TAX EXTENSIONS FOR VICTIMS OF IDA: Victims of Hurricane Ida in parts of New York and New Jersey now have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. The Internal Revenue Service and US Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, who made the announcement on Thursday, explained that tax relief postponed various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Sept. 1, 2021, so that affected individuals and businesses will have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period.

This means also that individuals who had a valid extension to file their 2020 return due to run out on Oct. 15, 2021, will now have until Jan. 3, 2022, to file.

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NEW TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT HOUSE DEFECTS: A team of professors and graduate students from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering team has advanced to the American Made Challenges “E-Robot” phase II competition for its solution in reducing home and energy repairs from leaks and moisture-related home repairs. Associate Professor Semiha Ergan of Tandon’s Building Informatics and Visualization Lab (BILab), and Professor Chen Feng of the Automation and Intelligence for Civil Engineering and team have devised the EASEEbot (Envelope Assessment System for Energy Efficiency) drone, which safely and noninvasively flies around a structure, auto-generating a 3D model using advanced computer vision and AI techniques. The drone will also be able to scale buildings and use long-wave radar and machine learning to detect hidden deep moisture penetration and other major defects.

As one of only ten finalists chosen in Phase 1 of the competition, which is aimed at advancing American leadership in the energy marketplace, EASEEbot earned its developers a $200,000 cash prize to be used for prototyping and testing on campus, along with a chance to win part of the $2 million Phase II prize pool.

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GIVING NEW YORKERS A SAY IN URBAN PLANNING: An interactive urban design website has been launched for the public to collaborate on updating the Principles of Good Urban Design, a resource that helps New Yorkers advocate for their communities and shape their urban environment. Department of City Planning (DCP) Executive Director Anita Laremont explained that the new website, is intended as a collaborative discussion and education forum, clarifies technical concepts and provides guidance on how the public can get more involved in public planning processes and urban design.

This development is viewed as vitally important as New York City re-envisions the ways in which public streets, sidewalks and open spaces are utilized.

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PRE-ANTIC WALKING TOUR: Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue corridor, scene of the annual Atlantic Antic, will get its own in-person walking tour on Sunday, Sept. 26. Tour guide JoenSvehlak will describe the diverse commercial, social, civic and architectural merits of this great old Brooklyn thoroughfare from Atlantic Center to Court St., during the walk that runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a week before the Antic itself, that takes place on Oct. 3. Register here. Admission is on a $25/30 scale.

Participants will view two distinct Arabic shopping centers, an array of specialty shops, old and new residences, various mosques and churches that reflect the diverse ethnic history of the area, and side streets with their own history.

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NY OBSERVES HUNGER ACTION DAY: New York State landmarks will be lit in orange in recognition of Hunger Action Day, Friday, September 17. The fourth round of the Nourish New York program launched this month with an additional $25 million distributed to New York’s network of emergency food providers to bring New York food products to those in need, with total funding for the program rising to $85 million since its launch during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since its launch during the height of the pandemic in May 2020, Nourish New York has helped New York’s network of food banks and emergency food providers to purchase more than 35 million pounds of food from local farmers and delivered more than 29 million meals to communities across the state.