ASC's Intersections Newsletter — Week of November 2, 2020
Nora's Note
Small Business Recovery Stories
Designing space for a pause.
Not an easy day in New York—or the U.S.—as the future hangs in balance. But for small business to thrive in trying times, there’s little time for a pause. Unless, of course, you are Karen Frome, principal at NYC-based architectural firm Rise Projects, whose team shifted in the pandemic to bring new thinking to life from a distance. Their Caesura Sofa, a today twist on a Victorian-era courting couch, enables human connection without contact. A Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses grad, Frome and her team used the lockdown to launch a new website, design a sofa ("caesura" means pause), and refocus on the residential sector—and are now meeting the high demand for renovated spaces that turn “home” into 24/7 live, work and play spaces like never before. The 7-person Rise Projects team also did their part by returning to a recent project at George Jackson Academy in NY to help the school plan a strategy for reopening. And that’s how small business does recovery.
Transportation
DOE, USDOT issue $5.25M in project grants to advance transit tech. A recent round of grants for emerging transportation technologies aims to help public transportation agencies become more efficient—in every sense of the word. Three projects across the U.S. each received $1.75 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop tools that help agencies simultaneously address operational challenges and improve energy efficiency. Among the winners is the University of Utah's plan for a suite of tools to help agencies streamline operations and maintenance of electric buses. Read on to learn more about how these projects will leverage new technologies for cleaner, smarter public transportation.
Greater Greater Washington: These six ‘spokes’ could make Washington a model biking region
Transport Topics: Ford Doubles Down on Testing Autonomous Cars in Miami-Dade
Wired: How South Korea’s smart crossings are cutting road deaths
SI Live: Beryl bike share set to begin on Staten Island in March 2021
StateScoop: New York transit authority pilots app for vision-impaired bus riders
Transportation Today: Pennsylvania coalition gives automated truck platooning demonstration
Mass Transit: FRA awards more than $291 million in State of Good Repair grants to improve reliability and safety of America’s rail network
PIX 11: MTA to utilize WhatsApp to communicate to riders
Energy/Environment
Floating Offshore Wind Turbines Set to Make Inroads in U.S. Maine is now investing in US-made floating wind turbines, or “floaters," which are designed for waters deeper than 160 feet. With their ability to be placed in deeper waters, floaters allow for larger portions of a coast to be used for energy generation. The new floater technology is expected to be price competitive with fixed-bottom wind projects, like those off New York’s coast, by 2024. The new technology reflects an increased focus on wind projects, with existing or planned projects in seven East Coast states expected to generate 18.6 gigawatts of electricity—the equivalent output of 18 average-size nuclear power plants—between 2020 and 2030. Read on to learn which major corporations are throwing their financial weight behind the “floater” project developed at the University of Maine.
Gothamist: Eight Years After Sandy Battered The Rockaways, Construction Begins On Six-Mile-Long Resiliency Project
Fast Company: The U.S. financial system needs to prepare for climate disruption
NY Times: Americans May Add Five Times More Plastic to the Oceans Than Thought
Energy News Network: Mold, asbestos may put Connecticut weatherization goal out of reach
Cities Today: Mayors’ task force calculates the benefits of green investment for post-COVID recovery
GreenBiz: Carbontech is getting ready for its market moment
The Hill: Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia partnering on offshore wind energy development
Bloomberg CityLab: Real Estate Investors Want to Know What Cities Are Doing About Climate Risks
Economic Development
Renewal sought for Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission. Lawmakers in New York State are calling for the renewal of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission ahead of its expected expiration in September 2021. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Congressman Paul Tonko issued the call during the Canal’s 195th anniversary week, emphasizing that there is support on both sides of the aisle to continue to highlight a historic treasure that today acts as a tourism and recreation attraction. Congressman Tonko describes the Corridor as a “vital source of economic energy, hundreds of millions of dollars for the Upstate New York economy each year,” while Senator Gillibrand stresses the importance of the “historical, cultural and environmental resources the canal provides.” Read on to learn more about the potential commission renewal.
abc7NY Eyewitness News: Open Storefronts Program begins, aims to help small businesses in NYC
City Monitor: As Silicon Valley goes remote, its service workers face an uncertain future
The City: Offshore Wind Energy Hopes Brighten Sunset Park Outlook After Industry City Unplugged
Hartford Courant: In a pandemic that damaged the economy, advisory group recommends overhaul of workforce development in Connecticut
Next City: Cities Steering More Public Contracting Dollars to LGBTQ-Owned Businesses
Westfair Communications: New Rochelle IDA grants $39.5M tax breaks for two apartment buildings
City Limits: City Restores Some Housing Funds From Pandemic Budget Cuts
CNBC: Fed lowers minimum loan level for small business lending program
New at ASC
Our recent webinar “How to Maximize Your Virtual Engagement" with CEOs Nora Madonick (ASC) and Rebecca Karp (Karp Strategies) is now available on-demand.
Learn to use new technology to reach and engage audiences
Find out what works and what doesn’t
Take away guidance from real-world scenarios
The webinar showcased the teams' collaboration—Toolkit for Virtual Engagement—and you can download it today at ascRemote to build a strategy to meet your audiences where they are to advance the civic planning projects and initiatives that will speed recovery.
Get in touch to learn how our signature approach can work for you.
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