Here’s what we’re reading this week:
City Council Announces New Committee Chairs
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams recently announced her appointees for committee chairs. Important chairs to keep an eye on for sustainability and building a greener city include environmental protection, transportation, parks, sanitation, and resiliency. Housing, health, and finance are also important chairs that can help facilitate environmental legislation.
Photo Credit: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
NYLCVEF’s Offshore Wind Webinar Recap
On Wednesday, January 12th, 2022, NYLCVEF and our partner, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, hosted a webinar with special guests Orsted and Eversource to learn more about their ongoing offshore wind projects, South Fork Wind and Sunrise Wind. We heard from speakers Jennifer Garvey, New York Market Affairs Manager for Orsted, and Ken Bowes, Vice President of Offshore Wind Permitting and Siting for Eversource Energy. The speakers presented the goals and state of the current projects.
She’s said she’s committed to fighting the climate crisis, and Gov. Kathy Hochul is now showing how much she’s willing to spend on it. In her short budget presentation, Hochul highlighted a $500 million investment in off-shore wind energy development and the long talked-about Environmental Bond Act, now increased to $4 billion. If approved by New York state voters this November, this $4 billion investment would go towards mitigating climate change, building resilient infrastructure and improving water quality. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to see any, many states that are doing as much as New York is doing to invest in climate change,” Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said.
A new era of federal investment in our environment is here, and Western New York is uniquely poised to benefit. The $1.2 trillion infrastructure law will fund exciting improvements to roads, bridges and airports, but its reach goes far beyond that, and "Build Back Better" has the potential to be transformative for our region. The law will correct historical wrongs caused by legacy industrial pollution, prejudiced urban planning practices and reliance on fossil fuels. It will lay the foundation for a more sustainable future by aiding the transition to electric vehicles, clean public transportation and green infrastructure. These projects will create good-paying jobs and fulfill the promise of government to improve the quality of life and health of its citizens, while growing the economy.
Thanks to higher-than-expected mid-year revenues and a federal windfall of pandemic relief, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s freshman executive budget proposal is a boon to a variety of budget sectors, including the two largest — education and health care. Environmentalists are lauding the governor’s decision to propose a $4 billion Environmental Bond Act. Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters said, “This is critical to invest in proven solutions that support communities across the State and prioritize the health of every New Yorker and our environment, support disadvantaged communities, create tens of thousands of jobs, and jumpstart the transition to a green economy.”
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