Even in the depths of extreme heat, many shelters prohibit residents from installing AC units.
Residents of New York City homeless shelters are often barred from installing air conditioning units, report Andy Newman and Julian Roberts-Grmela for The New York Times, putting many at risk of heat-related illnesses. “Thousands of families with children live in New York City shelters that lack air-conditioning in the rooms where people live and sleep, even in the depths of a heat wave.” More than 100 NYC shelters are in buildings without air conditioning.
According to the article, “The city allows air-conditioners to be installed in units in older shelter buildings, but residents must obtain a note from a health care provider saying that a unit is medically necessary.” Yet even when residents have a doctor’s note, some say they had a hard time getting AC units approved, and the city says some buildings’ wiring isn’t equipped to handle the demand of ACs in every room. “Shelters typically have an air-conditioned common area, but those rooms do not offer places to sleep.”
FULL STORY: Air-Conditioning Is a Perk Many New York Homeless Shelters Don’t Allow
More Unhoused New Yorkers Died in 2021 Than in any Prior Year
New York City saw its deadliest year for people living in shelters or public spaces, with the pandemic and a rise in deadly overdoses fueling a fatal epidemic.
NYC Lawmaker Proposes Mandatory Cooling Law
Despite hundreds of heat-related deaths every year, the city has no regulations on cooling in residential units.
Study: Homeless People Face Higher Mortality Risk
Unhoused adults are more than three times as likely to die in any given year as their housed counterparts, research shows.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie