2024 NEW YORK CITY CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION ADOPTS BALLOT PROPOSALS FOR NOVEMBER ELECTION

 

Commissioners Adopt Five Ballot Proposals Related to Clean Streets, Fiscal Responsibility, Public Safety, Capital Planning, Minority-and Women-Owned Businesses, and Modernization of City Policies Related to Film Permitting and Archival Review  

   

Ballot Proposals Followed Full Review of City’s Charter, Expert and Elected Official Testimony, Public Feedback, Staff Research, and Public Hearings Attended by More Than 750 New Yorkers in All Five Boroughs  

Today, following their final public meeting, the 2024 New York City Charter Revision Commission (CRC) approved the five ballot proposals detailed in the CRC’s report issued earlier this week, as amended at the CRC’s meeting earlier this afternoon. The ballot proposals were made after a review of the entire city charter; 12 hearings across all five boroughs; and testimony from members of the public, experts, elected officials, good government groups, and academics. CRC members received testimony from more than 240 New Yorkers at public hearings. Additionally, the CRC received more than 2,300 written comments and public hearings were attended by more than 750 New Yorkers in-person and virtually. The proposals will now be submitted to the New York City Board of Elections to be placed on the ballot for November’s general election.  

   

The five approved ballot questions, as amended, are:  

   

Clean Streets: The CRC proposes an amendment to expand and clarify the New York City Department of Sanitation’s (DSNY) authority to keep the city clean. The amendment would:  

   

•   Enable DSNY, at the mayor’s direction, to clean any city-owned property.  
•   Clarify that DSNY has the authority to require garbage to be containerized.  
•   Extend DSNY enforcement authority over street vendors to vending on other types of city property, instead of just streets and sidewalks.  

Fiscal Responsibility: The CRC proposes an amendment intended to improve how the city assesses the fiscal impact of proposed local laws and address certain outdated and inefficient budget deadlines. The amendment would:  

   

•   Require that an initial fiscal impact statement be prepared prior to a public hearing on a proposed local law.  
•   Require an updated fiscal impact statement prior to a vote on a proposed local law by the full City Council.  
•   Require that fiscal impact statements for proposed laws contain an estimate by the City Council and require that the Council provide an opportunity for the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget to submit fiscal impact statements at the same time.  
•   Update several budget-related deadlines, including moving the preliminary budget deadline from January 16 to February 1 in years following a mayoral election and extending the deadline for submission of the executive budget from April 26 to May 1 in order to ensure the executive budget reflects valuable information about tax collections and revenues obtained at the April 1 tax deadline.  

   

Public Safety: The CRC proposes an amendment intended to promote public input and deliberation before the City Council votes on local laws affecting public safety operations of certain agencies. The amendment would:  

   

•   Establish additional procedural requirements when the City Council considers proposed local laws affecting the public safety operations of three city agencies: the New York City Police Department, the New York City Department of Correction, and the Fire Department of the City of New York.  
•   Specifically, it would require that when the full Council intends to vote on a covered public safety proposal, the Council must give an additional notice to the public, the mayor, and the commissioners of affected agencies at least 30 days in advance of such vote. During the period between the notice and the ultimate vote, the mayor and affected agencies could hold one or more additional public hearings on the proposal in order to solicit additional public input, though they would not be required to hold such hearings. These hearings could include, where appropriate, public hearings in all boroughs to facilitate input from impacted communities.  

   

Capital Planning: The CRC proposes an amendment intended to improve the city’s capital planning process by promoting transparency and ensuring the city collects critical information to inform capital planning, and update capital planning deadlines. The amendment would:  

   

•   Promote transparency by ensuring the city publishes more detailed information about the state of repair for facilities.  
•   Ensure that the New York City Department of City Planning and the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget consider city facility conditions and maintenance needs, together with other factors such as geographic distribution, impact on resiliency, and the criticality of an asset to an agency’s function or mission when developing the 10-Year Capital Strategy.  
•   Amend the date that the 10-Year Capital Strategy is due from November 1st to align with the date for the city’s preliminary budget, and similarly change the date for the public hearing associated with the 10-Year Capital Strategy to accommodate the later date for the initial submission.  

