Latest news with #EDPs
New York Post
5 days ago
- New York Post
NYC subway assaults up 19%, with police officers often targeted
More subway riders have reported being punched, kicked and stabbed so far this year than last — and many of them were police officers, the NYPD said. Felony assault is up 19% in transit, from 214 incidents at this point in 2025, to 255 as of Sunday, according to NYPD statistics. Out of the 255 assaults so far this year, 93 — or 36% — were on city police officers and MTA workers. In the same span of 2019, 44 of the 154 people assaulted — or nearly 30% — were performing law enforcement duties, the spokesperson said. 5 Andrew Pashinin, 19, was arrested for allegedly shoving a man onto Brooklyn subway tracks in December — and told reporters he did it because the victim 'said mean things' to him. Gregory P. Mango Such incidents have skyrocketed a stunning 66% when compared to 2019, before the pandemic, when 154 straphangers reported being assaulted. Retired NYPD detective and John Jay College adjunct professor Michael Alcazar blamed the uptick in assaults on the number of mentally ill in the subway and the criminal justice system. 'It's all these things, the homeless population, the EDPs (Emotionally Disturbed People), the warmer weather, prosecutors not able to keep them in jail,' he said. 'It emboldens the criminals. They get out and they're back at it the next day.' 5 Police released a photo of a man who allegedly pushed a 39-year-old victim onto the subway tracks at the Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue subway station on May 22. A woman-hating goon with 20 busts under his belt was the perfect example of a recidivist assaulter when he allegedly shoved a 70-year-old grandmother to the ground in a Midtown subway station on May 12. 'What are you doing here?' Sherlock Arana sneered at Janet Parvizyar, an LA resident before shoving her into a wall and to the floor, she said. 'I don't understand, why did they let them go like this,' Parvizyar told The Post after learning of her attacker's criminal history. 'I mean, they have to do something about this. He's going to kill somebody.' 5 MTA employees on a subway platform where a person was pushed into a train. Gregory P. Mango Arana, 37, was arrested two days later after cops recognized him. He remains locked up at Rikers Island correctional facility on a second degree assault charge in lieu of $45,000 bail, records show. He pleaded guilty to assaulting two women inside separate Queens subway stations nearly a decade ago because he thought they were of Indian descent, prosecutors said. At least one was actually Bangladeshi. The most recent of his nearly two dozen prior arrests was in 2023 for a robbery, law enforcement sources said. The disposition of the case was unknown. 5 Police released photos of a man who allegedly randomly pushed an elderly man onto the subway tracks at the 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue station in Queens on April 23. DCPI The notable increase in assaults come as other transit crime has dropped 6% so far this year, including murders, shootings, robbery, burglaries and grand larcenies, the data showed. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has attributed the crime drops in transit to an increased police presence underground, including the addition of two cops on every train overnight and hundreds more working overtime shifts. A longtime Bronx police officer attributed the increase in assaults to mental illness and crowding on trains which have been busier since congestion pricing went into effect in January. 5 Police released photos of a man they said shoved a 33-year-old man onto the train tracks on Dec. 7, 2024, after a fight at the Atlantic Avenue- Barclays Center subway station. DCPI 'You have a lot more unstable people who are on the trains,' the cop with more than 20 years on the job said. 'Congestion pricing plays a part because the trains are also more crowded.' The police presence could also be adding to the uptick in the number of assaults, especially those against officers, a retired NYPD detective said. 'People don't like when police enforce drinking and minor offenses and they get aggressive,' the retired officer said.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New building rules could still require ‘bat tunnels and fish discos'
New building rules might still require developers to set up 'bat tunnels and fish discos', the Conservative shadow housing secretary has warned. Kevin Hollinrake suggested that nature restoration proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill risked delaying builders working on new homes and infrastructure. The Buckinghamshire 'bat tunnel' at Sheephouse Wood, a 900 metre-long structure designed to stop bats from colliding with high-speed trains on the HS2 railway between London and Birmingham, has cost more than £100 million. An 'acoustic fish deterrent' in the Bristol Channel, to keep fish away from a nuclear reactor cooling system at the Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset, has previously been dubbed a 'fish disco'. