U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Charles E. Schumer, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy with Representatives Steve Israel a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, and Lee Zeldin today introduced legislation to continue to support the restoration of Long Island Sound through 2020. The Sound borders New York and Connecticut, with 9 million people living on the coast and 24 million people living within 50 miles. Although decades of overdevelopment, pollution, dumping of dredged materials, and releases of untreated sewage have severely hurt the water quality, the Sound’s economic contribution, including from sport and commercial fishing, boating, recreation and tourism, is estimated to be between $17 billion and $37 billion annually

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced resurfacing projects totaling $75 million will be completed this year on approximately 428 lane miles of state highways across New York. Funding for these projects was accelerated into this construction season in order to repair widespread damage from deep frost over the winter

The New York statewide median home selling price reached $226,500 in May, an increase of 6.2 percent compared to last May, according to the housing market report released today by the New York State Association of REALTORS. May closed sales declined by 2.6 percent compared to May 2014.

Campaign Will Promote AGScamHelp.com, A Web-Based App To Educate Consumers On How To Avoid And Report Mortgage Rescue Scams. Schneiderman: Informed Homeowners Are the Most Powerful Tools Against Foreclosure Scams

Agriculture remains one of the top industries in New York State, and there is more demand than ever for fresh, locally-grown products both at home and in restaurants. We need to make sure that New York’s 36,000 family farms are kept in the family and remain an integral part of our state’s future

In a recent meeting with its cleaning contractor, a WeWork executive said more than 100 cleaners at the coworking start-up’s New York City offices should all be fired for organizing a union. Threatening to fire workers for union activity violates federal labor law. 32BJ SEIU, the union the workers want to join, has filed an Unfair Labor Practice with the National Labor Relations Board.

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today to swiftly review and approve the village of Gowanda’s application for funding to repair the Point Peter Reservoir System, which was damaged by the May 2014 flooding. The severe storms in Western New York brought severe rain and flooding to Cattaraugus County, including the Village of Gowanda.

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that he is recommending U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Brown to President Obama to serve on the bench of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Brown is a resident of Setauket, was raised in Elmont, went to Elmont Memorial High School and was born in Brooklyn.

Empire State Development (ESD) today announced that Angry Orchard Cider Company officially broke ground on construction of its new cidery, tasting room, and hard cider research-and-development center, at its 60-acre apple orchard in the village of Walden, Orange County. New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard A. Ball joined Angry Orchard and local and community leaders in raising a glass in celebration of the new facility.

Today, U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.) questioned United States Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew at the House Financial Services Committee hearing entitled "The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council” on the current status of the GSEs and the need to reform them.

ACCEPTABLE ITEMS: Solvents, oil-based paints, antifreeze, pool chemicals, acids, bases, fluorescent bulbs, cleaning products, mercury containing devices, pesticides/herbicides, automotive batteries, roofing tar, wood preservatives, adhesives, creosote, stains and inks

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Currently Lacks The Authority To Supervise & Enforce Protections For Servicemembers; Feds Have So Far Been Inconsistent In Enforcing Existing Protections. New Schumer Bill, the Military Consumer Protection Act, Will Give the CFPB – Our Nation’s Premier Consumer Watchdog – the Jurisdiction to Enforce Protections For Upstate NY Soldiers

Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement in reaction to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s decision to delay implementation of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) – Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Disclosure (TRID) regulation

Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer today announced a slate of capital grant awards promoting the use of technology and technology instruction in Manhattan’s public schools. The grants will be included in the city’s budget for Fiscal Year 2016, whose adoption is expected later this month.

New York’s aggressive efforts to expand its clean energy economy are continuing to produce impressive results, with the state ranking third in the nation in new solar capacity during the first quarter of 2015. New York trailed only California and Nevada in Q1, according to the recently released U.S. Solar Market Insight Report compiled by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

At the Third New York State Broadband Summit, Empire State Development (ESD) announced a new resource, the NYS Broadband Deployment Support and Resource Center website and the 2015 Broadband Champion Awards were also announced, recognizing high-achieving leaders working to expand broadband access across the state.

I am delighted to celebrate the groundbreaking for Cornell Tech, a project that will create tens of thousands of jobs, both during construction and as students start creating new start-ups. When Mayor Bloomberg first proposed this idea of a new applied sciences school, I worked incredibly hard to build support to bring it to Roosevelt Island, and I am thrilled that the project is officially in the ground.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded an additional $500,000 to 15 current grantees and 4 new recipients to help New York families and individuals with their housing needs and to prevent future foreclosures. A major new program was funded in Rochester, along with significant increases to four existing programs in New York City. The grants announced today are in addition to $2.1 million awarded to New York State in April

At 10:00 last night, the Governor announced that the legislature had failed to extend New York State rent stabilization and rent control laws and that those protections for tenants would expire, at least for the next few days. The assumption is that the laws will eventually be extended, and that tenants will again be protected, but that there may be a short period during which the protections have ended

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today is urging any rent stabilized tenant who may have been improperly denied a lease renewal under rent stabilization laws to contact his office. Under the rent stabilization laws--which expired yesterday at midnight-- landlords were obligated to provide lease renewals to rent stabilized tenants at least 90 days prior to their lease expiration.

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has reached the halfway mark in two ambitious, multi-year capital improvement projects to overhaul and extend the life of three small hydroelectric facilities--the Crescent Plant and Vischer Ferry Plant, on the Mohawk River in the Capital Region, and the Ashokan Plant on the Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County.

The World’s Largest Hardware Cooperative Retains 292 Jobs and Creates 25 New Jobs in NY Empire State Development (ESD) announced that Ace Hardware Corporation, the world’s largest hardware cooperative, will expand with a new Retail Support Center in Saratoga County at 55 Northern Pines Road in Gansevoort, New York.

The City will host an open house next week to discuss draft recommendations for the East Main Arts & Market Initiative. This will be the second of two public meetings for the study, which seeks to identify multi-modal circulation, access and parking improvements, recommendations for land use development, streetscape enhancements, community branding, and strategies to promote housing opportunities.

LISC New York City, Creative Art Works, NYC Smoke-Free, & the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will join Hope Community, Inc. to celebrate their efforts as they create healthier living environments for residents and staff. Hope Community, Inc. worked with Two Shades of Green (TSG), a collaboration to help affordable housing owners and managers create cost effective green and healthy property management practices

Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-Columbia, Dutchess) announced the passage of legislation she authored that will ensure veterans of recent conflicts receive the property tax exemption they deserve. The bill specifically directs the Division of Veterans' Affairs to remind assessors that veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are eligible for the veterans alternative real property tax exemption