   

Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) and Modernization of City Operations: The CRC proposes an amendment to update several charter provisions intended to improve city government operations. The amendment would:  

   

•   Enshrine the chief business diversity officer in the charter and provide that this position will serve as the point of contact for M/WBEs, evaluate the efficacy of city policies to address disparities in procurement, and propose needed changes to city policy.  
•   Empower the mayor to give the office that processes film permits — the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment — the power to issue those permits.  
•   Combine two charter-created boards that share the same mission of reviewing municipal archives.  

   

A full list of the public hearings held by the CRC is available on the CRC's Public Meetings and Hearings webpage. All meetings were open to the public, live streamed, and 10 of the 12 hearings were held in the evening to accommodate as many New Yorkers as possible. Language translation services and American Sign Language interpreters were available, and each meeting was held in an accessible space. The public was alerted to CRC public meetings through legal notices, media outreach — including through ethnic and community media — and by utilizing messages through organizations with large distribution lists, including community boards and elected officials. Public notices for each meeting were published in the city record and made available on the CRC website. All notices were translated into Bengali, simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean, and Spanish.  

   

All the CRC’s public documents — including its preliminary report, press releases, translations of commission materials, and other notices — as well as recordings of all the commission’s public hearings may be found online on the CRC's website.  

Permits Filed For 860 Longwood Avenue In Longwood, The Bronx

 

Permits have been filed for an eight-story mixed-use building at 860 Longwood Avenue in Longwood, The Bronx. Located between Prospect Avenue and Hewitt Place, the lot is steps from the Prospect Avenue subway station, serviced by the 2 and 5 trains. Scully Company is listed as the owner behind the applications.

The proposed 74-foot-tall development will yield 39,940 square feet, with 35,539 square feet designated for residential space, 3,925 square feet for commercial space, and 474 square feet for community facility space. The building will have 60 residences, most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 592 square feet. The steel-based structure will also have a cellar, a 30-foot-long rear yard, and 18 open parking spaces.

Fred Geremia Architects & Planners is listed as the architect of record.

Demolition permits have not been filed yet. An estimated completion date has not been announced.

MAYOR ADAMS, CHANCELLOR BANKS, MTA CHAIR & CEO LIEBER LAUNCH EXPANDED STUDENT OMNY CARDS

 

Student OMNY Cards, Replacing Student MetroCards, Now Valid 24 Hours a Day, Seven Days a Week, All Year

 

Eligible Students to Have Four Free Trips Daily, Up From Three

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Public Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chair and CEO Janno Lieber today announced updates that will make it easier and more affordable for eligible students to get to and from school and after-school activities via public transportation. Starting this upcoming 2024-2025 school year, students will receive Student OMNY cards, instead of the MetroCards that have been distributed citywide to students since 1997. The new Student OMNY cards will be valid 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with up to four free rides a day. These changes will significantly expand flexibility for student travel, as students were previously limited to only three free rides each day from only 5:30 AM to 8:30 PM, and the cards could only be used on days when the student’s school was open for class.

 

“These expanded student OMNY cards are a gamechanger for families across New York City, particularly for working-class families that need just a little more help to afford our city — families where older siblings pick their younger brothers and sisters up from school, or where kids have after-school and summer jobs to help make ends meet,” said Mayor Adams. “This builds on the work we’ve done to make our city more accessible, particularly for young people and low-income New Yorkers. From our subways, to our ferries, to our greenways, we’re making it easier and more affordable to get around New York City.”

 

“I'm thrilled about the launch of student OMNY cards because expanding access to public transit means more and more students will have opportunities to explore our city and experience all that New York has to offer,” said New York City Public Schools Chancellor Banks. “I’m grateful to our partners at the MTA and across the city for making this possible for our students.”

 

“Across its diverse neighborhoods and communities, New York City inspires and teaches. Our city is one of the best classrooms in the world. And now, as part of the city's broader switch to OMNY, New York's kids have more and better access to it,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations and MTA Board Member Meera Joshi. “Together, the city and its world-class public transportation system are making New York City just a little more livable for the families that call it home. Our kids deserve 24/7 access to a 24/7 city, and now they're getting it.”