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner described the Buckinghamshire structure as 'an outrage' on Monday as she introduced the Bill, and Labour MP Chris Curtis told the Commons that the existing planning system was 'indefensible'. The Bill, if agreed to, would give Natural England the power to set up environmental delivery plans (EDPs) to look at natural features which could be negatively affected by building, and set out conservation measures. They would also set out how much developers must pay as part of a 'nature restoration levy' to cover these measures. At the despatch box, Mr Hollinrake asked: 'Are Natural England sufficiently resourced to carry out their work? How long will it be before these plans are in place? 'Have the Government taken into account the inevitable delays due to judicial reviews of the EDPs?' Ministers can only adopt EDPs if they pass an 'overall improvement test', if the conservation measures outweigh the 'negative effect' of building. The Conservative former minister suggested that if an EDP fails this test, 'then the system won't apply and the developer will still need to build those bat tunnels and fish discos'. Ms Rayner, who is the Housing Secretary, had earlier said: 'I'm sure it's a shared goal by all members across this house, that we want to improve outcomes for nature. 'But I'm also confident that no one here thinks the system is working well. Any set of rules that results in a £100 million bat tunnel is an outrage. 'I know those on the benches opposite agree, but they were determined to take a clumsy approach to fix nutrient neutrality that risked ripping up environmental protections and would not have worked.' Mr Curtis, the MP for Milton Keynes North in Buckinghamshire, described plans for a nature recovery fund as a 'policy masterstroke'. He told the Commons: 'What is most shameful about our current setup of nature legislation including the habitats regulation is not just that it stops us from building the homes and infrastructure our country needs and damages our economy in the meantime. 'It's that it doesn't even work on its own terms. Britain is still … one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.' Mr Curtis said 'the money we force builders to pay for nature projects isn't being spent in the most efficient way'. Turning to the 'infamous bat tunnel', the MP said: 'It cost us more than £120 million to protect a tiny proportion of bats, all while critical infrastructure projects were delayed or cancelled. 'Imagine what we could have done for nature not just with that money but with the extra money that would have been provided to our economy by not stalling that project for so long. 'However, while the nature recovery fund is a welcome step forward, we must ensure it works. It is heavily reliant on Natural England bringing forward workable delivery plans in a timely fashion.' Conservative former environment secretary Steve Barclay later said Mr Curtis had created a 'strange paradox to criticise' the 'bat tunnel', while 'also then supporting giving Natural England more powers to make similar decisions moving forward'.
The Independent
24-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
New building rules could still require ‘bat tunnels and fish discos'
New building rules might still require developers to set up 'bat tunnels and fish discos', the Conservative shadow housing secretary has warned. Kevin Hollinrake suggested that nature restoration proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill risked delaying builders working on new homes and infrastructure. The Buckinghamshire 'bat tunnel' at Sheephouse Wood, a 900 metre-long structure designed to stop bats from colliding with high-speed trains on the HS2 railway between London and Birmingham, has cost more than £100 million. An 'acoustic fish deterrent' in the Bristol Channel, to keep fish away from a nuclear reactor cooling system at the Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset, has previously been dubbed a 'fish disco'. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner described the Buckinghamshire structure as 'an outrage' on Monday as she introduced the Bill, and Labour MP Chris Curtis told the Commons that the existing planning system was 'indefensible'. The Bill, if agreed to, would give Natural England the power to set up environmental delivery plans (EDPs) to look at natural features which could be negatively affected by building, and set out conservation measures. They would also set out how much developers must pay as part of a 'nature restoration levy' to cover these measures. At the despatch box, Mr Hollinrake asked: 'Are Natural England sufficiently resourced to carry out their work? How long will it be before these plans are in place? 'Have the Government taken into account the inevitable delays due to judicial reviews of the EDPs?' Ministers can only adopt EDPs if they pass an 'overall improvement test', if the conservation measures outweigh the 'negative effect' of building. The Conservative former minister suggested that if an EDP fails this test, 'then the system won't apply and the developer will still need to build those bat tunnels and fish discos'. Ms Rayner, who is the Housing Secretary, had earlier said: 'I'm sure it's a shared goal by all members across this house, that we want to improve outcomes for nature. 'But I'm also confident that no one here thinks the system is working well. Any set of rules that results in a £100 million bat tunnel is an outrage. 