Latest Politicss

The release of the Mayor's Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 has initiated the next phase of discussions between the Mayoral Administration and City Council toward finalizing the budget. As New York City faces many environmental and climate challenges, it is imperative that the City’s final FY24 budget prioritizes efforts to move us towards park equity, zero waste, reliable and affordable clean transportation, and more. Allocating sufficient funds towards these initiatives can help create a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable future for the City and its residents. 

[9/20] Albany, N.Y. – The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) marks Climate Week with the release of its 2022 State Environmental Scorecard, their annual evaluation of State Legislators based on their support–or lack of support–for environmental legislation. Voters have come to rely on the scorecard as an easy-to-understand ledger on state environmental policies and an effective tool for them to hold their representatives accountable. 

On June 13, NYC’s budget for the fiscal year of 2023 was voted on and passed 2 weeks ahead of schedule. There are a number of key takeaways from the budget regarding implications on the parks, transportation, sanitation, and building energy and emissions sectors – all of which are important to protecting the environment of NYC and the climate at large. While some of our priorities were not met, the results of this year’s budget are generally positive.

Every year NYLCV and NYLCVEF celebrate the environmental progress we’ve helped create in New York City and across the State with our annual gala. This year we surpassed our fundraising goal for a total of $1.2 million, which will be used to support the work we do over the next year. Over 700 people including legislators, environmental champions, and industry leaders joined us to celebrate.  

We’re all familiar with the yellow school buses of our childhood: the rattling sounds of metal, the squeals of our peers, leather seats that had seen better days. Their presence was an integral part to so many childhoods – so what’s being changed? Transportation is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in New York, accounting for a third of total overall emissions. Not only are these emissions harming the planet, but research has shown that they are also harming New York’s children, leading to higher levels of asthma. 

Of the thirteen bills, used to evaluate each Council Member in 2021, eight were passed. The Plastic Straw Ban, sponsored by Councilmember Rosenthal that passed in May 2021, reduces single-use plastics in our waste stream and helps save small businesses millions. Councilmember Constantinides sponsored two resiliency-focused bills to study wastewater treatment and renewable energy opportunities on Rikers Island—both of which passed in February of 2021. Councilmember Dromm’s diesel school bus phase out, a long term NYLCV priority that requires all city school buses be fully electric by 2035, finally passed in October 2021.