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On June 15th, the City Council Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management held a hearing on Intros 244, 274, 275, 280 and 281, various promising bills centered around composting that may significantly reduce waste in New York City and resultantly bring about local and climate benefits. 

As a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in New York, dirty transportation damages public health, accelerates climate change, as well as concentrates pollution in low-income communities and communities of color. Thus, there is an imminent need to promote aggressive action on cleaning up the transportation sector in order to protect public health, advance environmental justice, and achieve New York’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Electric vehicles are a pathway to that.

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.

The New York Legislature wrapped up its 2022 legislative session on the weekend of June 3rd, leaving Albany for the year after passing several important bills that were part of the NYLCV’s 2022 State Policy Agenda. 

Nine days after the joint press rally between the NY League of Conservation Voters, Riders Alliance, and Transportation Alternatives, the City Council, Senate and Assembly have passed a bill to expand the operating time on city speed cameras to include nights and weekends for three years. This news comes on the heels of the “potential fourth straight year of increasing traffic fatalities in NYC- a first since 1990,” showing we need enhanced pedestrian safety measures now more than ever. At the rally more than thirty people stood up for the principle that New York City should be able to control how it deploys traffic cameras on its streets. Many attendees held signs and pictures of loved ones lost to traffic violence and shared heartbreaking stories of loss and grief caused by reckless driving. Speakers included state legislators, New York City Council members, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, and street safety advocates, all of whom criticized, pushed, and rallied in support of the bill. 

Parks are one of the City’s most valuable assets and we must be investing in them in order to fight climate change, protect public health, and bolster the safety and wellbeing of our communities. Parks provide numerous resiliency benefits, increasing cooling by reducing the urban heat island effect and fighting flooding through capturing stormwater runoff. Parks also clean our air, and absorb climate-change causing pollutants and greenhouse gasses. Lastly parks provide safe open spaces for recreation, an aspect highlighted during the height of the pandemic. To ensure parks can continue to provide these benefits, we must be investing heavily in parks operations and maintenance. 

Each passing day is a struggle against the clock in the fight against climate change, with continuous emissions increasing the already-heavy strain on the ozone layer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2020, transportation made up 27% of the total United States greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, taking the lead over electricity and industry, and contributing to already-dangerous rising temperatures by putting out carbon dioxide emissions from petroleum-based fuel options. The Clean Fuels NY Coalition, led by the New York League of Conservation Voters, was formed to showcase the widespread support for New York State to create a clean fuel standard (also known as a low-carbon fuel standard) and reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector, which accounts for 35% of overall state emissions.