Category: New York

Gov. Cuomo Behaves Like New York Has an Energy Fairy

The Indian Point nuclear power plant, located in Westchester County just 30 miles north of New York City, has been a target of environmentalists since it first opened in 1974. An irrational distrust of nuclear power has motivated opponents to declare it an unacceptable risk and call for its closure-despite the power plant’s overwhelming safety record.

New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, March 3, 2017: – RBA * New York * New York City, Long Island, Westchester County * Mar. 3, 2017 * NYNY1703.03 – Birds mentioned TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+ YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD+ ROSS’S GOOSE KING EIDER HARLEQUIN DUCK BARROW’S GOLDENEYE EARED GREBE Osprey Northern Goshawk SANDHILL CRANE American Woodcock Razorbill BLACK-HEADED GULL Iceland Gull GLAUCOUS GULL Red-headed Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Tree Swallow LAPLAND LONGSPUR – Transcript If followed by please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44 nybirds{dot}org.

Former Westchester DA DiFiore Delivers Her First ‘State Of Our Judiciary”

Mount Vernon native Janet DiFiore used her first speech as the state’s top judge to point to a reduction in case backlogs and delays and to announce reforms she says will “enhance the delivery of justice for all New Yorkers.” The Democrat and former Westchester County district attorney delivered her take on the “State of Our Judiciary” at the Bronx Hall of Justice on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Her choice of site was a departure from a longstanding tradition of delivering the address at Albany’s Court of Appeals Hall.

New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 24, 2017: – RBA * New York * New York City, Long Island, Westchester County * Feb. 24, 2017 * NYNY1702.24 – Birds mentioned PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+ BARNACLE GOOSE+ TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+ Extralimital: CLARK’S GREBE+ GREAT GRAY OWL+ Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose ROSS’S GOOSE Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Eurasian Wigeon KING EIDER BARROW’S GOLDENEYE Red-necked Grebe EARED GREBE SANDHILL CRANE American Woodcock DOVEKIE Razorbill BLACK GUILLEMOT Bonaparte’s Gull BLACK-HEADED GULL LITTLE GULL Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Red-headed Woodpecker Lapland Longspur Orange-crowned Warbler – Transcript If followed by please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at You can also send reports and digital image files via … (more)

Monika Wojcik has been appointed General Manager at Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West in New York – NY, USA

Wojcik, a 12-year hospitality industry veteran who has managed hotels in Westchester County and elsewhere in upstate New York, will oversee the hotel’s operations, sales, marketing, security, maintenance, housekeeping and accounting. Wojcik joins M&R Hotel Management from the Hampton Inn White Plains/Tarrytown in Elmsford, New York, where she was general manager from 2015-2016.

New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 3, 2017: – RBA * New York * New York City, Long Island, Westchester County * Feb. 3, 2017 * NYNY1702.03 – Birds mentioned PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+ ROSS’S GULL+ MEW GULL+ GYRFALCON+ TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+ PAINTED BUNTING+ GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE Ross’s Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan EURASIAN WIGEON TUFTED DUCK KING EIDER HARLEQUIN DUCK Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Rough-legged Hawk SANDHILL CRANE BLACK-HEADED GULL ICELAND GULL Lesser Black-backed Gull GLAUCOUS GULL RED-HEADED WOODPECKER Ovenbird Lincoln’s Sparrow – Transcript If followed by please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44 nybirds{dot}org.

New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, February 3, 2017: – RBA * New York * New York City, Long Island, Westchester County * Feb. 3, 2017 * NYNY1702.03 – Birds mentioned PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+ ROSS’S GULL+ MEW GULL+ GYRFALCON+ TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+ PAINTED BUNTING+ GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE Ross’s Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan EURASIAN WIGEON TUFTED DUCK KING EIDER HARLEQUIN DUCK Red-necked Grebe Great Egret Rough-legged Hawk SANDHILL CRANE BLACK-HEADED GULL ICELAND GULL Lesser Black-backed Gull GLAUCOUS GULL RED-HEADED WOODPECKER Ovenbird Lincoln’s Sparrow – Transcript If followed by please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44 nybirds{dot}org.

New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 27, 2017: – RBA * New York * New York City, Long Island, Westchester County * Jan. 27, 2017 * NYNY1701.27 – Birds mentioned PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+ BARNACLE GOOSE+ TRUMPETER SWAN+ ROSS’S GULL+ MEW GULL+ GYRFALCON+ TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+ PAINTED BUNTING+ Ross’s Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Eurasian Wigeon Green-winged Teal King Eider Barrow’s Goldeneye Black Vulture SANDHILL CRANE Dovekie Razorbill Black-legged Kittiwake Black-headed Gull Glaucous Gull Red-headed Woodpecker Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Evening Grosbeak – Transcript If followed by please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44 nybirds{dot}org.

Filling the energy gap once Indian Point closes

New Yorkers have called for the closing of Indian Point Energy Center for years. Located on the Hudson River in Buchanan, Westchester County, the plant is just 30 miles away from New York City as the crow flies, and residents familiar with Chernobyl and Three Mile Island have long feared a disaster there.

