In an indication of changes on the horizon for the retail appliance market, the New York City Council passed a regulation that will ban gas hookups in new construction, thereby essentially outlawing the use of stoves, hot water heaters and furnaces powered on gas in the city. “It’s a historic step forward in our efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” Ben Furnas, Mayor de Blasio’s director of climate and sustainability, told the New York Times.