THE GOTHAMIST REPORTED THIS MORNING THAT FEDERAL JUDGE LEO GORDON HAS SPECIFICALLY SAID THE MTA CAN BEGIN COLLECTING CONGESTION PRICING BEGINNING AT 60TH STREET SUNDAY.
THE JUDGE FRIDAY EVENING, THE GOTHAMIST REPORTED, JUDGE GORDON WROTE “IN A NUTSHELL,DENIED” IN RESPONSE TO THE NEW JERSEY MOTION TO DELAY BEGINNING THE TOLL COLLECTION.
NJ Federal District Court Ruling Fails the Public Good; Puts Human Lives at Risk
NJ Emergency Appeal Welcome and Has Much Merit
Statement by Susan Lee, President, New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax
New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax, the coalition of residents from diverse neighborhoods around NYC who initiated a lawsuit to demand that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) perform an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) to show the real impacts of Congestion Pricing on our communities, is deeply disappointed by Judge Leo Gordon’s failure to issue a TRO (temporary restraining order) or Preliminary Injunction tonight.
If left to stand, it will put people’s lives at risk; we, therefore, strongly support New Jersey’s emergency appeal. The MTA’s own counsel stated mitigation – if it could work at all – would take five years. And since 2019, the MTA spent some one-half billion dollars and zero on mitigation!
We filed an Amicus brief supporting the Town of Hempstead state court action based on the MTA’s failure to follow SAPA (the New York State Administrative Procedure Act).
Our Class Action lawsuit raising SAPA also remains pending in SDNY. SAPA requires consideration of socio-economic impacts, including on small business and workers.
It is especially important because the toll tax impacts marginalized New Yorkers who will be hurt by the Congestion Pricing Tax which would cut into their pockets and pocketbooks.
Thus ANY (emphasis intended) MTA attempt to proceed pending a final resolution would be both foolish and costly. We still say to the MTA: “not so fast.”
The implementation of this toll-tax scheme would increase the costs of goods and services in every NYC neighborhood for small businesses and all New Yorkers whether they take public transit, ride a bike, walk, rely on for hire vehicles or drive a car; increase traffic and pollution and incidence of asthma in environmentally sensitive communities including the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and the South Bronx; and kill jobs that many lower income New Yorkers depend on – one cannot get more socio-economic than that!
Last Spring we proposed “A 5-point Plan to Save Public Transit,” especially as a starting point. That plan includes funding MTA Capital Program the same way NYC and NYS fund their regular capital programs. Funding for public transit should be a priority in the same manner the city and state fund schools, hospitals, senior center, roads, libraries, museums and parks. Since Public Transit fuels the City economy that fuels the state economy that fuels the U.S. economy, the Federal government must provide a steady stream of capital funding to the MTA.
The federal government must come through with substantial funding for the Public transit system that fuels the economy of the city and state that fuels the national economy.
As to new revenues, look at the “menu” of one dozen alternatives identified by Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free.
Ultimately we still look forward to an outcome that leads to a path that protects New Yorkers from a deleterious, environment and economy killing toll-tax also harmful to public health and devote public resources as appropriate and outlined above.
THE FIRST FRONT PAGE OF WHITE PLAINS WEEK’S 25TH YEAR ON THE AIR
JIMMY CARTER PASSES AWAY AT 100 A ROLE MODEL FOR A PRESIDENT
TRI ACT CLUB HOLDS 24TH NEW YEARS DAY SWIM
GEORGE LATIMER GOES TO WASHINGTON
CONGESTIVE PRICING STUCK IN A TRAFFIC JAM.
HOCHUL VOWS START AT MIDNIGHT SUNDAY MORNING DESPITE FED COURT DECISION
NY MARIJUANA SALES EARN STATE 1 BILLION DOLLARS–WHAT’S GOOD? WHAT’S WORRISOME.
LEGISLATOR WHISNIE APPOINTED ACTING COUNT EXECUTIVE
DEPUTY COUNTY EXECUTIVE KEN JENKINS EXPECTED TO BE NAMED COUNTY EXECUTIVE FOR 90 DAYS UNTIL SPECIAL ELECTION
HUNGER HOUSING THE HOMELESS GETTING WORSE IN THE COUNTY
NET NEUTRALITY LAW STRUCK DOWN BY FEDERAL JUDGE
MADNESS ON MOMMARONECK AVE
RECKLESS DRIVERS OBLIVLIVOUS PEDESTRIANS CREATE LIABILITY DANGERS FOR MOTORISTS IN DOWNTOWN
COUNTY HIGHWAYS SPEEDERS AND CUTTING IN SPEEDERS AT 20 MPH AND MORE OVER THE SPEED LIMIT MAKE HIGHWAYS THE MOST DANGEROUS THEY HAVE EVER BEEN WHEN ANYTHING GOES ON THE WESTCHESTER SPEEDWAYS
THE REAL AULD LANG SYNE
WITH WESTCHESTER’S ANCHORMAN FOR 25 YEARS
JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS
EVERY WEEK ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK
SINCE 2001
25TH YEAR ON THE AIR
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Happy New Year! We’re back to it after some much-needed time off. Here’s the public health news you can use this week.
