NYC’s new 72nd Street bike lane would link East and West sides

The Mamdani administration is proposing a new bike lane on 72nd Street that would connect to Central Park, providing cyclists with a new link between the East and Hudson Rivers.

The Department of Transportation presented its plans for the two-way protected bike lane to Community Board 7 in the Upper West Side on Tuesday night. It included cutting the four traffic lanes on 72nd Street in half and new turning restrictions to protect cyclists in the bike lane.

“Designs like this make our streets safer for everyone, whether you’re biking, walking, or driving,” DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said in a press release.

The city plans to build the Upper West Side portion of the bike lane first. The transportation department plans to present its plan to the community covering the Upper East Side in the fall.

If implemented, the plan would be a substantial cross-town upgrade to the bike lane network. The only cross-town protected bike lanes are either on the north or south ends of the park. Cyclists looking to head across town through Central Park face limited options that involve riding in traffic or riding a big section of the park’s loop.

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California welcomes back commercial salmon fishing

Sophie Austin reports for the Associated Press

“SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal fishery managers voted Sunday to open waters off the coast of California to commercial salmon fishing for the first time since 2022, with the population rebounding after wet winters ended a long drought.

The decision by the Pacific Fishery Management Council to allow limited commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast is a win for the state’s salmon fishing industry, which has grappled with years of season closures due to dwindling fish stocks. The council, which manages fisheries off the West Coast, has barred commercial salmon fishing off California for the past three years. It voted last year to allow some recreational fishing for the first time since 2022.

The council is an advisory group to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, who makes the final decision but has historically followed the council’s rulings. The secretary’s decision will be posted in the Federal Register within days.

“It is great news for everyone — for the fishermen, for seafood lovers and the environment because it means that salmon populations are back to a much healthier state,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said ahead of the decision.”

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Trump’s EPA wants to weaken plant coal ash protections

Sierra Club: The proposal “doesn’t even try to hide the fact that it’s an explicit handout to Big Coal

By Robert Walton, Waste Dive

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed adding “flexibilities” to the rules that govern the management and cleanup of coal ash, the waste that remains when utilities burn coal to generate power.  There are approximately 775 coal ash surface impoundments and landfills across the country, according to the agency.

Environmental advocates say the changes could allow utilities to leave submerged coal ash in place, a practice that threatens drinking water.

Coal ash contains mercury, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic, which are linked to cancer and other health problems, according to the EPA.

EPA’s proposal is “another handout to the coal power industry at the expense of our health, water, and wallets,” Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice, said in a statement.

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Climate denial takes triumphal stage in Washington

By Maxine Joselow, The New York Times

Yesterday I found myself in a strange setting: the ballroom in the basement of a hotel in downtown Washington. I was there to cover a conference hosted by groups that reject the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change.

It might have seemed like a fringe event, except for the high-profile opening speaker: Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and one of President Trump’s possible choices for the next attorney general.

The mood in the room was celebratory. The roughly 220 attendees at the gathering at the Hotel Washington, which is a short walk from the White House, treated Zeldin like a rock star, giving him a standing ovation before he had even spoken.

“We aren’t just following blind obedience to whatever the dire, doom-and-gloom prediction of the day is,” Zeldin said, drawing more applause.

In some ways, Zeldin was echoing his boss: Trump has called climate change a “hoax” and “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” And his administration has systematically sought to slash federal funding for climate research while dismantling dozens of climate and environmental regulations.

‘A moment of triumph’

As I reported in an article published today, the event made clear that climate change deniers are seeing a new level of prominence in Trump’s Washington after years of feeling sidelined by the political and scientific establishments.

It was organized by the Heartland Institute, a research organization that has fought mainstream climate science for decades. James M. Taylor, the president of the institute, told me that the Trump administration had done more for his group than any other administration in history.

“This is absolutely a moment of triumph,” he said, adding, “It’s nice to be winning.”

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NJDEP Gets More Time for 3M & DuPont PFAS Settlements

As previously reported here and here, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced settlements with 3M and DuPont and its related companies (the DuPont Entities), totaling $2.5 billion, to resolve statewide PFAS claims.  NJDEP moved to enter the settlements, embodied in Judicial Consent Orders (“JCOs”), in November 2025, and objections were filed by the Association of Environmental Authorities of New Jersey, and several of its members (the “Objectors”).

The Objectors asserted that the settlements would not provide sufficient funding to meet the long-term needs of local governments to address PFAS impacts.  In response, the Court required NJDEP to supplement the record by April 2, 2026, with a Supplementary Report that would include evidence demonstrating that the concerns of the Objectors had been considered.

In its most recent filing, NJDEP reported to the Court that since the January 7, 2026, hearing on the JCOs, NJDEP and the Objectors have engaged in multiple mediation sessions, and NJDEP requested more time to continue to meet with the Objectors.  On March 31, 2026, the Court issued an Order extending NJDEP’s deadline to file the Supplementary Report to April 16, 2026.  The Objectors may file responses to the Supplementary Report by May 11, 2026.

 More information on the settlements is available on the NJDEP website here and here. 

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