Latest Climate Changes

The 2019 legislative session came to a close with historic gains for the environment. The State Senate and Assembly passed the most aggressive climate legislation in the country as well as other legislative measures, putting New York at the forefront of the fight for environmental protection.

Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Council agreed to a landmark new budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which includes a historic $43.5 million increase in funding for parks and green spaces. This is a major victory for our Play Fair campaign and the future of our city’s parks.

Momentum is building to pass climate change legislation as the end of this legislative session approaches this week.

We recommend checking out the Drive Change Drive Electric site, which contains useful information about making the transition. This includes personal stories, key facts, and available options.

Every year, NYLCV reviews the NYC Mayor’s Executive Budget and sets budget priorities that help advance New York City’s sustainability agenda.

Along with Sustainable Westchester, we recently presented a Gold Certificate recognizing the Town of Bedford in Westchester for being a leader in greening the town’s municipal fleet of vehicles pursuant to our Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Pledge.

Together with The Nature Conservancy in New York, NRDC New York, and Audubon NY, NYLCV president Julie Tighe testified before the New York State Assembly about the need for urgent action this session on climate. She stated that we must reduce our net greenhouse emissions as close to zero as we can and that climate legislation should include carbon-neutrality and a clean electric grid.

In December 2018, most of the Transportation and Climate Initiative states committed to developing a clean transportation policy by the end of 2019. But New York was not part of that commitment. NYLCV joined other advocacy groups in Our Transportation Future to press for New York to act and advocate for the best approach to address emissions from the transportation sector.