DEC ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $25 MILLION IN OPEN SPACE CONSERVATION GRANTS AWARDED TO 14 PROJECTS ACROSS THE STATE

 

Department of Environmental Conservation

Projects Will Directly Contribute to the State’s Open Space Conservation, Climate Resiliency, And Environmental Justice Goals

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced $25.17 million in grants to advance a new State program that provides critical resources to municipalities, land trusts, community-based organizations and other partners to protect significant open space projects. The funding supports the countless benefits of permanently protecting open space that include protecting water and air quality; promoting habitat connectivity and diverse ecosystems; mitigating flooding and extreme heat impacts; expanding access to shorelines, green spaces, and recreational opportunities; protecting cultural resources; and increasing climate resiliency and adaptation.  

“Governor Hochul recognizes the impact that conserving open space can have in protecting biodiversity, safeguarding water quality, maintaining working forests, and strengthening community resilience to climate change,” Commissioner Lefton said. “This first round of new funding allows our local partners to permanently protect high-value natural areas, while also providing new recreation opportunities and expanding public access to open spaces, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State’s continued investments through programs like the Open Space Conservation Grant Program ensure critical habitats and natural resources remain protected, connected, and resilient, so that more New Yorkers can enjoy and benefit from them.”

Today’s awards comprise the first round of DEC’s Open Space Conservation Grant Program. The new grant opportunity was created following the passage of the 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act and based on public input into how this transformational new funding source might be invested. A total of $100 million is allocated to the program to advance the State’s water quality, climate resiliency, open space, and public health goals. Additional funding rounds are anticipated.    

The awarded projects also align with the New York State Open Space Plan and contribute to the State’s goal of conserving 30 percent of the state’s land and water by 2030. In addition to the Bond Act, funding for the grant program also comes from the Environmental Protection Fund, which provides critical funding for environmental programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, recreation access, water quality improvement, and environmental justice projects.   

The awards traverse New York’s wide ranging natural spaces, including projects that will support globally imperiled ecological pine barrens ecosystems in the Capital Region; protect coastal, forest, wetland, and rare grassland communities on Long Island; conserve rare bats and birds in the Hudson Valley; support community gardens in New York City; boost environmental education in the Southern Tier; and improve and enhance public access in Western New York.  

Awards by Region:    

Capital Region:

Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy: $825,800

Columbia Land Conservancy: $3.5 million  

Long Island:

North Shore Land Alliance: $3.5 million

Niamuck Land Trust: $3,093,810

Town of Brookhaven: $1,403,185  

Mid-Hudson:

Town of Wappinger: $2,716,627

Town of Warwick: $3.5 million

Open Space Institute Land Trust: $712,550

Friends of Buttonhook Forest: $1,255,384  

New York City:

Bronx Land Trust: $2,150,000  

Southern Tier:

Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE-Tompkins): $671,288  

Western NY:

Western New York Land Conservancy: $1,321,420

Buffalo Bat Habitat, Inc.: $393,942

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Inc: $126,950  

New York’s Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act    

On November 8, 2022, New York voters overwhelmingly approved the $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act. State agencies, local governments, and partners will be able to access funding to protect water quality, help communities adapt to climate change, improve resiliency and create green jobs. Bond Act funding will support new and expanded projects across the state to safeguard drinking water sources, reduce pollution and protect communities and natural resources from climate change. Progress on implementing funding continues, with New York State making $2 billion, or approximately 50 percent, of Bond Act funds available to date. For more information and to sign up for progress updates, go to the Environmental Bond Act webpage.     

New York’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF)  

Among the many environmental victories in the 2026-27 enacted State Budget, Governor Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders have maintained EPF funding at the historically high level of $425 million. The EPF supports climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, improves agricultural resources to promote sustainable agriculture, protects water sources, advances conservation efforts like the projects announced today, and provides recreational opportunities for New Yorkers.   

Tennessee Man Sentenced to Over 17 Years in Prison for Arson and Attempting to Provide Material Support to Foreign Terrorist Organization

 

White Supremacist Destroyed Nonprofit With a Napalm-Based Device and Attempted to Provide Material Support to Hizbollah

Regan Darby Prater, 28, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, was sentenced to 210 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and to pay $1,289,000 in restitution for arson and attempted provision of material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Prater pleaded guilty to these charges in April 2026.

Court documents established that Prater used a so-called “sparkler bomb,” i.e., a napalm-based incendiary device ignited by a common sparkler, to destroy facilities maintained by the Highlander Center, a nonprofit research and education center in New Market, Tennessee. As part of his guilty plea, Prater admitted that he drove from his home in Tullahoma to the Highlander Center, ignited the sparkler bomb, and destroyed a building, ultimately causing over $1.2 million in damage.

