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Issues: Environmental Justice

Congestion pricing fails, but the goal of sustainable transportation remains

April 10, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
congestion, congestionpricing, mta, trafficcongestion, transit, transportation

By now, of course, anybody who has followed the saga of congestion pricing in New York knows the outcome:  on Monday, the New York State Assembly failed to vote on the congestion pricing program, ensuring that it won’t go forward,...

Congestion Pricing in the 9th inning...

April 6, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil

Tags:
congestionpricing, newyork, newyorkcity, trafficcongestion, transit

Mariano Rivera is taking the mound now, trying to do his magic to pull out a win...Crain's, the Washington Post, the NY Daily News, the NY Post are all telling various stories of last-minute negotiations, hallway discussions, and everything else...

NY City Council Passes Congestion Pricing!

April 2, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
bloomberg, congestion, congestionpricing, dailypolitics, elizabethbenjamin, newyorkcity, quinn, trafficcongestion, transit, transportation

On Monday, the New York City Council passed, by a margin of 30-20, the congestion pricing bill, kicking off an intense week of lobbying for its passage in Albany.This was a huge victory for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council...

Thanks for your comments, here's some answers...

March 26, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment

Tags:
congestionpricing, newyorkcity, NYC, trafficcongestion

In recent comments on the blog, a number of readers have expressed concerns about the cost of delivering goods in the City, as well as other aspects of the congestion pricing proposal being debated in New York this month.  Today,...

Gov. Paterson supports congestion pricing!

March 21, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
congestion, congestionpricing, crains, dailypolitics, governorpaterson, newyorkcity, NYC

Awesome news! Governor David A. Paterson just announced that he’s presenting a program bill to the New York State Legislature to implement congestion pricing in the City.   Here’s what Governor Paterson said: “Congestion pricing addresses two urgent concerns of the residents...

Congestion pricing, regressivity, and a new study from WE ACT and Earth Institute

March 21, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment

Tags:
columbia, congestion, congestionpricing, earthinstitute, jeffreysachs, newyorkcity, NYC, university, weact

One of the biggest canards of the congestion pricing debate in New York is that the program is somehow regressive, i.e., it discriminates against poor people and mostly benefits upper-income people.  Throughout the past two weeks of lobbying, I cannot even...

New Poll: Most NYers support congestion pricing if money goes to transit

March 13, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
citycouncil, congestionpricing, governorpaterson, mayorbloomberg, mta, mtacapitalplan, newyorkcity, NYC, trafficcongestion

Today's congestion pricing post comes to you with thanks to our friends at Streetsblog. A Quinnipiac Poll released today shows once again that New Yorkers are decidedly in favor of congestion pricing with revenues allocated for mass transit. The latest...

Residential Parking Permits for NYC: A Key Step on the Path to Congestion Pricing

March 12, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
congestion, congestionpricing, dot, NYC, nycdot, transportation

Mayor Bloomberg announced a new residential parking permit program today that responds directly to one of the concerns raised by opponents of congestion pricing.  Here’s the issue:  would some car commuters try to avoid the Manhattan congestion charge by parking in...

Congestion Pricing Update: Yesterday in Albany, and What's Next?

March 12, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
congestion, congestionpricing, mta, mtacapitalplan, newyork, NYC, paterson, spitzer

So everything is now up in the air.  Governor Elliot Spitzer just resigned a moment ago, and Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is preparing to be New York’s 55th Governor.  Governor-to-be Paterson is a well-liked, smart public official, with a long resume...

Congestion Pricing enters the stretch

March 6, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
buses, congestionpricing, leesander, march31, mta, mtacapitalplan, newyorkcity, NYC, nycitycouncil, nyctransit, nystatelegislature, subway, trains

Coming to work today, I was enraptured, as I often am, by the sights and sounds of this great city of New York.  On my subway ride, a group of mariachi singers played a few numbers for tips, a local...

Ocean-Going Ships Are The Last Bastion Of The Dirty Diesels

February 15, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Moving Beyond Oil , Reviving the World's Oceans , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
CATF, CleanAirTaskForce, diesel, ICCT, IMO, InternationalCouncilonCleanTransportation, InternationalMaritimeOrganization, marine, oceangoingships, ships, sulfur

Yesterday, I testified in Congress on Senator Barbara Boxer’s bill (S. 1499, the Marine Vessels Emissions Reduction Act)  to require dirty, polluting ocean-going ships to use cleaner fuel within 200 miles of our coasts.  (And, by the way, even after...

Where's the rule?

February 12, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
boat, diesel, emissions, EPA, locomotive, marine, pollution, ship, train

Where’s the rule?  Unlike my colleagues who have worked on power plant and climate issues over the past eight years, I have developed the habit of welcoming new EPA rules on my diesel issues.  After all, there have been no...

A wish list for 2008

January 8, 2008

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
birds, congestionpricing, csos, ewaste, gothamgazette, jamaicabay, mta, newyears, newyorkcity, PlaNYC2030, polllution, sewage, transit

The start of the New Year presents a great opportunity to take stock of the old year and to plan for the new. It's also time to make some wishes. I live in New York, and much of my work is...

PlaNYC 2030: Breathing Easier in 2030 and beyond?

December 11, 2007

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
bloomberg, buildings, congestionpricing, diesel, gothamgazette, newyorkcity, PlaNYC2030, pollution, QueensMuseum, sustainability, transportation

About a year ago in Queens, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the outlines of his sustainability plan.  I wrote about it in a recent Gotham Gazette article, but neglected to alert Switchboard readers to it, so am doing so now.He presented...

Good News About Asthma in NYC

October 22, 2007

Posted by Rich Kassel in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
asthma, diesel, gothamgazette, media, newyorkcity, pollution

In addition to my work at NRDC, I write a monthly column on environmental issues for the Gotham Gazette, a great online source for New York City public affairs and political news.  Today, my most recent column was posted.  It’s about...

Rich Kassel
Rich Kassel
Senior Attorney and Director, Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project
New York City
I came to NRDC in 1991 on a three-year grant, and never left.  Over the...
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