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Dear New Yorkers,

Last December, the Brooklyn borough president and a Manhattan City Council member sat down for a catch-up lunch.

The conversation between Antonio Reynoso and Erik Bottcher, both Democrats, quickly moved to the city’s housing crisis and how none of the proposals to spur more construction that had been announced with such fanfare by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams had been acted on by the state legislature.

The result: They are forming a “housing league” of elected officials, to push a pro-development agenda backing a litany of changes that will produce more housing in the city.

They are not alone. In addition to the housing league, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is holding rallies in support of the administration’s development plans. Even City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is making it clear she supports the efforts, even if she makes sure not to explicitly say she will push them through the Council.

Historically, administrations have proposed changes with the support of big business and real estate groups — but have had to navigate and cajole elected leaders who thought their best approach was to appeal to anti-development voters.

The emergence of groups like these comes at an opportune time for the Adams administration, which is at a crucial point in its efforts to change the zoning code to meet its economic and housing production goals.

Read more about some politicians’ shift from NIMBY to YIMBY here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Friday's Weather Rating: 7/10. A break in the misery! Clouds break this morning with periods of sunshine through the afternoon. Warm, too, with high temperatures in the mid-50s. It won't last long, with clouds moving back in tonight, but we'll take it. The vibes are all right!

Our Other Top Stories

Judith lived in a deteriorating apartment with bed bugs and rats — yet every month, her legally appointed guardian was paid $450 from her bank account, reports ProPublica. She is one of the thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers left stranded by a system meant to protect them, a new investigation has found. Though the Adams administration is adamant that it is not on track to close Rikers Island jails by a legally mandated 2027 deadline, it is detailing how to turn the island into a hub for renewable energy and greener public works. On Monday, two city entities delivered reports ordered up by the City Council declaring it feasible to build a new wastewater treatment plant on the island, along with solar, battery storage and new equipment to feed offshore wind power into the electric grid.

🎉New Yorkers! We’re giving away our highly coveted tote bags via our Instagram! Want a chance to win? Just follow us and tag three of your friends in our raffle post. We’ll pick a winner on Wednesday.

Reporter’s Notebook

Shore Thing

The City Council on Thursday passed a bill requiring the Economic Development Corporation to compel all cruise ships at city docks plug into the electric grid if they’re equipped to do so, power is available and conditions are safe. The bill also requires EDC to create a traffic mitigation plan for the neighborhoods — Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan and Brooklyn’s Red Hook — where cruise ships berth.

“This is a community-led victory that’s been years in the making, a step toward righting historical wrongs,” said Councilmember Alexa Avilés (D-Brooklyn), lead sponsor of the bill.

As THE CITY previously has reported, cruise ships emit toxic diesel exhaust while they dock. The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook boasts the only shore power system on the East Coast, but many ships typically able to connect to that type of system can’t use it because its design is incompatible. EDC is working to install a positioning device that would allow more ships to connect and it will be functional by the year’s end, officials said last month. EDC said ships compatible with the power system are able to connect about 70% of the time.

Bringing a shore power system to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, EDC said, could involve upgrades to the grid there. Across the cruise industry, new ships must be outfitted with shore power capability by 2028 and existing ships must be retrofitted by 2035 — deadlines Avilés called “too far out.”

— Samantha Maldonado

Pet Shelter Honors Late Councilmember Vallone

The New York City Council on Thursday voted to name an upcoming animal shelter in Queens after former City Councilmember Paul Vallone, who died suddenly at 56 last month and who’d advocated for shelters across the city.

The fight for an animal shelter in every borough began with the Vallone family in 2000, when former Speaker Peter Vallone — Paul’s father — introduced the bill at the urging of his wife. In the decades since, though, there have been lawsuits and other challenges and only three shelters were built, leaving Queens and The Bronx still lacking.

Paul Vallone, who represented neighborhoods in northern Queens, introduced the bill that passed in 2018 to add the two additional shelters.

During testimony on today’s naming bill, Vallone’s daughter Lea dedicated the measure to all of the pets he had in his life, saying he loved all creatures big and small.

“I can’t think of an animal who did not love him back,” she said.

The Queens shelter is set to open in Ridgewood although there have been years of delays. The local community board will hear a presentation from Animal Care Centers about the proposed facility at 19-06 Flushing Ave. next week.

— Katie Honan

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Friday, March 8: Open Hours at Brooklyn Bridge Park Environmental Education Center, featuring crafts, a reading corner, a 250 gallon aquarium filled with critters from the East River, and more. Free from 3 to 5 p.m. at 99 Plymouth Street in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Saturday, March 9: Making Brooklyn Bloom 2024, a day of talks and workshops about pollinators to inspire urban gardeners at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Garden admission is free for attendees; reservations required. Saturday, March 9: A screening of the 1926 silent film “The Duchess of Buffalo,” starring Constance Talmadge, one of the most popular comedians of her day. Free at 2:30 p.m. at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium.

THE KICKER: After an outcry over cafeteria cuts, city officials announced yesterday that they would restore fun lunch items like chicken dumplings and French toast sticks to school menus.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Friday.

Love,

THE CITY

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