2026

'Let them build': New York governor vows to take 'hard look' at environmental review process

'Let them build': New York governor vows to take 'hard look' at environmental review process

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed this week to take "a hard look" at the environmental review steps developers must follow to have state and local governments approve new home-building projects.

The current review process hasn't been updated "in literally half a century," and, in its current form, it holds up the construction of affordable housing New Yorkers desperately need now, the governor said Tuesday in a State of the State address in Albany. The governor hinted that changes could be underway that would get housing construction projects approved much faster and more easily.

State extends deadline for Brookhaven landfill cleanup report

State extends deadline for Brookhaven landfill cleanup report

State environmental conservation officials have given Brookhaven Town an additional three months to recommend cleanup plans for a miles-long toxic plume emanating from the town landfill.

The Department of Environmental Conservation set a new May 1 deadline for finishing the report, which is expected to outline plans for cleaning up the landfill after groundwater testing in 2023 discovered so-called "forever chemicals" in the plume, which extends about 4 miles from Brookhaven hamlet south toward Bellport Bay.

New York state taking legal action against Trump administration over halted offshore wind farm construction

New York state taking legal action against Trump administration over halted offshore wind farm construction

New York state is taking legal action against the Trump administration for halting construction of five offshore wind farms. Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul joined hundreds of workers whose livelihoods depend on projects already under construction. 

Hochul on administration's explanation for pause: "It is BS"

Hochul and union members rally against Trump’s wind project suspension

Hochul and union members rally against Trump’s wind project suspension

NEW YORK (PIX11) – Developers of wind projects along the East Coast, two of them on Long Island, are escalating their battle against the trump administration’s freeze on further development.  

They claim the projects pose a threat to national security. Governor Kathy Hochul joined union members in Hauppauge to lash out at Washington.

New York to Phase In Protections for Horseshoe Crabs

New York to Phase In Protections for Horseshoe Crabs

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation that will ultimately ban the catch and biomedical use of the crabs.

New York State will phase out the catch of horseshoe crabs in its waters for bait and biomedical use over the next four years, beginning in 2026.