Before he detonated the bomb, Prater spray-painted the symbol of the Iron Guard, a 1930s-era paramilitary arm of the Romanian Nazi Party, in the Highlander Center parking lot. This same symbol was engraved on the rifle used in the terrorist attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, just two weeks prior to the arson. Prater acknowledged that he committed the arson at the Highlander Center due to his white-supremacist ideology and as a response to the Highlander Center’s faith-based educational priorities and its association with the Civil Rights Movement. 

Prater also admitted that, in 2019, he attempted to provide material support to Hizballah, also known as “Hezbollah,” which the United States has recognized as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997. Specifically, Prater obtained a document purporting to contain personally identifiable information of over 35,000 individuals purportedly affiliated with the government of Israel. He provided that document to an individual he believed to be associated with Hizballah, stating, among other things: “Start the hunt.”

The case was investigated by the FBI Nashville Field Office with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. 

HERNANDEZ DOUBLES DOWN ON PLEDGE TO AUDIT MEDICAID AFTER RAIDS HIT INDUSTRY THAT FUNDED HOCHUL

 

Nine adult day care centers that gave the Governor $5,000 each billed Medicaid $49 million in 2022

Republican and Conservative comptroller nominee Joseph Hernandez is doubling down on his pledge to audit every Medicaid dollar through a new Fraud Strike Team. His call follows Tuesday's raids on adult day care centers by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the state Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, the IRS and the NYPD across Brooklyn, Staten Island and Queens.

 

That same industry has been a reliable source of money for Hochul. She received roughly $55,000 in campaign contributions from social adult day care centers and their operators in and around Flushing, Queens, according to a New York Post review of state records. Nine centers gave her 2022 campaign $5,000 each, and those same nine billed Medicaid about $49 million that year. Livingwell Day Care gave $5,000 in 2022, the same year it billed Medicaid $5.8 million.

 

Baoli Zhang, an operator of Bao Kang Adult Day Care, gave Hochul $10,000 personally, and Bao Kang gave another $5,000, all on the same day in January 2022. Companies associated with Zhang billed Medicaid at least $32 million between 2018 and 2024, according to the Post. Neither Zhang nor any of these centers has been accused of wrongdoing.

 

"While Medicaid poured billions into this industry, the Governor took its money and Albany looked the other way," said Hernandez. "It took federal agents with search warrants to do the job New York's watchdogs wouldn't. Not one dollar of this industry's money came to me. As Comptroller, my Fraud Strike Team will audit every Medicaid dollar and follow the money all the way to the people cashing the checks, and to the politicians cashing theirs."

New York State Announces the Completion of Supportive Housing Project in Ogdensburg

 

Knox Street Building 2 Creates 42 Apartments with Supportive Services for Individuals Who Have Experienced Homelessness in St. Lawrence County

Supplements Governor Hochul’s Ongoing Efforts to Expand Affordable and Permanent Supportive Housing Opportunities Across the State

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) announced the completion of Knox Street Building 2, which created 42 units of permanent supportive housing in Ogdensburg for individuals who have experienced homelessness. Developed by Standing Together Effectively for People by Standing Together Effectively for People, Inc. (S.T.E.P. by S.T.E.P., Inc.), the $10.6 million project received $9.7 million from OTDA’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP).

“The completion of Knox Street Building 2 will provide vulnerable individuals who have experienced homelessness with much-needed permanent housing in St. Lawrence County along with direct access to essential support services they need to remain stably housed and live independently in the community,” OTDA Commissioner Barbara C. Guinn said. “We are proud to partner with S.T.E.P. by S.T.E.P. on this vital community project that brings additional affordable housing to Ogdensburg. We thank Governor Hochul for making landmark investments to expand and preserve permanent supportive housing options across New York State.” 

S.T.E.P. by S.T.E.P., Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in Ogdensburg that has provided affordable and supportive housing since 1997. The three-story Knox Street Building 2 is located on the same property as Lincoln School Apartments, a former elementary school renovated by S.T.E.P. by S.T.E.P. that created 20 units of permanent supportive housing, a project also funded by HHAP.

Additional funding for Knox Street Building 2 includes a $750,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York’s Affordable Home Program and a $147,000 contribution from S.T.E.P. by S.T.E.P.

Operating funding for the project is being provided through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, administered by OTDA.

Support services at Knox Street Building 2—provided on site by S.T.E.P. by S.T.E.P. and off site by other community agencies—include a mental health drop-in center, harm reduction programs, case management, as well as assistance focused on nutritional education, independent living skills, volunteer and vocational opportunities, and benefit enrollment.