 

“The student OMNY card program makes it even more convenient for kids to use the public transit system, teaching them how indispensable it is to New York City,” said MTA Chair and CEO Lieber. “With help from Mayor Adams and New York City Public Schools, students can learn the value of the transit system and ensure they continue to tap to ride past graduation.” 

 

“Providing students with tools to use public transit seamlessly teaches them that the system is easy, efficient, and cost effective,” said MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara. “New York City students have busy schedules and we’re making it as easy as possible for them to navigate their schoolwork and activities with more rides all year round.” 

 

“Subways and buses are the best way to get to school, sports, extracurriculars, internships, jobs, and more,” said New York City Transit Interim President Demetrius Crichlow. “With extended hours and more taps at their disposal, we look forward to more and more students tapping to ride.” 

 

Student OMNY cards will be valid on the MTA’s subway lines; on local, limited, and Select buses; on the Staten Island Railway; on the Roosevelt Island Tram; and on Hudson Rail link; and will include free transfers from one mode to another. Students will also now keep the same card for the entire year, through the summer. The expanded benefits provide the foundation for New York City students to learn how to utilize the public transit system and build a culture of tapping.  

 

The cards will be distributed to students at the start of the school year by each individual school across the five boroughs. In addition to the cards, students will also receive promotional flyers outlining the benefits of the enhanced program. The MTA and New York City Public Schools will work together to evaluate and promote card usage across school districts. More information about Student OMNY cards is available online.

 

This announcement builds on the Adams administration’s efforts to make getting around New York City more accessible and affordable, particularly for young people and low-income New Yorkers. In the Fiscal Year 2025 Adopted Budget, the administration partnered with the City Council to invest an additional $20.7 million in “Fair Fares NYC,” expanding eligibility for half-price fares to people making 145 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. The budget also included $11 million to provide free MetroCards to Summer Youth Employment Program participants, who — thanks to the Adams administration’s efforts — are also eligible for free two-month Citi Bike memberships. In 2023, Mayor Adams launched a historic greenway expansion to build 40 new miles of protected bike infrastructure in the outer boroughs, bringing safer, greener transportation options to the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. In 2022, Mayor Adams unveiled NYC Ferry Forward, which created a discount program similar to Fair Fares in which seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income riders pay reduced fares for ferry rides.

 

Nineteen Alleged Members of Human Smuggling Organization Charged for Illegally Bringing Migrants into United States

 

Nineteen alleged members of a human smuggling organization were charged for coordinating the smuggling of dozens of unauthorized migrants into the United States from Mexico, mostly aboard personal watercraft via the Pacific Ocean. Nine of the 19 are in custody. A grand jury returned an indictment against 14 members of the organization, and a complaint was filed against an additional five.

“The Justice Department is committed to dismantling transnational human smuggling operations that prey on migrants and threaten our national security,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Nefarious organizations like the one charged in this case can expect to answer for their alleged crimes in American courtrooms.”

The nine arrested defendants have been arrested at ports of entry or elsewhere in San Diego during a multi-agency enforcement effort last week; the remaining defendants are fugitives. Federal agents served court-authorized search warrants at suspected stash houses in San Diego and Los Angeles. Among other things, agents seized over $100,000 in U.S. currency and two boxes of ammunition during the enforcement operations. Agents previously seized more than $120,000 during the investigation.

According to the indictment and complaint, the defendants participated in a long-running conspiracy to illegally bring people from Mexico into the United States by land and sea. The organization arranged for transport from Mexico by personal watercraft to coastal areas such as Sunset Cliffs, Bird Rock in La Jolla, and Imperial Beach, California, often at night and in dangerous conditions. Smugglers favor personal watercraft for their speed and ability to approach shore quickly, allowing rapid drop-offs and evasion of authorities.

The charging documents allege the defendants were also responsible for transporting the migrants further within the United States, whether driving themselves or coordinating with other drivers, including to Los Angeles; Santa Barbara, California; and Las Vegas. The organization allegedly charged between approximately $7,000 and $16,000 per smuggled person and transported tens of thousands of dollars in profits from San Diego to Mexico.

“Human smuggling cases are a top priority because lives are at stake,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath for the Southern District of California. “Whether racing a jet ski up the coast without lifejackets or hauling a tractor trailer packed with people, smugglers expose vulnerable migrants to extreme danger and prioritize profit over human life.”

