ASC's Intersections Newsletter — April 30, 2026
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Nora's Note
When everyone has a place they can call home, we all win. Last week, I delivered the keynote at Rockland County’s fourth annual Housing Forum, held during Fair Housing Month and Community Development Week. The forum brought together county leaders, municipal officials, housing professionals, advocates, nonprofit partners, developers, planners, and community stakeholders for a full day focused on one of today’s most pressing issues: how to make it possible for people to stay rooted in the communities they call home. The day’s sessions covered many dimensions of that challenge including approaches to affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities, lead hazard remediation and the New York State rental registry, the County’s comprehensive plan update, fair housing at the state and local levels, lessons from the Maple Commons public-private partnership, and a panel with New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Empire State Development, and local leaders. The forum was the ideal setting to launch Keep Rockland Home, an education and awareness campaign developed by Arch Street Communications and to speak about the public benefits of attainable housing, and the role of communications in advancing the public conversation around what comes next.
Transportation
The MTA is entering the next phase of planning for the proposed Interborough Express (IBX) light rail, which will connect Brooklyn and Queens. The project would span from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens, connecting residents to 17 subway lines and bypassing Manhattan entirely. The project could eliminate an estimated 21.8 million vehicle miles traveled by car each year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, some community members have raised concerns about tree removal and potential disruption to wildlife along the route. Learn more about upcoming public workshops happening from April 28 to May 30. (Source: AMNY)
Gothamist: NJ derailment revives long-running rail safety debate in state’s most populous area
Streetsblog: New e-mobility study actually reveals need for safer streets, not e-bike crackdowns
Mass Transit Magazine: MTA unveils new bus operator training simulators
Climate
San Francisco’s new $300,000 pilot program is replacing gas water heaters with electric heat-pump models at up to 30 home-based childcare facilities in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Funding for the pilot comes from Tech Clean California’s Quick Start Grant (QSG) program, an initiative focusing on targeted, agile funding to implement electrification statewide. The heat pumps aim to combat poor indoor air quality and growing emissions, which children are most vulnerable to. Read more about how the program is training local contractors and could become a model for other communities. (Source: Canary Media)
Inside Climate News: As climate disasters create an insurance crisis, a California Bill seeks to make fossil fuel companies pay
Grist: The huge, untapped potential of planting rooftop gardens in cities
Happy Eco News: Low-carbon urban constriction could help cities solve housing and climate challenges
Economic Development
A new $4B Housing Investing Initiative in New York launched last week, seeking to expand production and preservation by expanding access to funding. The housing affordability crisis has been a top priority in New York for over a decade, from former Mayor de Blasio to current Mayor Mamdani. Over the next four years, the City will dedicate about $1 billion per year to fund the creation of new mixed-income and affordable housing, preservation of existing affordable housing, and support office-to-residential conversions. Read more to learn how this aligns with other cities’ plans to address ongoing challenges for affordable housing. (Source: Smart Cities Dive)
Planetizen: Philadelphia gained 4,000 new housing permits per year after upzoning
Waste Dive: TerraCycle launches $75M funding round to fuel expansions
Hoodline: Brooklyn Park rethinks $4.5M small business incubator
Digital
Researchers are piloting a multi-sensory warning system to protect highway construction crews from dangerous drivers. As a part of Morgan State University’s SMARTER Center, in partnership with Baltimore and the Maryland DOT, the system uses lidar sensors, edge computing, and a predictive time-to-collision algorithm. This alerts workers via a flashing beacon, haptic wearable, and siren, ensuring no one misses a warning regardless of what they're doing. The pilot comes amid alarming numbers: Maryland logged 449 worker injuries last year, while Virginia saw over 4,000 work zone crashes in 2024. Read more to learn about this life-saving technology and the national push for work zone safety. (Source: GovTech)
Forbes: Rethinking accounting: How technology is helping small businesses
Route Fifty: A new Oregon law regulates police use of license plate readers. Here’s how it works
Tech Crunch: Maine’s governor vetoes data center moratorium
About Arch Street Communications
At ASC, we help government agencies, corporations and nonprofit organizations across the globe communicate issues that affect people’s lives. We’re the bold, nimble, women-owned small business (WBE) that has supported strategic communications programs to build stronger communities for 30 years.
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