June was a (much needed) victory lap for New Yorkers. Congratulations to the Knicks, to our new electeds, and a special thank you to Mayor Mamdani for finally making headway on closing Rikers. New York, let’s stay cool and keep this momentum going! | | Record Heat Wave This July 4th Weekend | | Starting July 1 and continuing through the long weekend, NYC is expected to see record high temperatures up to 100+ degrees Fahrenheit. The city is issuing an Emergency Heat Plan, viewable here. New Yorkers, stay safe and cool. You can find a collection of useful resources at this link. | Source: New York City Emergency Management | | First Rikers Land Transfer in Over 4 Years | | |
On Monday, June 29th, the Mamdani administration announced the closure and transfer of several portions of land on Rikers Island, including the entirety of the North Infirmary Command (NIC) facility as well as portions of the Anna M. Kross Center (AMKC), and George Motchan Detention Center (GMDC). As part of the Renewable Rikers Act of 2021, the City was mandated to review the island for underutilized parcels of land and facilities for transfer out of the control of the Department of Correction to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. While the first transfer happened in 2021 as former Mayor de Blasio left office, no other transfers were made during the Adams administration. These land transfers are not only a key piece to closing the jails on the island, they are an integral part of moving towards the Renewable Rikers vision. We commend the Mamdani administration for taking this critical step, and look forward to more such steps in the future. You can read about the details of the transfer here.
| | | Mayor Mamdani Signs Executive Order on Worker Heat Protections | | On June 22nd, the TEMP coalition – an alliance of unions, worker centers, legal advocates, and environmental and community organizations – joined Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Attorney General Letitia James, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga, and a number of other City officials for the signing of an Executive Order that would develop heat-related protections for workers. We applaud the administration for taking this critical first step to protect both indoor and outdoor workers, and we will continue to advocate for further protections for all workers. | | Photo Credit: Patrick Nevada | | |
June 1st marked the official start to the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. While forecasters predict that the strong El Niño in effect this year will dampen the hurricane season, leading to a lower than average year, that does not mean that major, devastating storms will not be possible. Considering that NYC regularly floods due to what have become common rain and cloudburst storm events, any major storms during hurricane season are of distinct concern to our communities. We encourage you, our readers, to take precautions during storms that may lead to flooding, including while walking and driving through flood waters, taking extra precautions if you live in a basement apartment, and ensuring you have an up-to-date emergency plan and kit.
Here are some useful flood resources to help you navigate how best to protect yourself, your family, and your community. If you haven’t already, sign up for Notify NYC by texting ‘NOTIFYNYC’ to 692-692 to get citywide emergency alerts straight to your phone.
| | Source: New York City Emergency Management | | The Point CDC’s Community Conversation on Extreme Heat | | On June 11th, NYC-EJA supported a community event on extreme heat preparedness hosted by our member organization, The Point CDC. We talked to residents of Hunts Point about why heat and humidity are dangerous (especially in heat-vulnerable areas like the South Bronx), how to protect oneself and vulnerable community members, and what The Point CDC and NYC-EJA are doing to advocate for greater protections from the effects of high temperatures. | | | Forest For All NYC Coalition Celebrates 5 Years! | | On Monday, June 8, the Forest For All NYC Coalition celebrated its 5th anniversary. In the coalition’s five years, we have grown to over 200 member organizations, have helped pass several key pieces of legislation, and helped facilitate and enable the creation of the Urban Forest Plan which was released in April 2026. The Plan and legislation will all help to protect and grow NYC green spaces and natural areas, particularly tree canopy, to equitably protect New Yorkers from the dangers of heat, air pollution, and flooding while improving health, community cohesion, and biodiversity. | | Source: Lizzie Davis, Battery Park City Authority, courtesy of The Nature Conservancy | | Renewable Rikers Featured in Documentary, ‘For Venida, For Kalief’ | | |
On Saturday, June 6th, NYC-EJA was invited to be part of a panel discussion hosted by the People’s Forum after a screening of For Venida, For Kalief to talk about the future vision for Rikers Island. Released in 2025, the documentary takes an artistic look at the lives of Kalief Browder, a Bronx resident infamously arrested as a teenager. Kalief spent over 3 years, mostly in solitary confinement, on Rikers before being released. His mother, Venida, used poetry to process her feelings during his time on Rikers and in the aftermath of his death in 2015. NYC-EJA land-use planner Michael Higgins Jr. (third from right) was joined in the panel by moderator and president of Incarceration Nation Five Mualimm-ak, HALTsolitary Campaign Co-Director Victor Pate, Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack, family member Deion Browder, and filmmaker Sisa Bueno. The documentary will be featured as part of the incoming season of POV on PBS and will premiere on July 27th.
| | | The 2026 State legislative session gaveled to a close on June 5. The session was dominated by state budget deliberations held up by the Governor’s determination to weaken the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. This resulted in the latest budget in 16 years and left little time for other legislative initiatives. One issue that rose to the top in the final week was the need to address the unchecked proliferation of energy hogging datacenters, driven in large part by the rise of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. Energy intensive datacenters create an enormous strain on the electric grid, drive up utility costs, and threaten our water and air resources. Legislation (A11560 - Barrett / S10642 - Gonzalez), backed by NYC-EJA and our partners at NY Renews, establishes a one-year moratorium on the issuance of state permits for new large scale facilities, requires a comprehensive environmental impact report, establishes new utility datacenter rates so households and businesses aren’t shouldering the burden for increased electricity costs, and sets obligations for renewable energy and efficiency for datacenter operations. The legislation passed both the State Assembly and Senate with bi-partisan support and, if signed by the Governor, will make New York the first state to enact a statewide moratorium on the siting of new data centers. | | | Be sure to check for more exciting news from NYC-EJA about our ongoing work, on our website, on social media, and in future newsletters! And if you like what you read, please consider making a tax-exempt donation to support our work. | | | | |
