ASC's Intersections Newsletter — December 13th, 2024
Nora’s Note
Small business looks up in 2025. The past year was another record breaker for small businesses, with an average of 430,000 new business applications per month in the US—a 50% increase from 2019. Long a cornerstone of the U.S. economy and a driver of post-pandemic recovery, small businesses have created 71% of net new jobs since 2019 and employ half of all private-sector workers nationally. In New York City, M/WBEs worked with the city government at the highest levels ever, while New York State surpassed its M/WBE utilization goal for the fourth consecutive year. Looking ahead to the New Year, nearly three quarters of small business owners say they are optimistic about the economic outlook for 2025, including the potential to use new technologies to increase efficiency and outreach. As a proud small business and D/WBE, we at ASC are energized and ready to embrace the opportunities ahead in 2025.
Transportation
Port Authority doubles EV charging capacity at JFK. John F. Kennedy International Airport now has nearly 50 fast-charge electric vehicle (EV) chargers after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey installed 24 new chargers last week. Both for-hire vehicles and the general public will be able to access the chargers, which will begin operating in early 2025. The installation supports New York City’s goals to electrify for-hire vehicles. Read more to learn about the Port Authority’s plans for additional chargers at other regional airports. (Source: AMNY)
Gothamist: Construction on part of new Midtown bus terminal to begin next year, Port Authority says
Fast Company: Amtrak had a record year, with 32.8 million riders. It’ll double that by 2040
Streetsblog NYC: Daylight Again! Council Seeks Universal Parking Ban At Intersections
Climate
The US is making and deploying more solar panels than ever before. US solar manufacturing and deployment is looking bright in 2025. According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q4 2024 Report from the Dolar Energy Industries Association, domestic solar module manufacturing capacity has increased fivefold since 2022 largely due to the Inflation Reduction Act. Experts believe this is a sign of growth in the domestic solar installation and manufacturing markets. Read more to learn about how reshored renewables are changing the economy. (Source: Canary Media)
Inside Climate News: A River in Washington State Now Has Enforceable Legal Rights
Fast Company: EPA boosts enforcement efforts in the final year of the Biden administration
Axios: Hawaiian crows return to wild for 1st time in more than 20 years
Economic Development
NYC Council approves $5 billion housing plan backed by Mayor Adams. New York City Council recently voted to approve Mayor Eric Adams’ ‘City of Yes’ plan to tackle housing shortages across the five boroughs through changes to the City’s zoning code. The plan contains updates to zoning standards that allow for office-to-home conversions and denser and larger construction near subways. By approving the plan, New York City could see an increase of more than 80,000 housing units by 2040. Read more about how the plan addresses the housing shortage. (Source: Gothamist)
WGRZ: Governor Hochul highlights 5% growth in clean energy jobs
CS Monitor: Robots and entrepreneurs work to green the US housing industry
Smart Cities Dive: To tackle housing affordability challenges, Ohio local governments take regional approach
Digital
How one state is expanding language access for UI applications. New Jersey, in partnership with U.S. Digital Response and Google.org, developed open-source training materials for large language models to enhance English-to-Spanish translations of unemployment insurance services. The resources, including a Spanish glossary and prompt library, reduce costs, improve accuracy, and streamline processes, cutting application times from over three hours to 28 minutes and boosting completion rates. Read more about hopes to expand this capability nationwide. (Source: Route Fifty)
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