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FRIDAY, MAR. 21, 2025

Dear New Yorkers,

An apartment building just off the boardwalk in Coney Island boasts a heated outdoor pool, a cozy library and a sunny penthouse lounge with sweeping views of the ocean.

But the most remarkable element is hidden below the ground: 153 wells, dug deeper than the Statue of Liberty is tall. It’s part of a highly efficient, eco-friendly geothermal heat pump system that taps into the earth to warm and cool the new building’s 463 apartments.

“What it allowed us to do is eliminate all the gas-fired equipment from the building,” said Anthony Tortora, senior vice president and principal of the company that developed the complex, 1515 Surf.

These systems — also known as ground source heat pumps — run on electricity and take advantage of the temperature of the earth, which hovers between 50 to 60 degrees year round. In the summer, the system sends indoor heat back to the ground to cool apartments, and in the winter, the system extracts heat from the earth to warm the building (and its pool).

Promoted via financial incentives and technical installation support, as well as local laws focused on moving buildings away from fossil fuels, geothermal heating in New York City may be about to have its moment.

Read more here about the biggest residential building in the city to use this “cheat code” for electric heating.

Weather 🌬️

A chance of showers in the morning, then it gets sunnier and windier. Highs in the low 50s.

MTA 🚇

There’s no 1 train between 137 Street-City College and Dyckman Street from 9:15 p.m to 5 a.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Mar. 21.

By the way…

PSA: The Health Department is removing 22 skin-lightening products from shops across the city for containing seriously elevated levels of mercury. Be careful what you buy.

Our Other Top Stories

New York’s highest court ruled yesterday that a 2021 local law that allowed some legal permanent residents to vote in city elections is unconstitutional. The decision ends a four-year fight to determine whether the city’s estimated 800,000 green card and work permit holders and other legal permanent residents had the right to vote in municipal elections. (If you want to learn more about what you can do as a noncitizen in NYC elections, we published this guide with some tips on that.) Randy Mastro, who withdrew his bid to be the city’s corporation counsel in September after an uproar from the City Council, will now be the city's first deputy mayor. Mayor Eric Adams called Mastro a “storied and impressive New Yorker with a track record of success.” But the attorney who once served as Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s chief of staff is a controversial choice among city leaders. A Westchester landscaping company is close to receiving Parks Department contracts worth tens of millions of dollars for tree planting despite its owner facing prison time for a bribery and illegal dumping scheme, records show. Glenn Griffin, the owner, allegedly bribed a city employee who let him illegally dump debris in Cortlandt, NY, which could cost the town up to $1.5 million to clean up. Adams has often said of his rightward shift that he didn’t leave the Democratic Party – it left him. In the upcoming election, he could be the one to call his on-again, off-again relationship with the party quits by running as an independent. And word on the street is that he’s leaving his options open, as we discuss in our election newsletter this week.  THE CITY’s first-ever permanent merch store is officially open! And we’ve already sold out of our summer tote, so get your CITY superfan swag while you can!

SPONSORED JPMorganChase’s Bronx Community Manager Shares How to Achieve Financial Success. This month, we’re celebrating the many women throughout our history who’ve worked toward achieving success, whether through leadership roles, or within their families and communities. Sherlyn Santana, Community Manager at Chase's Bronx Community Center Branch, shares steps on taking charge of your finances to help you achieve success: First, take stock and review your spending. List out your bank accounts, investments and property, liabilities and any loans or credit card debts in your name.  Review your spending habits. Do your debts outweigh your assets? How much are you able to save each month? Create a plan to work towards your financial goals, whether that’s paying down debt, building an emergency fund, investing in a new home, or taking out a loan to start a business.  The important thing is to stay accountable and take control of your finances to help you achieve that goals. Automate payments and savings to help you stick to your savings plan, work with a financial planner or loved one to help you stay motivated and accountable to your goals.  Anyone has the power to take control of their finances — getting organized around where you currently are will help paint a clear picture of how to achieve your financial goals. For more inspiration, whether it’s to help advance your own career or support women in your field, explore JPMorganChase’s Women on the Move initiative by visiting jpmorganchase.com/impact/people/women-on-the-move

Reporter’s Notebook

Skating Around Trump’s Rink Bid

Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue Thursday defended a decision to reject a $120 million gift from a parks group to fix up and run Central Parks Wollman Rink and instead put the concession out to bid — a decision that triggered the Trump Organization to put in its own proposal.

During a City Council parks committee hearing, Donoghue mentioned that any bidder would have to demonstrate a "satisfactory record of business integrity," prompting the chair of the Council’s Parks committee, Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, to ask if she was aware of the Trump company's 2022 conviction on criminal tax fraud charges. She replied, "We are aware."

Krishnan repeatedly pressed Donoghue to explain why the city chose the bid process after turning down the gift offer by the Central Park Conservancy when it had accepted a similar gift from the group to fix nearby Lasker Rink. Donoghue said Wollman had gone out to bid for decades, dating back to when Trump started running it in 1986.

Councilmember Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), asked if Parks could simply reverse its decision and negotiate with the Conservancy. Donoghue replied, "At this point we're not going to do that."

— Greg B. Smith

A Four-Decade Vacancy

A derelict building in Clinton Hill owned by the state is expected to be converted into a mixed-use “100% affordable housing” development, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.

For years, THE CITY has covered the saga of the onetime Brooklyn Union Gas appliance showroom at 1024 Fulton St., which has remained empty for four decades.

Hochul set a deadline of June 20 for proposals from developers for the approximately 12,800-square-foot lot.

The building first came into the city’s possession in 1986 for nonpayment of taxes. Then in 1997, the state purchased the property from the city for $330,000 to make it into a community space. Officials nixed that idea after discovering serious structural issues.

In 2011, the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation attempted to buy the building from the state for $9 million, but failed to secure federal funding needed to overhaul the property, THE CITY reported.

That plan was spearheaded by former state Assemblymember Walter Mosley who represented the area. Mosley has since become Hochul’s secretary of state.

— Reuven Blau

Things To Do

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

Friday, Mar. 21: Missed Wicked in theaters? See it for free at the 125th Street library! 2 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 22: Thinking about adopting a dog? Come to this adoption event hosted by Korean K9 Rescue to meet available rescue dogs and learn more about the process. If you already know you want to adopt, apply in advance here. The Moxy Hotel in Williamsburg, 12 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 22: Get free wildflower seeds — and learn how to plant them — at the Stars of Hope garden in Bed-Stuy. 10 a.m.

THE KICKER: It’s almost cherry blossom season — here’s a list of the best parks to see the beautiful blooms.

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

Love,

THE CITY

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