany accountable.

New York Focus is seeking a full-time politics reporter to help lead our coverage of New York state politics in a pivotal moment.

You’ll have your work cut out for you in 2026.
nysfocus.com/hiring

The construction industry in Europe is using a lot of these now, quiet, no air pollution, cheaper to operate, etc

I want more info about this beast, but even without much info I'm confident that this sort of rolling battery is going to become ubiquitous in many places and serve many purposes.

RPS150 – Viridi rps150 is a commercial-scale lithium-ion-based Mobile Energy Storage System (MESS) designed to reduce the need for conventional generators.

viridiparente.com/products/rps...

RPS150 – Viridi rps150 is a commercial-scale lithium-ion-based Mobile Energy Storage System (MESS) designed to reduce the need for conventional generators.

150! This is the model: viridiparente.com/products/rps...

The mobile energy storage system picture, Viridi’s RSP150, is an 8.5-foot trailer-mounted, lithium-ion unit that can provide 30kW of power for approximately five hours.

Inbox: NYPA and Cornell are showing off this mobile battery unit, which could provide an alternative to diesel generators.

Looks a lot bigger than your standard generator but it also packs a lot of energy — enough to power a stadium concert, or an average NY home for about a week

I’ll be on Radio Catskill’s The Local Edition around 6 pm this evening talking about the delays to HEAP. Tune in: wjffradio.org

Heating Assistance Still on Hold as Federal Government Reopens Federal HEAP funding will not reach New Yorkers until at least November 24, state officials say.

Update: The federal government promised to release $3.7 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program by the end of November.

If New York receives its share of the funds by then, it will open program applications next week.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/15/t...

How is local law enforcement in New York working with ICE?

We're able to investigate stories like these thanks to reader support. From now until the end of the year, your donation will be tripled. Donate today: nysfoc.us/donate

Sorry for confusion. LI here = “Low Income.” LIHEAP is the federal acronym for the program; NY shortens to HEAP. Money should be coming statewide as usual — about $400 million for the season if feds divvy up the national amount as usual.

Heating Assistance Still on Hold as Federal Government Reopens Federal HEAP funding will not reach New Yorkers until at least November 24, state officials say.

LIHEAP update! Feds promise to send states $3.7 billion by the end of this week, matching last year’s funding levels. If that comes through, NY promises to open applications next week.

So no HEAP for Thanksgiving, but relief is in sight. nysfocus.com/2025/11/15/t...

To understand the extent of Ogijo’s contamination, consider what happened more than a decade ago in Vernon, Calif., the site of one of the worst cases of lead pollution in modern American history. Soil testing around a recycling plant revealed high lead levels, including at a nearby preschool. Officials called the area an environmental disaster. The factory closed. The cleanup continues today. Soil at the California preschool contained lead at 95 parts per million. In Ogijo, soil at one school had more than 1,900 parts per million.

One of the most shocking environmental investigations I’ve read in a long time. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

New Yorkers unite against Con Edison; stock falls Power exchange

It's Alphaville week

www.ft.com/content/87ac...

Judge Says Feds Illegally Ended Protections for Abused Immigrant Youth The ruling allows young immigrants who have suffered abuse and neglect to apply for protections from deportation — at least for now.

NEW: A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume reviewing protection requests from young immigrants who suffered abuse or neglect, finding it violated federal law when it abruptly stopped doing so earlier this year.

nysfocus.com/2025/11/20/t...

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.

A rly interesting case study, as pols prepare to fight over a similar policy for NYC's much bigger bus network. By @carabuckley.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c...

COP30 Is on Fire Flames have erupted in the “Blue Zone” at the United Nations Climate Conference in Brazil.

A literal fire has erupted in the middle of the United Nations conference devoted to stopping the planet from burning.

heatmap.news/sparks/cop30...

Crossing Coalitions on the New York City Council The conservative Democrat is sounding more like progressive colleagues as she tries to protect immigrant constituents from the Trump administration.

NEW: City Councilmember Susan Zhuang is a conservative Democrat. She's also an immigrant rights advocate.

New York Focus talked to her about ICE, Trump, Mamdani, and why immigrants are often left out of politics.

nysfocus.com/2025/11/19/s...

‘We Are Forgotten Here’: As NYC Builds Seawalls, This Queens… A decade after city officials promised to protect Edgemere against floods, residents say the neighborhood remains just as vulnerable.

NEW: Few American cities are more vulnerable to sea level rise than New York City.

The coastal community of Edgemere, Queens was among the hardest-hit during Superstorm Sandy. A decade later, residents still wait for promised flood protections.

w/@floodlightnews.org + @theguardian.com

No. _________________ _______________________________________________ IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT ________________________________________________ NY/NJ BAYKEEPER, FOOD & WATER WATCH, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, PROTECTORS OF PINE OAK WOODS, SIERRA CLUB, AND SURFRIDER FOUNDATION Petitioners, v. NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION; AMANDA LEFTON, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, Respondents. _______________________________________________ PETITION FOR REVIEW _______________________________________________ Moneen Nasmith Susan J. Kraham EARTHJUSTICE 48 Wall Street, 15th Floor New York, NY 10005 212-845-7384 mnasmith@earthjustice.org skraham@earthjustice.org Ann Jaworski E ARTHJUSTICE 311 S. Wacker Dr., Suite 1400 Chicago, IL 60606 773-245-0837 ajaworski@earthjustice.org Counsel for Petitioners NY/NJ Baykeeper, Food & Water Watch, Protectors of Pine Oak Woods, Sierra Club, and Surfrider Foundation

No. _________________ _______________________________________________ IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT ________________________________________________ NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, INC., Petitioner, v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; SHAWN M. LATOURETTE, COMMISSIONER, NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, Respondents. PETITION FOR REVIEW Jared E. Knicley Jackson Garrity Natural Resources Defense Council Natural Resources Defense Council 1152 15th Street NW, Suite 300 20 N Wacker Drive, Suite 1600 Washington, DC 20005 Chicago, IL 60606 (202) 513-6242 (312) 995-5909 jknicley@nrdc.org jgarrity@nrdc.org Mark A. Izeman Natural Resources Defense Council 40 West 20th Street, 11th Floor New York, NY 10011 (212) 727-4453 mizeman@nrdc.org Counsel for Petitioner Natural Resources Defense Council Dated: November 18, 2025

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT NY/NJ BAYKEEPER, PRINCETON MANOR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, CENTRAL JERSEY SAFE ENERGY COALITION, FOOD & WATER WATCH, NEW JERSEY LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND, and SIERRA CLUB, Petitioners, v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION and SHAWN M. LATOURETTE, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Respondents. Case No. __________ PETITION FOR REVIEW

⚠️ Breaking: Enviro groups sue NY and NJ over NESE pipeline approvals, in three parallel suits before the US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

They cite regulators’ previous, repeated decisions rejecting the pipeline.

Oh, thanks for pointing that out. My DMs are open now — thought they already were

Thank you for sharing. Send me a DM if you're open to discussing further!

Hi, I'm the friend. It's true - my power has been cut twice this year. Once in May and a second time last week, for non-payment. I pay what I can when I can, but more often than not, the bill is well into the hundreds of dollars each month, while I make about 38k a year.