It’s getting ugly out there, folks. The number of people going to the doctor for a cough or fever (defined as an “influenza-like illness” or ILI) is well above epidemic levels at this point. The sickest communities are in the West and South, but the entire map below will soon be lit up red.
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Levels of ILI; Source: CDC; Annotated by YLE
The “big three”—flu, Covid–19, and RSV—are increasing quickly. Flu is causing the most burden on healthcare systems, but Covid-19 wastewater is increasing fast, which means hospitalizations and deaths will soon follow.
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Wastewater viral activity. Source: CDC
Norovirus—think nausea, vomiting, diarrhea—continues to have quite the season, with the number of positive tests and outbreaks abnormally high. Norovirus spreads through contaminated surfaces, so as always, wash those hands. Unfortunately, this virus is one of the hardest viruses to kill, so a quick dose of hand sanitizer doesn’t work. Bleach-based products on surfaces are the best.
The first data on the effectiveness of this fall’s 2024-2025 Covid-19 vaccine is in, and it’s looking good!
A preprint was released on patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital. Scientists tallied the number of people who did (and did not) have Covid-19 from September- November 2024 and whether they got this fall’s Covid-19 vaccine (specifically the Pfizer 2024-2025 KP.2 formula). Among 44,598 infections, the Covid-19 vaccine reduces:
The vaccine worked best for those over 65 years old. This study is very preliminary (it only covered two months with little Covid-19 transmission), but the findings aren’t surprising—they are generally consistent with what scientists have found in previous years.
It’s easy to wonder if we’ve had enough Covid-19 boosters by now, but as the virus mutates, vaccines—like flu vaccines every year—provide additional protection to our immune systems.
A Louisiana resident is in the hospital after contracting H5N1 from their backyard flock.
This case had the same H5N1 strain as a teenager in Canada who was fighting for their life last month.
(A recent NEJM case study described how severely sick this teenager was: intubation for 3 weeks, temporary support to the heart and lungs called ECMO, plasma exchange, 3 antiviral medications, and more.) The H5N1 strain involved in both severe cases—called D1.1—is found among birds and differs from the strain circulating among cows (B3.13).
If you have a backyard flock, you should take precautions to reduce the risk of spreading disease:
If one of your birds is sick or dies unexpectedly:
What about bird feeders? Birds that gather at feeders (like cardinals, sparrows, and bluebirds) do not typically carry H5N1. The USDA does not recommend removing backyard bird feeders for H5N1 prevention unless you also care for poultry. The less contact between wild birds and poultry (by removing sources of food, water, and shelter), the better.
FDA set the highest safety alert—a Class I recall—for some Costco eggs, distributed to Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Handsome Brooke Farms Kirkland brand of organic pasture-raised eggs is linked to possible Salmonella exposure.
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Class I designations are reserved for products with the highest possible health risk, meaning there’s a “reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” There are no recorded human cases yet, but let’s keep it that way—spread the word and throw these eggs out if you have them in your fridge.
‘Tis the season of New Year’s resolutions! According to a recent AP poll, most resolutions this year focus on health, exercise, and diet.
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Fifty percent of people aim to eat healthier, but what’s really considered healthy these days? Well, just in time for the new year, FDA updated the definition to align with the latest science. (The last time this definition was updated for food labeling requirements was in 1994!)
Starting in February 25, 2025, if a company wants to claim their new food is “healthy” on a package, they must meet two requirements:
The changes remove limitations on total fat and cholesterol and the required provisions of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, protein, and fiber—things that could simply be added to foods.
Basically, this updated definition aims to focus on more nutrient-dense foods, emphasizing food groups (and the overall nutrition profile) rather than individual nutrients in isolation. While this is progress in the right direction, it’s imperfect. For example, full-fat plain yogurt cannot be “healthy” under this guidance, but low-fat flavored yogurt with some added sugar could be.
What’s next? Reporting food as “healthy” is voluntary. Foods already on the market must comply by February 2028.
In the meantime, FDA is developing a “healthy” symbol that could be used for front-of-package labeling. While only time and research will tell how effective these labeling strategies are, it’s a step in the right direction, updating considerably outdated nutrition guidance, encouraging industry to reformulate foods, and making it easier for the public to make healthier choices.
You’re all caught up for the beginning of the year! Have a wonderful weekend.
Love, the YLE team
