Meanwhile, In Albany
Jun 20th, 2008 by Jervey
UPDATE: Comments from Bloomberg on the passage of these bills:
STATEMENT BY MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON RECENT PROGRESS IN PLANYC LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
“In the past several days, the State Legislature has passed three bills that were legislative proposals made in PlaNYC, our agenda for creating a greener, greater New York. Today, the Legislature took a big step toward reducing traffic congestion - and air pollution from idling cars - by passing our proposal to make it easier to cite drivers for ‘blocking the box’ at busy intersections. And on Tuesday, the Legislature approved City tax credits for installing solar panels on homes and businesses - encouraging private property owners to join the growing movement toward the use of renewable power. A third bill, also passed today, allows those who generate renewable power to sell what is unused back to the system, an important incentive for individuals and businesses to install technology like solar panels. This is welcome progress, and I thank the Legislature for their action, parti! cularly Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno; Assembly Member Herman ‘Denny’ Farrell, Jr. and Senator Frank Padavan, who sponsored the Solar Panel bill; and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh and Senator Andrew Lanza, who sponsored the bill that will reduce congestion from ‘blocking the box.’ I look forward to Governor Paterson signing all of these bills into law.”
From NYLCV:
In the waning days of the 2008 legislative session, Albany lawmakers have green-lighted important bills on traffic reform and alternative energy. But there are still many fundamental issues to be resolved before the June 23 deadline. Your voice is crucial to making sure that our elected officials see the voters care about these issues – so make your voice heard today by joining NYLCV’s call to action!
First, we are happy to report that lawmakers have approved several key measures this week, including on green buildings, net metering, traffic reform and tax credits for New York City property owners who install solar energy systems. Thank you to all of our partners in the advocacy communities, and especially our Assembly and Senate leaders, for making these successes possible.
You may recall, faithful readers, that this Solar Abatement tax credit is the very same that we were calling for last week. Little victories!