“Every aspect of human smuggling – whether it be by land, sea, or aircraft – puts lives at risk,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Davis of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego. “HSI and our partner agencies are committed to curbing this illegal activity that’s solely designed to enrich greedy smugglers’ financial pockets.”

“This indictment serves as notice to those transnational criminal organizations operating along our coastal border that it is only a matter of time before they are brought to justice,” said San Diego Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel. “Our focus continues to be on protecting our nation, and we will leverage all available resources to hold these criminals accountable for their actions.”

Defendants Edgar Jiminez Macias, 33; Alex Ceja Guzman, 30, also known as Alejandro and Gordo; and Tobias Julian Burgara Gonzalez, 32, all of Tijuana, Mexico, and Junior Zavala Ramirez, 34, also known as JR, of Tecate, Mexico, are currently in custody. They are charged with conspiracy to bring in aliens for financial gain and bringing in aliens for financial gain and aiding and abetting. If convicted, they each face a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Additional defendants Ivan Pulido Jauregui, 49; Manuel Gonzalez Lopez, 26, also known as Tortillero; Jesus Misael Molina Flores, 20; Alexis Adrian Villela Inda, 29; and Mateo Adrian Alduenda Gutierrez, 26, all of Nayarit, Mexico, are also in custody and are charged with conspiracy to bring in aliens for financial gain. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

The names of the remaining defendants have not been publicly released.

The HSI San Diego Marine Task Force, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Coast Guard investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Fawcett (who is detailed to Joint Task Force Alpha, a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the Department of Homeland Security), Peter Horn, and Lawrence Casper for the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case.

The prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

These actions are also the result of coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established JTFA in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Justice Department, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to combat the rise in prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. JTFA comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of California, District of Arizona, District of New Mexico, and Western and Southern Districts of Texas. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training; Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section; Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement Operations; Office of International Affairs; and Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 310 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling; more than 250 U.S. convictions; more than 185 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

An indictment or complaint are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Attorney General James Secures $100,000 from Cameo over Misleading Videos

 

Cameo Failed to Ensure Videos Promoting Products were Properly Labeled as Paid Endorsements

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a bipartisan, 30-state settlement with the owner of Cameo, Baron App Inc., for failing to ensure consumers knew that videos promoting products were paid endorsements. Under the settlement agreement, Cameo must pay $100,000 in penalties, including $25,000 to New York state, and implement programs to help ensure that all paid advertisements are properly labeled. In 2020, Cameo, a platform where people can pay celebrities to record videos with scripted personal messages, launched a service called Business Cameo that allows companies to pay celebrities to record videos endorsing their products. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that Cameo failed to implement measures to ensure those videos were properly disclosed as paid endorsements, which violated endorsement rules issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and New York’s consumer protection laws.

“For many New Yorkers, cameo videos are fun to watch and share, but consumers deserve to know when they are watching a paid ad or a real review,” said Attorney General James. “Videos that are properly labeled as paid ads help consumers make conscious decisions about what to buy, and Cameo was not doing enough to protect viewers. Today’s settlement will ensure that Cameo steps up to make sure videos are properly labeled and consumers are not misled.”

In 2020, Cameo launched a service called Business Cameo that allows businesses to hire celebrities through their platform to record videos endorsing their goods or services. New York consumer protection law and FTC Endorsement Guides require taking steps to ensure such endorsements are not deceptive, but celebrities posted Business Cameos without making appropriate disclosures. The unlabeled Business Cameos appeared as regular videos of celebrities giving positive reviews of a product or service without disclosing that they were being paid to promote the product or service.

Under the settlement, Cameo is required to set up policies and programs to help ensure users properly disclose all paid endorsements. This includes maintaining a watermark system to indicate a video was booked through Cameo, requiring acknowledgements from brands and celebrities that they must comply with rules and regulations around endorsements, creating a reporting system, and monitoring for noncompliance.

