The New York Power Authority today announced it has opened a newly refurbished elevator that carries visitors to a fishing pier near the base of NYPA’s Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant, the Niagara Power Project’s main generating facility.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a lawsuit against Phillip Fox, a Western New York home improvement contractor who scammed dozens of consumers. According to the court papers, Fox, collected thousands of dollars for home repairs that he never provided. The petition also alleges that when Fox did home improvement, his work was shoddy and that, when targeting the elderly, he charged outrageous prices for work that did not need to be done.

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1,197,064 in federal Department of Justice (DOJ) funding for programs that help New York survivors of human trafficking. Specifically, the Senators announced $597,064 in funds for New York Asian Women’s Center to assist Asian trafficking victims through legal advocacy, immigration assistance and support services. The Senators also announced $600,000 in funds for Restore NYC, Inc. to assist female trafficking victims through a transitional housing program and economic empowerment services in the New York metro-area

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Inc. (ECLF), and Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) today announced a deal to upgrade and preserve the affordability of 81 Madison Street, a 20-unit apartment building in Chinatown. The rehabilitation will include energy efficient features made possible by one of the first loans through HPD’s new Green Housing Preservation Program

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner and Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Chair Vicki Been announced today a series of new affordable housing lottery rules designed to ensure that City-assisted affordable housing reaches the New Yorkers who need it most

During, the second quarter of EFC’s fiscal year, commencing in July and ending on September 30, the Board of Directors of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) has approved $497.5 million in grants and interest-free and low-cost loans to support vital wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects throughout New York State.

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney announced a total of $400,000 in investments for two Hudson Valley nonprofits to help runaway and homeless youth. Funded through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Hudson River Housing will receive $200,000 to provide adequate staffing for their 24 hour shelter, and Green Chimneys will receive $200,000 to support its wraparound services including counseling, advocacy and follow-up.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Congressman Brian Higgins, a member of the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security, today wrote to the U.S. Department of Energy urging the agency to conduct a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on their plan to transport radioactive liquid material from a site in Ontario, Canada to South Carolina via the Peace Bridge through many municipalities in New York.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 54-year-old man has been convicted of grand larceny, forgery and related charges for stealing a building in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn by forging a judge’s signature on a judicial order and using it to claim possession of the house, which he then sold. The defendant, who had filed numerous court motions for over a decade, falsely asserting ownership despite orders barring him from doing so, promptly cashed two checks totaling nearly $250,000 which he obtained from the unlawful sale.

As part of his continued efforts to help homeowners reduce their property tax burden, County Executive Edward Mangano will be hosting a series of Property Tax Exemptions Workshops in October at libraries and community meeting halls throughout Nassau County.

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein chose a vacant classroom in the County-owned Business Resource Center (BRC) to deliver his 2017 Executive Budget.  The proposed spending plan calls for reducing the tax burden and protecting property taxpayers again this year yet maintains essential services and continues unprecedented investment in the County’s infrastructure. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today it is charging a Manhattan property owner with violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against a resident with disabilities who required the use of an assistance animal. Read HUD's charge.

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announces approval of H.R. 5303, the Water Resources Development Act, which authorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) providing $300 million in funding for Great Lakes projects

Home Leasing, LLC and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) joined Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, Senator Joseph Robach, representatives from The Landmark Society of Western New York and Edgemere Development, and others to celebrate the opening of Eastman Gardens Senior Housing Community in Rochester’s Marketview Heights neighborhood. The $20.7 million project preserves the Eastman Dental Dispensary, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on The Landmark Society of Western New York as one of their “Five to Revive.” The substantial rehabilitation of the building produced 52 apartments for seniors, including 43 affordable and nine market-rate units

Fifty-one Yonkers families now have new energy efficient apartment homes with the grand opening of 188 Warburton Ave. The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) a leading nonprofit developer of mixed-income housing and the Municipal Housing Authority joined with public officials and community members to celebrate at the ribbon cutting ceremony today

New York State Homes and Community Renewal joined Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Liberty Affordable Housing Housing, Inc., CRM Rental Management at the dedication to celebrate successful, on-time, completion of the total rehab of 246 units of housing for low- and moderate-income families that maintained historic and design integrity in the Pastures Historic District

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Department of Financial Services has proposed a regulation that mandates banks and mortgage services report vacant and abandoned properties in accordance with the new law. The proposal comes on the heels of a law signed by the Governor in June that curbs the threat posed to communities by "zombie properties" by expediting foreclosure proceedings, improving the efficiency and integrity of the mandatory settlement conferences, and obligating banks and mortgage servicers to secure, protect and maintain vacant and abandoned properties before and during foreclosure proceedings. The new law goes into effect on December 20, 2016

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued the following statement today on arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s “Clean Power Plan,” a rule requiring fossil-fueled power plants to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to the Clean Air Act.

The New York Power Authority has awarded a $1.3 million contract for work on new recreation facilities at Island View Park in the village of Waddington. The contract went to Northern Tier Contracting of Gouverneur for a new, larger picnic pavilion, including a central hearth and a separate building with bathrooms and catering facilities. Both buildings will be handicapped accessible. The work is expected to begin in the next few weeks and is scheduled to be completed next year. During construction the bathrooms will be closed to the public, but the dock will still be accessible.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended the addition of 22 properties, resources and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The nominations reflect the remarkable breadth of New York’s history, ranging from the first school to offer special education within the City of Buffalo school system, to an Elmira public housing complex named after an Underground Railroad figure

State Senators Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester), Diane Savino (D- SI/Brooklyn) and Democratic Senate Nominee Marisol Alcantara (D-Manhattan) released a new investigation, “Tourist Tenements in the Making,” revealing shocking advertisements for apartments and homes across New York City where hosts offer accommodations for between 13 and over 30 guests. In order to fit so many visitors inside, investigators turned up shocking ads with mattresses placed in odd areas in serious violation of state and city housing codes.

Earlier this week Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) sent a letter to the New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner calling for a portion of the $25 million allocated for the Buffalo train station in 2019-20 to be released this year so planning can begin now on a new station in Buffalo.

Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano today announced the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency’s (IDA) approval of an economic development compact for a proposed $70 million transit-oriented apartment project in downtown Mineola. The project is expected to provide much-needed new housing opportunities in the County, new tax revenues, and provide a boost to businesses in downtown Mineola

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $2 million in federal U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Specifically, the funding is authorized by HUD’s Jobs-Plus Pilot Program, which provides public housing authorities and their partners with funding to help residents increase their earned income and become self-sufficient. Jobs-Plus supports work readiness and connects public housing residents with employment, education and financial empowerment services in order to help public housing residents find and keep jobs

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the filing of a felony complaint charging two individuals for a scheme to rig the bidding process for three multimillion-dollar contracts. Alain Kaloyeros, 60, of Slingerlands, the President of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, has been charged with three felony counts of Combination in Restraint of Trade and Competition. Joseph Nicolla, 59, of Schenectady, the president of Columbia Development, has been charged with one felony count of Combination in Restraint of Trade and Competition.