Building service workers union 32BJ SEIU said today that 24 contracted cleaners at WeWork who fought to improve their jobs last year returned to the co-working start-up’s offices in New York this week for their first days of work with a new contractor.

“The New York State Association of REALTORS (NYSAR) and its 50,000 REALTORS applaud Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for his newly launched Fair Housing Enforcement Program. New York State’s REALTORS vigorously support the ideal that no one should be discriminated against based on race, color, national origin, disability or familial status as well as the additional protected classes under New York State Law including sexual orientation, military status, age or being a victim of domestic violence.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today congratulated the first 19 Fort Drum military personnel to complete the Solar Ready Vets training program, which prepares them for careers in the growing solar industry after their transition from military service. The Solar Ready Vets program at Fort Drum is the first graduating cohort supported by the U.S. Department of Energy in New York and one of five active programs in the nation

U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has agreed to extend the Interim Mortgage Assistance (IMA) Program beyond 20 months to a total of up to 36 months for victims of superstorm Sandy in the State of New York who are still displaced. The IMA Program provides up to $3,000 a month to displaced homeowners who are making monthly mortgage payments on a damaged primary home while also paying for temporary housing

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced that his office has obtained a judgment against home improvement contractors who repeatedly and persistently ripped of customers in the Southern Tier and Central New York by going door-to-door seeking to pave or repair driveways and perform roof repairs, and quoting prices that were significantly inflated after the customers agreed to the work.

The New York Department of State today announced four Local Government Citizens Reorganization Empowerment Grant (CREG) awards to implement dissolutions as part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s plans to make New York State more affordable and provide much needed relief to taxpayers. Grants were awarded to the Village of Herrings in Jefferson County to develop a Dissolution Plan, to the Town of Trenton in Oneida County to implement the dissolution of the Village of Prospect, and to the Town and Village of Hermon in St. Lawrence County to implement dissolution of the Village of Hermon.

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) today announced that it is requiring New York City to take a series of actions to ensure the safety of residents in the New York City shelter system. These requirements follow the stabbings of a mother and her three daughters earlier today at an emergency shelter under New York City’s jurisdiction.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Vicki Been and New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Gary Rodney announce new updates to the City’s electronic housing lottery application website, NYC Housing Connect. Applicants now have the ability to access the Housing Connect system and each housing lottery in seven languages, including English. This update is the most recent change made by the de Blasio Administration to promote equal access to information for all New Yorkers.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, on behalf of the states of New York, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, the District of Columbia, the cities of New York, Boulder, Chicago, Philadelphia, South Miami and Broward County, Florida, issued the following statement in response to the decision by the United States Supreme Court to temporarily stay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan

Huntley Generating Station Plant Has Been An Economic Anchor in Tonawanda For Years, But Decreased Demand & Increased Coal Costs Have Slashed The Plant’s Output – The Town Has Lost Nearly 50% Of The Plant’s Tax Revenue, Forcing Tonawanda To Consider Cuts to Services & Threatening Further School Closings in Ken-Ton School District; NRG Recently Submitted a Plan to Fully Retire the Plant as of March 2016

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced UrbanTech NYC, a comprehensive program to help entrepreneurs and innovators address New York City’s most pressing urban challenges in sectors such as energy, waste, transportation, agriculture and water. In partnership with New Lab and Grand Central Tech, NYCEDC has committed up to $7.2 million to create two Urban Technology Growth Hubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan, which will open in the summer of 2016.

A state agency’s failure to adequately monitor and inspect homeless shelters allowed violations and squalid living conditions to go unchecked, according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Dawn M. Carpenter, CPM of Staten Island, NY took the oath of office Monday, February 8, as the 2016 president-elect of the New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR). The association’s inauguration ceremony was held in conjunction with its business meetings at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, NY. She will serve a one-year term in the post.

Christine “CJ” DelVecchio, CBR, GRI of Ithaca took the oath of office Monday, February 8, as the 2016 secretary/treasurer of the New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR). The association’s inauguration ceremony was held in conjunction with its business meetings at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, NY. She will serve a one-year term in the post.

Lawrence Lentini, GREEN, GRI, of Amherst took the oath of office Monday, Feb. 8, as the 2016 Western Region vice president of the New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR) during the association’s inauguration ceremony held in conjunction with its business meetings at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, NY.

On Wednesday, following news of a tragic stabbing of a mother and three children being sheltered at a Ramada Inn on Staten Island, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer called on the Administration to conduct an immediate and thorough review of the safety and conditions of every commercial hotel being used to house homeless families throughout all five boroughs

Household debt increased moderately and repayment rates improved during the last three months of 2015, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The $51 billion increase put total household indebtedness at $12.12 trillion as of the end of last year. Additionally, only 5.4 percent of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, the lowest rate since the second quarter of 2007.

On Wednesday, following news of a tragic stabbing of a mother and three children being sheltered at a Ramada Inn on Staten Island, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer called on the Administration to conduct an immediate and thorough review of the safety and conditions of every commercial hotel being used to house homeless families throughout all five boroughs.

Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) today reacted to President Barack Obama’s final budget request of his administration with praise for support of several priorities rarely in the national discussion – but also with disappointment and urgency for Obama to press Congress for higher, more ambitious and realistic funding levels for our nation’s failing water infrastructure.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the largest state-supported solar project for healthcare organizations in New York. The project will provide two significant health services providers in Albany – St. Peter's Health Partners and the Center for Disability Services – with clean power and will save each facility $50,000 annually. The funding will help support the Governor’s Clean Energy Standard to meet 50 percent of our electricity needs with renewable resources by 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the Western New York Workforce Training Center project reached an important milestone to redevelop underutilized property in the Northland Corridor into a new workforce training facility. The City of Buffalo Planning Board approved the project’s site plan after finding that there will be no significant environmental impacts associated with the redevelopment of the entire 35-acre site

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced a $470 million joint state-federal settlement with mortgage lender and servicer HSBC to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Stephen G. Burns to immediately order an investigation to determine the extent of possible ground water contamination and prevent future water contamination. According to the NRC, the water leakage was the result of a non-functional water pump at Indian Point. Schumer said, part of the investigation should be to determine why the pump failed.

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) issued the following statement after reports that radioactive tritium-contaminated water leaked into the groundwater at Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan.

New York Power Authority President and CEO Gil C. Quiniones today unveiled an economic development report that could create as many as 1,900 new jobs and up to $190 million in new economic activity by 2020 in St. Lawrence County. The report details an aggressive plan to diversify the county economy by focusing and investing in agriculture, advance manufacturing, small businesses and tourism to reverse decades of economic decline.