'I know those on the benches opposite agree, but they were determined to take a clumsy approach to fix nutrient neutrality that risked ripping up environmental protections and would not have worked.' Mr Curtis, the MP for Milton Keynes North in Buckinghamshire, described plans for a nature recovery fund as a 'policy masterstroke'. He told the Commons: 'What is most shameful about our current setup of nature legislation including the habitats regulation is not just that it stops us from building the homes and infrastructure our country needs and damages our economy in the meantime. 'It's that it doesn't even work on its own terms. Britain is still … one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.' Mr Curtis said 'the money we force builders to pay for nature projects isn't being spent in the most efficient way'. Turning to the 'infamous bat tunnel', the MP said: 'It cost us more than £120 million to protect a tiny proportion of bats, all while critical infrastructure projects were delayed or cancelled. 'Imagine what we could have done for nature not just with that money but with the extra money that would have been provided to our economy by not stalling that project for so long. 'However, while the nature recovery fund is a welcome step forward, we must ensure it works. It is heavily reliant on Natural England bringing forward workable delivery plans in a timely fashion.' Conservative former environment secretary Steve Barclay later said Mr Curtis had created a 'strange paradox to criticise' the 'bat tunnel', while 'also then supporting giving Natural England more powers to make similar decisions moving forward'.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Researchers highlight terrifying multi-generational consequences of PFAS and pesticides: 'Can interfere with the normal functioning'
A recent report has confirmed a concerning connection between harmful health effects in humans and fluorine exposure through common chemicals and pesticides. A team of researchers based in China published a review that analyzed 80 studies about chemicals and pesticides that disrupt the endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone creation and distribution. They focused their investigation on seven types of fluorine-containing pesticides and five types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The scientists determined that all 12 fluorinated compounds can cause epigenetic modifications in humans and animals, meaning that they can alter gene expression and, thus, cellular function without changing the DNA sequence. Beyond Pesticides summarized the findings, noting that the endocrine-disrupting chemicals share a structural similarity to endemic hormones that allows them to bind to target receptors, leading to gene damage and multigenerational adverse health effects. "These chemicals can interfere with the normal functioning of target tissues by altering their response to hormonal signals, thereby affecting various physiological processes including reproduction, development, the nervous system, the immune system, and even the process of carcinogenesis," the authors of the study wrote. They also mentioned that the endocrine-disrupting pesticides and chemicals, known as EDPs and EDCs, have hydrophobic and lipophilic properties that allow them to thrive in organisms, enhancing "their potential for high biological toxicity and carcinogenicity." Specific issues listed in the review include sex hormone level imbalances that can lead to infertility and gonadal tumors, as well as breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Beyond Pesticides added that EDCs can cause diabetes and learning impairments. Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home? Majorly Sometimes Not really I don't know enough about them Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The researchers stated that humans are often introduced to EDCs through food ingestion, breathing, and skin contact. Culprits of this exposure are primarily through anthropogenic activity, such as wastewater produced by industrial facilities and pesticide application during the harvesting of agricultural goods. Meanwhile, the versatility of PFAS means that they are used in several industries and near impossible to avoid. They are known as "forever chemicals" because of their resistance to degradation, causing them to leach toxins into the air, soil, and water over extended periods. Beyond Pesticides said that because the "EPA falls far short in addressing the full range of endocrine disrupting effects of all pesticide ingredients," it "should not approve or reregister pesticides until the full scope of the potential harm from chemicals can be addressed." The researchers called for additional research since overlapping exposure to several kinds of EDPs could exacerbate issues, making "assessing and predicting the risk of EDPs more complex and critical." They also highlighted the need for safer pesticide options and alternatives. Luckily, the EPA has proposed plans to protect the public from some PFAS and pesticides. However, a few organizations are still working to convince the agency to ban additional harmful chemicals. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
