Related Links: North Dakota Is Bakken Business Studies Find No Link Between Fracking, Water Contamination New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) announcement that he would ban high-volume hydraulic fracturing, more widely known as fracking, was praised by environmental groups but largely criticized by those in favor of the oil-and-gas recovery method as a way to revive economically depressed areas in the state.However, some firms that work in the sector say they expect to see little change as a result of Cuomo’s Dec. 17 decision since the state has had a temporary ban on fracking since 2008.Cuomo’s action is based on
New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has made $30 million in funding available for solar and biogas projects in New York City and the Hudson Valley that generate more than 200 kilowatts of power. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is seeking proposals for these projects by Dec. 30. Projects must be installed, interconnected to the grid and operational by April 30, 2015. The funding can be used to provide financing for half of total installed costs of systems and is capped at $3 million per project and $6 million per applicant. The funding is
New York State has entered the next stage to secure a $1.5-billion federal loan for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced March 8. The state, which is seeking a low-interest loan to help finance and lower bridge tolls for the $3.9-billion project, had applied for a $2-billion loan under the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's (DOT) Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program. The NYS Thruway Authority awarded the design-build contract last December to Fluor-led consortium Tappan Zee Constructors, which bid $3.142 billion for the project. In his March 8 announcement, Cuomo said the
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced today, Oct. 29, that the Tappan Zee Bridge (TZB) closed at 4 p.m. and both the Hugh Carey and Holland tunnels closed at 2 p.m. as Hurricane Sandy bore down on the New York City region with storm gusts of up to 80 to 85 miles per hour. NYC bridges are "quickly becoming unsafe," Cuomo said in a statement. However, they will remain open to emergency vehicles and personnel. Other bridges to be closed include the Throgs Neck, Bronx-Whitestone, Verrazano-Narrows, Henry Hudson, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial, Cross Bay Veterans Memorial, and George Washington. The Staten
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office has begun to specify a slew of major infrastructure projects statewide that will receive funding under the newly created NY Works Task Force economic development program. The program, which the governor calls the “centerpiece” of his $132.6-billion budget that passed last week, includes an investment of $1.2-billion to accelerate road and bridge improvements. The program will accelerate state investments in improvements to hundreds of miles of roads, bridges as well as parks and historic sites. Investments announced the week of April 2 include $460 million to replace New York City’s Kosciuszko Bridge; $145 million for bridge
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recommended Patrick J. Foye to become executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and has called for consolidation of the Moynihan Station Development Corp. and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. operations into PANYNJ. Foye currently serves as the governor’s deputy secretary of economic development and oversees the Empire State Development Corp. There is no fiscal impact to PANYNJ as a result of these actions, he says. “Too many different agencies doing the same or closely related work makes little sense,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement. “The Port Authority is