S.T.E.P. by S.T.E.P. Executive Director David Bayne said, “We are grateful for Governor Hochul and OTDA’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Program’s ongoing support for S.T.E.P. by S.T.E.P., St. Lawrence County, and the City of Ogdensburg. The completion of Knox Street Building 2 will help us take a significant step toward improving the lives of those in need in our community.”

The Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP) is an important component of Governor Hochul's five-year, $25 billion Housing Plan to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide, including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes. In addition to playing a central role in the development of permanent supportive housing in New York State, HHAP provides capital funding that is vital to constructing, rehabilitating, and repairing emergency housing.

Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of William Huertas

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) released its report on the death of William Huertas, who died on December 13, 2025 following a motor vehicle incident involving an off-duty New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer in Orangeburg, Rockland County. After a thorough investigation, which included interviews with the involved officer and civilian witnesses, review of security camera footage, 911 calls, and collision scene photographs, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the involved officer committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges are not warranted in this case.

On December 13, at 9:05 p.m., an off-duty NYPD officer was driving northbound in his personal vehicle on New York State Route 303 in Orangeburg. Route 303 has four travel lanes, two southbound and two northbound, divided by a double-yellow centerline. Route 303 runs past a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store (Lowe’s) located at 206 Route 303. Mr. Huertas was an employee of Lowe’s and was walking across Route 303 after his shift, in the dark, and not in a marked crosswalk when the off-duty NYPD officer struck him. The officer applied the brakes seconds before he struck Mr. Huertas. The officer immediately called 911 and, along with a civilian witness, began performing life-saving measures until an ambulance arrived. Mr. Huertas was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In New York, proving criminally negligent homicide requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a person caused a death when they failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur; that the failure to perceive the risk was a gross deviation from a reasonable person’s standard of care; and that the person engaged in blameworthy conduct. In this case, there is no evidence that the officer was speeding, driving while distracted or on his cell phone, impaired by drugs or alcohol, driving through a steady red traffic light or stop sign, or otherwise driving in a dangerous manner. The evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation from the standard that would have been observed by a reasonable person in the same circumstances, or that the officer failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death. Therefore, OSI concluded that the evidence did not warrant criminal charges.

Cutting Red Tape: Governor Hochul Unveils Second Wave of Regulatory Reforms Under ‘Express NY’ Initiative

75 Actions Across 17 Agencies Will Increase Access to Child Care and other Vital Services, Support Small Businesses, Cut Excessive Red Tape and Modernize State Operations

More Than 120 Regulatory Reforms Now Advanced Through EXPRESS NY

That Will Save New Yorkers 5 Million Hours of Time and Tens of Millions of Dollars

Reforms Reflect Most Ambitious Effort in New York History to Make State Operations More Effective; See Report Here

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the second wave of state regulatory reform actions through her EXPRESS NY initiative to make government work better for New Yorkers. The 75 regulatory reform actions across 17 state agencies build on the first wave of 50 reforms announced in June. To date, EXPRESS NY has advanced more than 120 actions spanning more than 20 state agencies and authorities. The reforms will save New Yorkers tens of millions of dollars and an estimated 5 million hours in time previously wasted filling out unnecessary paperwork, waiting in line, navigating confusing instructions and websites. More than 2.5 million New Yorkers are expected to benefit from these actions.

“Last year, I set out to find ways to make government work better and help New Yorkers access the essential services they need. Today, as we advance another 75 regulatory reforms to cut red tape and save New Yorkers time and money, we make real progress towards delivering on the promise of a government that works for New Yorkers, not against them,” Governor Hochul said. “These steps will increase access to vital services for families, students and patients, help small businesses get ahead, and cut down on burdensome red tape that wastes people’s time. This is the most ambitious effort to modernize government in state history, and our work is only getting started to deliver for New Yorkers.”

Last fall, the Governor launched this initiative by issuing a call for recommendations across all state agencies. Each state agency was asked to recommend regulations or rules that could be eliminated or modified to improve the delivery of government services. In June, the first 50 actions were generated from that list following months of coordinated review and assessment across government.

In addition, Governor Hochul put out a call for New Yorkers across the state to submit their own regulatory reform ideas earlier this year. The state’s EXPRESS NY portal received an overwhelming response, with nearly 4,000 proposals from all 62 of New York’s Counties. Several New Yorkers’ submissions from the EXPRESS NY portal directly inform actions taken in this second wave of regulatory reforms announced today.

