Transportation

Amtrak received a $2.45 billion loan from the federal government this past week to replace aging Acela trains along the Northeast Corridor with 28 new high-speed trains, increasing the corridor’s capacity by 40 percent. [New York Times]

Beyond tunnel repairs and periodic shutdowns, the MTA is also exploring new ways to waterproof subway stations and infrastructure, from stairwell barriers to inflatable tunnel dams. [Wired]

Brooklyn, the home to the city’s largest number of bicycle commuters and seen as one of the more bike-friendly boroughs, is also home to eight out of 15 bicycle deaths. [New York Times]

New York’s yellow cab trips have declined amid a rise in ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. [Wall Street Journal]

As construction at La Guardia begins, passengers warn of gridlocked traffic around the airport. [New York Times]

Energy & Environment

The dirty shores and polluted waters of Long Island’s Lake Ronkonkoma remain neglected as cleanup is mired in bureaucratic red tape between the lake’s multiple municipal owners. [Long Island Press]

Hoboken is turning to microgrids for a mix of public and private buildings to ensure resilience in the face of future storms. [City Lab]

New Jersey and Connecticut have some of the most potentially corrosive groundwater in the U.S., according to a new federal study. Corrosive groundwater, if untreated, could cause lead contamination in drinking water. [Wall Street Journal]

Community Planning & Design

With record numbers of homeless New Yorkers, families face daylong waits as they flood the city’s already overwhelmed homeless services. [New York Times]

The De Blasio administration has proposed moving to zoned pick-ups for commercial waste in the city, which could reduce traffic, benefit businesses and the environment, says Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. [Crain’s New York]

Charles Platkin of the New York City Food Policy Center weighs in on the city’s recent supermarket closures and how they affect residents. [WNYC]

As development booms across Stamford, residents of the city’s South End neighborhood voice fears about the transformation of the blue collar neighborhood. [Stamford Advocate]

After the recent city council decision to block a new Inwood development under De Blasio’s affordable housing program, some community advocates point to this decision as a cautionary tale for the city: don’t trust private equity firms to build affordable housing. [Crain’s New York]

Columbia Professor and RPA board member Lynne Sagalyn chronicles how revival and remembrance reshaped Lower Manhattan after 9/11. [New York Observer]

Photo: Acela train by John H. Grain/ Flickr