NYC NOW - Midday News: Schumer’s Popularity Dips After Budget Vote, City Adds Flood Protection in Southeast Brooklyn for Earth Week, and Experts Say NYS Is Falling Behind on Climate Goals

Episode Date: April 22, 2025

A new Siena poll shows U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer’s approval rating has fallen following his support of a Republican-led budget deal to avoid a federal shutdown. Meanwhile, the Adams administration says hundreds of new rain gardens and so-called infiltration basins are now in place across Flatbush and Canarsie to help manage stormwater and reduce flooding. Plus, on Earth Day, experts say New York State is lagging in its goal to fully transition off fossil fuels by 2040. WNYC’s Rosemary Misdary reports on how the state might catch up.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, April 22nd. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. New York senior senator Chuck Schumer's popularity took a dive in recent weeks after he voted for a Republican budget plan to avert a government shutdown. That's according to a Sienna College poll released just today. 39% of voters surveyed had a favorable view of Schumer,

49% had an unfavorable view. At Schumer's lowest rating in 20 years, Sienna pollster Stephen Greenberg explains it follows a drop off in support from Schumer's fellow Democrats. Voters, particularly Democrats, watched what happened with the budget skirmish in Washington a month or so ago, and it's not reflecting well on Senator Schumer at the moment. A spokesperson for the senator did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It's Earth Week and New York City officials say some flood-prone areas of southeast Brooklyn are in a little more ready state for the next big storm. The Adams administration says nearly 300 rain gardens in Flatbush and Canarsie are now complete. Rain gardens are tree beds designed to soak up excess stormwater that otherwise would have flooded city streets.

The city also says they've completed hundreds of infiltration basins in these neighborhoods. Those also absorb and store excess rainwater. Narsia is surrounded by Perdidget Basin, Fresh Creek, and Jamaica Bay. The neighborhood saw severe flooding with Hurricane Sandy. The New York Knicks lost game two of their series last night to the Detroit Pistons, 194 at the Garden. The Tide, Best of Seven series, heads to Detroit Thursday night for game three. 70 and sunny right now.

Sunshine in 78 for a high today. Tomorrow, mostly sunny, mid-70s, Thursday, Friday, sunshine, dry, low 70s, shower chances on Friday and Saturday. Stay tuned for more after the break. It is Earth Day, and we're taking a look at New York State's climate law, which requires a full transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy by 2040. But analysts say the Empire State is way behind schedule. WNMIC's Rosemary Ms. Derry asked policy experts, scientists, advocates, and lawmakers

what New York can do to get back on track. She joins us now. Rosemary, what are the requirements of the climate law that governs this transition? The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, also known as the CLCPA, was passed in 2019. It requires greenhouse gas emissions to be cut across all sectors by 40% in the next five years and by 85% in 2050. The state's grid also has to run on 70% renewable energy by 2030, which is less than five years from now, and be zero emissions energy by 2040. That means no fossil fuels, such as gas in your cars or natural gas for stoves.

How far behind are we on these goals, Rosemary? We got a long way to go. The State's Public Service Commission projects we're currently three years behind. New York, statewide, has only cut its greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 9%. And statewide, the power grid is one-third renewable energy. But downstate, which is where New York City is, is roughly 5% renewable. We run mostly on natural gas in New York City. But as bleak as that sounds, no one I interviewed thought the state's climate goals were out of reach.

New York State Senator Pete Harkham says it's a matter of hustling to get the job done. We're in far worse shape than we were then from a climate perspective, that the damage from climate is far worse than anyone predicted five years ago. goes. So that's only more impetus that we need to try and advance our climate goals and not relax them. So how can the state catch up on renewable energy goals if it's already that far behind? The state was counting on offshore wind power, which is facing a lot of delays due to supply chain issues and federal bureaucracy. And solar won't make up the difference on its own. So a lot of advocates are pushing for geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is heat from the earth that can be

tap for energy in the form of naturally occurring underground steam and hot water. These sources of heat can generate electricity or provide heating and cooling to buildings 24-7. And you don't need a backup source. The energy is cleaner and more efficient than fossil fuels and doesn't require combustion or storage and has minimal maintenance. And in urban areas like New York City, you can use thermal networks, which is recycling heat from one source, where it isn't needed, such as a wastewater treatment plant, and redistributing it to a residential building. Kim Frazeck is the director of St. Energy, which is a renewable energy advocacy group. She gives this example.

A big grocery store refrigeration is exerting a ton of hot air from their refrigeration section. That can be captured, and the next door neighbor wants to take a shower, or the next door neighbor has a business that runs a sauna or a spa and needs that hot water, you are able to use and share your heat. It wouldn't require outside generations such as a power plant, no transmission lines, and it's locally produced right at the source. Geothermal energy sounds like the answer to all our issues on this. Why haven't we started using it?

We have, but advocates say we need to use it a lot more. There are already a few examples in New York City. There's a firehouse in Brownsville, Brooklyn, there's a public school PS62 in Staten Island, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's part of what Pope Francis referred to as a more moral power source and part of the church's mission to do its part in the climate crisis.

But building geothermal isn't easy. There's a lot of permitting because you need to drill. And when I say drill, I mean drill deep, at least 500 feet. St. Patrick's Cathedral, there are wells that are a couple of thousand feet deep. And according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the upfront costs are expensive, but not so expensive. There's a large development plan for the Greenpoint Waterfront, and it increased the construction costs by 6%. But the developer says that they'll recoup their costs within 20 years. And geothermal is also seen as riskier and more complex than other renewable energy sources. There's land, access, high water consumption. And the power source has the potential for environmental pollution, such as water pollution, land sinking and settling, and emissions of hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide. Were there any other ideas for meeting climate goals that kept coming up in your conversations,

Rosemary, with the experts? There were many, but nearly everyone I spoke to said, we must implement the cap and invest program. It's the framework for enforcing the state's climate law, and it still hasn't been implemented. The Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority are supposed to set an annual cap on greenhouse gas pollution, which gradually declines until that 85% reduction goal is met in 2050. producers and distributors of fossil fuels, including transportation and buildings, will be required to pay for how much pollution they create over that cap.

And the financial penalties are an incentive tool for businesses and consumers to transition away from fossil fuels. And that money that's collected from the fines will pay for decarbonizing the state's economy, such as funding for energy-efficient appliances and electrification. New York State Senator Liz Kruger says the state must implement cap and invest as soon as possible. It is crucial that we move forward with cap and invest to both signal New York State is not walking away from either this crisis or its responsibility. The state's environmental agency released draft rules for reporting emissions in March, but that's only part of the job. Advocates say the state has to pick up.

the pace. The message is New York needs to move on climate like a bat out of hell. WNYC is Rosemary Miss Derry with a big to-do list for decision makers on this Earth Day. Rosemary, thank you. Thank you, Michael.

Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a date, for the latest news headlines and occasional deep times. And subscribe where ever you get your podcasts. We'll be back this evening.

I see.