This latest wave of regulatory reforms will help bring down housing costs, increase access to child care, and help small businesses thrive. The 75 regulatory reform actions are focused across four primary areas:

Expanding Access To Child Care, Health Care, And Mental Health Services

• Expanding the supply of child care educators by broadening the list of eligible fields of study, creating new career pathways in early childhood education. This will expand the qualified applicant pool and create new career pathways in early childhood education.
• Making it easier to operate child care in school buildings by aligning facility requirements between the Office of Children and Family Services and the State Education Department for school-aged children who are receiving child care in school buildings. This will allow providers to operate in school buildings without costly renovations, while maintaining strong safety and quality standards.
• Reducing administrative delays around often duplicative background checks for child care educators, allowing providers to prevent closures due to staff absences while maintaining critical safeguards, including state-required staff-to-child ratios and appropriate supervision.
• Broadening pathways for child care educators to grow their careers by allowing for extensive work experience to count towards becoming a child care director, creating career mobility for more educators in programs across the state.
• Providing flexibility for child care directors to serve multiple sites by allowing child care directors at day care centers to work across two sites, giving providers increased flexibility without sacrificing program quality and safety standards.
• Speeding up certification for mental health services by updating the Office of Mental Health’s Prior Approval Review (PAR) process, which has not changed in over fifteen years, allowing up to 1,700 programs to benefit. Changes will allow new mental health services to come online more quickly, expanding treatment for New Yorkers, by providing flexibility to reclassify a project to a lower or higher level of review based on factors like the impact on the local community, complexity, or expenditure of resources
• Allowing nursing homes to focus on serving residents, by reducing reporting frequencies of nursing home bed census reporting from weekly to monthly. This will lighten the administrative burden for 598 nursing homes while preserving key oversight metrics.
• Streamlining home care agency reporting by eliminating a redundant reporting requirement for licensed Home Care Service Agencies, through integrating relevant data into their annual registration process. This will eliminate duplicate paperwork for approximately 1,200 home care providers and allow administrators to spend more time on patient-care and services.
• Increasing support to young adults in foster care by allowing virtual caseworker visits, provided they give informed consent. This provides greater flexibility for young adults (18 or older) as they transition into independence.

Saving Students and Families Time And Money

• Modernizing community college residency rules by eliminating steep tuition penalties for in-state students who miss the filing deadline. Prior to this change, students could face more than $5,000 in penalties. Additionally, this reform will cut administrative red tape for families and expand affordable access to college credits.
• Allowing colleges to waive tuition liability when students face emergencies so that students facing health, family, or other unforeseen emergencies in the second half of an academic term are no longer required to pay for their tuition if they were unable to complete their studies in a given semester. This will also discourage mid-semester disenrollment, helping students stay on track toward degree completion while boosting overall college retention.
• Safeguarding affordable housing in rural communities by modernizing regulations of the Rural Rental Assistance Program to better preserve affordable senior and low-income housing in rural communities for the needs of today. As federal loans mature and federal subsidies expire, these updated rules empower HCR to provide direct state rent subsidies and state oversight for these properties to ensure low-income elderly residents don’t lose their housing when federal support ends.

Cutting Red Tape for Businesses

• Modernizing the Department of Labor payroll system based directly on employer feedback and submissions into the EXPRESS NY Portal regarding overly complicated and confusing reporting requirements. These changes will reduce administrative burdens for small businesses and streamline routine labor compliance across the state, reducing administrative burdens for nearly 50,000 small businesses and saving them more than 11,000 hours per year.
• Expanding charitable fundraising through beverage labeling through the State Liquor Authority (SLA) to increase fundraising opportunities for charitable organizations. Previously, labeling rules limited the ability of businesses to use their product to raise awareness and provide financial support for important causes.

Modernizing State Operations

• Modernizing 29 state labor dispute proceedings including labor relations claims and dispute procedures, authorizing electronic filing, eliminating unnecessary verification requirements, allowing oral summations, and repealing outdated publication rules which will impact nearly 800,000 public and private sector employees and employers.
• Modernizing community safety and crime prevention rules by repealing obsolete crime prevention regulations from 1983 to reflect the evolution to modern crime-fighting initiatives. These new programs, along with other data-driven strategies and technical assistance to local law enforcement and community organizations, have coincided with record lows in gun violence.
• Repealing outdated wildlife management area regulations, streamlining public use rules across activities such as vehicle use, camping, and boating, under a single, modernized statewide framework.
• Repealing eleven outdated workers' compensation rules including an unused rule for judges, two defunct Medical Appeals Unit regulations, four obsolete regulations over disputed medical bills, and obsolete third-party recovery rules.
• Repealing obsolete transitional care funding rules which governed short-term transitional care funding for young adults aging out of foster care or residential schools.
• Eliminating redundant Medicaid self-disclosure filings if providers are ineligible for the self-disclosure program. This will remove unnecessary administrative filings by providers.
• Streamlining eight technology policies by establishing centralized, uniform standards, repealing obsolete guidance, and consolidating agency technology practices. By eliminating redundant administrative overhead, these enterprise-wide reforms will save time across state agencies, allowing personnel to focus on improving services for New Yorkers.