Cuomo: Cities, counties should pool resources to save money

New Yorkers could get a chance to vote on shrinking their local governments under a proposal announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on a Westchester County stop during his state of the state tour. Cuomo’s idea would require officials in each county to develop plans to save tax money by better coordinating municipal services.

Cuomo pitches 750-mile biking-hiking trail plan for NY state

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing to complete and connect two greenway trails crisscrossing the state from Manhattan to Canada and from Albany to Buffalo to create a 750-mile paved biking and hiking route that will be marketed as a national tourist destination. “We want to build the largest multi-use trail in the nation,” said the Democratic governor at a state of the state speech Tuesday in Westchester County.

N.Y. Gov. Cuomo: We want the largest multi-use trail in the nation

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing to complete and connect two greenway trails crisscrossing the state from Manhattan to Canada and from Albany to Buffalo to create a 750-mile paved biking and hiking route that will be marketed as a national tourist destination. “We want to build the largest multi-use trail in the nation,” said the Democratic governor at a state of the state speech Tuesday in Westchester County.

A timeline of Ramapo’s evolution

Key events in the evolution of zoning in Ramapo, N.Y.: 1954 – Brooklyn-based Skverer Rebbe Yaakov Yosef Twersky purchases a 130-acre dairy farm near Spring Valley, in Ramapo, to establish a Hasidic Jewish community that became known as New Square. The name, anglicized by a typist, is taken from the City of Skver in what is now Ukraine.

New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, January 6, 2016: – RBA * New York * New York City, Long Island, Westchester County * Jan. 6, 2017 * NYNY1701.06 – Birds mentioned PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+ BARNACLE GOOSE+ ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER+ TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE+ Greater White-fronted Goose ROSS’S GOOSE Cackling Goose TUNDRA SWAN Eurasian Wigeon Blue-winged Teal KING EIDER Harlequin Duck Red-necked Grebe Eared Grebe American Bittern Great Egret Tricolored Heron Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Osprey Bald Eagle Virginia Rail Sora SANDHILL CRANE DOVEKIE Razorbill Black-legged Kittiwake BLACK-HEADED GULL Iceland Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Glaucous Gull SNOWY OWL Short-eared Owl Red-headed Woodpecker NORTHERN SHRIKE LAPLAND LONGSPUR NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Palm Warbler YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER Yellow-breasted Chat Savannah Sparrow … (more)

New York’s New Minimum Wage Goes Into Effect

… wage up for some workers and down for others. For upstate New York — everything north and west of Westchester County — these are some of the exceptions: — Fast food workers now get a minimum wage of $10.75 per hour — but only if their employer …

NY estimates $3.7B loss from Obamacare repeal

… the percentage of uninsured New Yorkers in half, from 10 percent to 5 percent. Cuomo’s office estimated Westchester County has 91,844 enrolles who could lose insurance if the repeal is adopted, as well as 38,526 in Rockland and 7,000 in Putnam …

New York City Rare Bird Alert

Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, December 30, 2016: – RBA * New York * New York City, Long Island, Westchester County * Dec. 30, 2016 * NYNY1612.30 – Birds mentioned PINK-FOOTED GOOSE+ BARNACLE GOOSE+ THICK-BILLED MURRE+ GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE ROSS’S GOOSE CACKLING GOOSE TUNDRA SWAN Eurasian Wigeon GREEN-WINGED TEAL KING EIDER HARLEQUIN DUCK Surf Scoter Northern Gannet Black Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Goshawk Clapper Rail Virginia Rail American Woodcock DOVEKIE Razorbill Black-legged Kittiwake Black-headed Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Black Skimmer Barn Owl Red-headed Woodpecker Merlin NORTHERN SHRIKE Common Raven Marsh Wren LAPLAND LONGSPUR Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Chipping Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Nelson’s Sparrow DICKCISSEL RED CROSSBILL – Transcript If followed by please submit documentation of your … (more)

New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYCB) Raised to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

According to Zacks, “New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a leading producer of multi-family loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below-market rents. The Company has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank, with 178 branches serving customers throughout Metro New York and New Jersey; and New York Commercial Bank, with 36 branches serving customers in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, and Westchester County in New York.

Cuomo Generating Backup Power Plan for New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that 258 gas stations in the downstate New York area are already in the process of installing backup power capacity since he recently signed a law establishing what he called the “strongest protections in the nation” to ensure that critical gas stations have backup power capacity, making it possible to avoid long lines and restore normalcy as quickly as possible after a major storm or other disaster. The governor on Oct. 29 visited a Hess station in Port Jefferson on Long Island that was one of the first built with backup power capacity in compliance with the state’s new requirements.

Cuomo Generating Backup Power Plan for New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that 258 gas stations in the downstate New York area are already in the process of installing backup power capacity since he recently signed a law establishing what he called the “strongest protections in the nation” to ensure that critical gas stations have backup power capacity, making it possible to avoid long lines and restore normalcy as quickly as possible after a major storm or other disaster. The governor on Oct. 29 visited a Hess station in Port Jefferson on Long Island that was one of the first built with backup power capacity in compliance with the state’s new requirements.