NYLCV RELEASES 2015 NYC COUNCIL ENVIRONMENTAL SCORECARD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 29, 2016

CONTACT: Jordan Levine jlevine@nylcv.org

NEW YORK – Today, the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) released its 2015 New York City Council Environmental Scorecard, which highlights the performance of every Council Member on previous year’s key environmental issues. NYLCV is the only organization that produces an environmental scorecard and provides an independent assessment of the City Council’s record.

NYLCV’s 2015 Scorecard examined voting and sponsorship records on 12 key environmental bills covering clean energy, public health, transportation, and more. Priority bills included: legislation to reduce single-use carryout bag consumption; to prohibit the sale and distribution of children’s toys containing known toxic chemicals; and a ban on microbeads in over-the-counter cosmetic and personal care products.

The full document is available here.

Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters said: “As we prepare for the one year progress report on OneNYC in April, the City Council will continue to play a critical role in enacting legislation that will allow New York to stay on track to meet ambitious goals like reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 and getting to zero waste to landfills by 2030. NYLCV looks forward to working closely with the Council to ensure that New York remains a thought leader on sustainability and commits the necessary resources to stay on a healthy and sustainable path.”

Highlights Include:

• Over 1/4 of the Council scored a perfect 100.
• The average score this year was 75, down from 80 last year.
• The Brooklyn Delegation, with an average score of 87, scored the highest out of the five boroughs.
• 12 of 48 council members scored received a failing score.

Scores of Key Committee Chairs:

Consumer Affairs: Rafael Espinal, 73

Environmental Protection: Costa Constantinides, 100

Parks & Recreation: Mark Levine, 100

Recovery & Resiliency: Mark Treyger, 87

Sanitation & Solid Waste Management: Antonio Reynoso, 93

Transportation: Ydanis Rodriguez, 100

Perfect Score of 100:

Bronx – Cohen, Torres

Brooklyn – Levin, Menchaca

Manhattan – Chin, Johnson, Levine, Rodriguez, Rosenthal

Queens – Constantinides, Crowley, Richards, Van Bramer

Staten Island – none

Low Scores:

53 – Mendez

47 – Gentile

38 – Cabrera, Wills

33 – King

27 – Eugene, Mealy, Greenfield, Matteo

25 – Dickens

20 – del Carmen Arroyo

In order to tabulate these scores, Council Member’s offices were contacted to learn of the respective member’s stance or if they are signed on, or if they were in voting in favor of or against.  The priority bills counted twice in scoring, leading to a total of 15 obtainable points.  All responses that were not a vote in favor were marked down as counting as a 0 in their score.

NYLCV selected the legislation in the 2015-2016 Environmental Scorecard after extensive consultation with partner organizations in the transportation, environmental justice, public health, conservation, parks and clean-energy communities. Relying heavily on their input, NYLCV drafted an initial list of more than three dozen bills. The final list was pared down to 12 to indicate the highest collective priorities.

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The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) is the only non-partisan, statewide environmental organization in New York that takes a pragmatic approach to fighting for clean water, healthy air, renewable energy, and open space. Follow NYLCV on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.