We fight climate change, conserve land and water, and protect public health in New York State through political action.

Parks are an essential part of city life. They provide an outlet for community, a space for people to escape crowded streets and city noise. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, parks are also a place of refuge, providing shade – and even water features for kids – to get relief from the brutal summer heat. In order to ensure our parks are well maintained and serve all city residents regardless of their zip code, the city must increase investments in the Department of Parks and Recreation. NYLCV and our Play Fair for Parks coalition partners have long advocated for the city to allocate 1% of its budget toward parks. While most major cities dedicate 2–5% of their budgets to parks, New York City remains stuck at approximately 0.6%. 

This summer's heat wave underscored a growing reality for New York: the state's electric grid must adapt to meet the demands of a warming climate. During July's record-breaking heat wave, Con Edison urged New Yorkers to delay running major appliances, reduce air-conditioning use, and avoid charging electric vehicles during peak hours. The request reflected increasing pressure on New York City’s electric system. On July 3rd, the utility temporarily shut off power to nearly 10,000 customers in southwest Queens so crews could repair heat-damaged equipment before a larger outage occurred. Elsewhere in the city, Con Edison reduced voltage by around 8% and again asked customers to conserve electricity while repairs continued. Heat waves like this one are only going to intensify and become more frequent. Voluntary conservation and the occasional brownout won't be enough to keep a grid, built decades ago for a cooler climate,  supporting an electric system in the summers ahead.   

Reporting to the Political Director, the NYLCV Political Organizing Fellow will play a critical role in the organization. Their work will allow NYLCV to further its mission of electing more environmental champions to office.

"Artificial intelligence and the technologies powered by data centers are here to stay, but their growth cannot come at the expense of our communities or our clean energy future,” said NYLCV President Julie Tighe at the Governor's announcement. “If we're going to build hyperscale data centers, we need to hyperscale our investments in renewable energy, transmission, and storage."