Joining Attorney General James in leading this multistate settlement are the attorneys general of Florida, Illinois, and Texas. States participating in this settlement include: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

This is the latest action taken by Attorney General James to protect consumers from deceptive practices. Last month, Attorney General James secured $700 million from Johnson & Johnson for deceptively marketing products containing talcum powder, endangering consumers lives. Additionally, Attorney General James reached a settlement with the three largest mobile phone carriers over deceptive advertising practices and won a federal jury trial against Quincy Bioscience, finding that they made fraudulent and deceptive statements about their supplement Prevagen. Last summer, Attorney General James, in collaboration with the FTC, secured $1.6 million from an online apartment finder for defrauding renters by publishing unverified listings.   

Statement by Comptroller Brad Lander on Charter Revision Commission’s Meaningless Proposals and Effort to Distract New Yorkers

 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released the following statement in response to the Adams Administration’s release of its Charter Revision Commission proposals: 

“The Adams Administration’s Charter Revision Commission ballot proposal #4 claims to draw on my office’s recommendations to promote more transparency around the City’s infrastructure and capital planning process. That is entirely untrue. Proposal #4 is meaningless, does not advance transparency, and fails to improve the City’s capital planning process in any way. Like the Commission’s rushed process and other recommendations, it is simply a cynical effort to distract New Yorkers.   

Despite this Commission’s absurdly short timeline, my office took seriously the opportunity to put forward five common-sense proposals that would meaningfully improve our City’s financial management practices. Sadly, we considered the Commission’s process more thoughtfully than it did. While it claims that our proposals “reflect shared priorities,” the Commission acknowledges that its process was too rushed to take them seriously.  

Falsely claiming that ballot proposal #4 is based on the serious recommendations my office provided is a transparently false attempt to lend credibility to a meaningless measure. As detailed in my office’s in-depth audit, accompanying review of national best practices, and recommendations to the Charter Revision Commission, the City’s comprehensive infrastructure report (the Asset Inventory Management System, or AIMS report, required by Section 1110-a of the City Charter) is in desperate need of an overhaul.  

The AIMS report fails to identify the true costs of capital projects and excludes crucial City assets, leaving us without an accurate inventory of infrastructure needs or comprehensive assessment of the conditions of its infrastructure assets, including the pipes that deliver clean drinking water, the schools and libraries that serve our communities, the roads and sidewalks that get New Yorkers where they need to go, and the increasingly overwhelmed sewers that carry rainwater away. The AIMS report fails to even estimate the cost to bring that infrastructure to a state of good repair, let alone identify the most urgent priorities for repairs. 

Ballot proposal #4 does nothing to fix these foundational failures in how the City manages its infrastructure. Unlike our recommendations, the Commission’s proposal does not amend Section 1110-a of the Charter, leaving the AIMS report incomplete, inadequate and wholly unhelpful with respect to informing our City’s capital budget.  

Instead, proposal #4 cynically proposes to amend an entirely different process — the Citywide Statement of Needs — which covers less than 1% of the City’s infrastructure, a short list of new projects, where the City is already proposing to build something new, expand an existing facility, or close a facility. This past year, the City included just 24 new proposals in the Citywide Statement of Needs; in comparison, the City’s last asset inventory includes over 5,000 assets. Requiring the Citywide Statement of Needs to include additional detail on facility condition is meaningless for capital budget planning purposes – since these are in fact the projects that the City has already decided need to be improved and to invest funds to do so.  

Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of our City’s infrastructure assets will continue to go unchecked, without standardized or rigorous assessment of state of good repair or estimates of cost. The Commission’s proposal asks the City to “consider” the conditions of its infrastructure in putting together its ten-year capital strategy, without requiring the City to actually have a meaningful assessment of the conditions of its infrastructure. 

The Commission also blithely mischaracterized and dismissed the other proposals my office put forward. We invited it to demonstrate its independence and seriousness by adopting provisions to strengthen the City’s fiscal management, build reserves, achieve long-term efficiencies, overhaul capital planning, and pay vendors on time. Sadly, it chose not to. 

The proposals released by the Charter Revision Commission are meaningless in their impact, a cynical effort to distract New Yorkers, and an affront to the tenets of good government in the New York City Charter that they were supposed to heed and improve.”  