 

WORST OF THE WORST: ICE Arrests Rapists, Violent Assailants, and Drug Traffickers

 

Thanks to President Trump, law and order is back

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of more worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens yesterday, including those convicted for rape, assault with a firearm, possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, and other despicable crimes.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE is arresting illegal aliens every single day, and at a historic pace. Yesterday, ICE arrested rapists, violent assailants, drug dealers, and other criminal illegal aliens who should have never been in our communities in the first place,” said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Even while facing threats, doxxing, and assaults, our officers and agents are making America safe again, and we will always stand up for them. We will never apologize for putting the safety of the American people first.”

Yesterday’s arrests include:

Carlos Orozco-Rodriguez, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, convicted for rape in Riverhead, New York.

Wilson Rene Ixpanel-Aguilar, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, convicted for assault with a firearm in Los Angeles, California.

Dennis Solares-Garcia, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, convicted for assault, escape from custody, and assaulting an officer in Washington County, Utah.

Bernabe Catalan-Rayo, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted for possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma.

Francisco Salazar-Arriaga, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted for THREE counts of driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance in Sherman, Texas.

Americans can see more public safety threats arrested in their communities on our webpage at WOW.DHS.Gov.

Mamdani Administration Releases 40,000 More 9/11 Records to Public for First Time in 25 Years

 

Release marks latest step in effort to deliver long-sought transparency for first responders, survivors and families affected by the September 11 attacks 

 

In September, Mayor Mamdani opened the City’s first public portal for 9/11 records and settled a multi-year legal battle over air quality and health concerns 

 

More than 200,000 pages of records available now at nyc.gov/sept11docs 

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and the New York City Law Department today announced the release of 40,000 additional City records related to the horrific terror attacks of September 11, making them available to the public for the first time in 25 years.  

 

Last month, Mayor Mamdani made history by creating the City’s first public portal for 9/11 records, nyc.gov/sept11docs, and settling a multiyear legal battle over air quality and health concerns following the attacks. 

 

For years, first responders, elected officials and families of victims of 9/11-related illnesses have demanded the release of these records. Mayor Mamdani’s FY27 budget includes $34 million to create and maintain the public records portal, which now features more than 200,000 pages of including the long-discussed Harding Memo and the materials known as the “68 Boxes.” 

 

“Our commitment to honoring the victims of the horrific terror attacks of September 11 and delivering accountability and transparency to survivors cannot begin or end on the anniversary. The first responders, family members and survivors of that terrible day deserve transparency and accountability from their City government every day,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “When we created the City’s first public records portal related to September 11th and released the first 170,000 pages, we made an enduring promise of documents, it wasn’t a box-check — it was the first of many steps we are taking to bring closure and clarity to millions of New Yorkers. I am proud to release these next 40,000 documents to the portal for the first time in New York City and looking forward to the work to come.”  

 

“For decades, families of 9/11 victims, 9/11 survivors, first responders and advocacy groups had to fight municipal bureaucracy to get the transparency they deserved,” said Corporation Counsel Steven Banks. “Today, we are expanding on our commitment by making tens of thousands of additional documents regarding the City’s response to September 11 available to the public.” 

 

“In the aftermath of September 11, New Yorkers were left in the dark about what City officials knew about the quality of the air we were breathing. 25 years later, and we are finally getting answers. Today’s announcement is an important step toward transparency and accountability, with the release of 40,000 documents that will help shed light on one of the darkest chapters in our city’s history. Thousands of New Yorkers suffered devastating, life-threatening health consequences from exposure to the toxic air, and our families deserve to know the truth. This release would not have been possible without the leadership of the New York City Council, Council Member Gale Brewer, and the many tireless advocates, and I thank the Mamdani Administration for their commitment to transparency and making this a reality,” said City Council Speaker Julie Menin.  

 

This release is the second installment of records being made public under the court agreement between 911 Health Watch and the Mamdani Administration. Additional records will be released in the coming months. New Yorkers can visit the September 11th documents portal at nyc.gov/sept11docs.