Governor Hochul Announces Long-Duration Energy Storage Demonstration Using Fire-Safe Battery Technology

 

New York Power Authority, Rockland County-based Urban Electric Power and EPRI to Develop Facilities in Westchester County and at SUNY Oneonta To Show Viability of Fire-Safe Storage Technology

U.S. Department of Energy Funding To Advance New Technology, Support Wider Use of Renewable Energy on Electric Grid

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State will receive U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding for a long-duration energy storage demonstration project that will use fire-safe battery technology. The technology can be used in urban and rural settings to demonstrate a stable energy supply during periods of high demand and in extreme weather conditions. Today's announcement supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals and marks progress to achieve a nation-leading six gigawatts of energy storage by 2030.

“Energy storage that ensures a safe and reliable power supply is critical to New York’s clean energy future,” Governor Hochul said. “By supporting leading-edge projects—such as these installations that provide extended storage duration—we will validate new technologies and illustrate how grid storage can be safely and effectively integrated into communities throughout the state.”

The project will be developed by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), Rockland County-based Urban Electric Power (UEP) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) with an installation at Westchester County’s Grasslands Reservation in Valhalla and another at the State University of New York’s (SUNY) Oneonta campus.

The project has been selected to receive funding by the DOE with the intent to catalyze impactful long-duration energy storage (LDES) demonstration projects capable of delivering electricity for 10-24 hours, surpassing the conventional short-duration systems that lithium-ion can typically support. The funding award of more than $6.5 million will cover half of the $13.1 million project cost and was made possible through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Power Authority, the nation’s largest state utility, has demonstrated expertise in clean energy technologies and will be partnering with UEP, a battery manufacturer based in Pearl River, to help LDES systems overcome the technical and institutional barriers to achieve wider adoption. EPRI, an independent, non-profit energy research and development (R&D) organization, is providing technical and industry expertise and guidance on technology readiness, safety assessment, test protocol development, techno-economic analysis, operations plan, and the community benefits plan.

The technology is being installed at two regionally diverse sites in New York State to demonstrate viability in varying geographical settings for different load characteristics. Each system will be 300 kilowatts with 12 or more hours of operation and offer the potential for reducing electric bills through demand charge reduction from peak shaving. The SUNY Oneonta project will also support a forthcoming on-site solar project, helping to achieve the campus’ long-term clean energy plans. The exact site location on each campus will be determined as part of the first phase of work. Construction will begin in 2026 and the facilities will be operational in 2028.

The Power Authority will support the storage projects with energy education outreach programs to under-resourced communities located near the demonstration sites. NYPA, through its established environmental justice program, will support a community benefits plan focused on educational programming, providing STEM, career and college readiness, and adult energy literacy workshops on energy storage. A community stakeholder working group will be formed involving local schools, governments, universities, community colleges, and community organizations. The working group will steer the development and deployment of programs that will prioritize underserved populations.

According to the DOE, today’s energy storage technologies are not sufficiently scaled or affordable to support the broad use of renewable energy on the electric grid. Cheaper long-duration energy storage can increase grid reliability and resilience so that clean, reliable, affordable electricity is available to everyone. The selected projects will also help achieve DOE's nationwide goal of reducing storage costs by 90 percent within the decade and demonstrating the potential for creating long-term, high-quality jobs in clean energy manufacturing, installation and maintenance.

As renewable power sources like wind and solar provide a growing portion of New York State’s electricity, storage will allow clean energy to be available when it is needed most. New York aims to deploy 6,000 megawatts of storage by 2030 and last year, Governor Hochul convened an inter-agency fire safety working group to make recommendations regarding battery safety issues.

Zinc Batteries: Safe and Domestically Available

The projects will demonstrate the viability of UEP’s zinc manganese dioxide batteries in large-scale and long-duration energy storage systems. The batteries utilize a fire-safe chemistry using low-cost and largely domestically available, earth abundant raw materials that can be readily provided through existing supply—and more than 75 percent of UEP’s raw material vendors are based in the U.S. The batteries have the same chemistry as household batteries and are expected to show comparable performance to lithium-ion batteries without the inherent safety and supply chain issues.

A successful demonstration could enable market adoption of UEP’s technology by proving decreased technology risk and reducing demand on grid infrastructure through reduced peak demand load. The batteries have been successfully piloted on smaller scales at several energy storage installations.