For Immediate Release: May 25, 2021
Shachar Sharon, ssharon@nylcv.org
Lindsey Green, lindsey@kgfornyc.com
NYLCV Endorses Kathryn Garcia for Mayor
New York, N.Y. – The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) announced their endorsement of Kathryn Garcia’s campaign for Mayor of New York City.
Garcia has a career-long record of combating climate change. She served as the COO of the Department of Environmental Protection under Mayor Bloomberg and served as Incident Commander during Hurricane Sandy. During her tenure as the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Sanitation, Garcia led some of the most transformative and climate forward reforms in the department’s history. Garcia’s campaign for mayor includes comprehensive climate impact across every vertical, including housing, transportation, economic recovery, and education.
Building on her first-hand experience as Incident Commander during Hurricane Sandy, Garcia has laid out comprehensive and achievable resiliency plans to help protect all 520 miles of coastline in New York City.
“Kathryn Garcia is a leader who won’t only talk about climate change but will act. She always made achieving Zero Waste her top priority as NYC Sanitation Commissioner. Garcia spearheaded the City’s overhaul of the private carting industry and helped create a Commercial Waste Zone program that will improve air quality, decrease traffic congestion, reduce pollution, and create better working conditions for workers. She launched the largest composting program in the U.S., helped ban styrofoam, and piloted the first fully electric refuse truck. She also proposed a comprehensive resiliency plan that will protect all communities along our 500 miles of coastline from future storms. Kathryn Garcia is the champion we need in City Hall to fight the climate crisis,” said Julie Tighe, President of NYLCV.
“I am honored to have the endorsement of NYLCV. I want to thank NYCLV for their leadership on climate and for the shared values we hold to build a healthier, more livable New York City for everyone. This partnership is deeply personal and important to me as a career long climate change fighter,” said Garcia. “We share a steadfast dedication to fighting climate change for a better future for our children. I have been proud to work with NYLCV throughout my career to achieve some of the most transformative climate reforms in New York City, including banning #6 heating oil and styrofoam and ensuring that we put climate at the center of our policy decisions. When I’m mayor, together we will transform every sector of our economy to renewable energy on day one. My administration will tackle climate change on all fronts, working to achieve our goal of zero waste, building 150 million square feet of green infrastructure, and ensuring we protect all 520 miles of our coastline. We can’t afford to delay the resiliency investments our city needs. We need action now, and as mayor, I will get it done.”
Every election year, NYLCV develops candidate questionnaires based on the League’s policy priorities, including cleaning up the transportation sector, improving greenspaces, reducing waste, increasing resiliency, and building a clean energy future. The NYLCV New York City Chapter recommends endorsement decisions based on interviews with the candidates and questionnaire responses. In the case of candidates who previously served in the City Council, the board also considers the candidates’ scores on the 2020 NYLCV City Council Environmental Scorecard, which grades legislators based on votes and co-sponsorships of key environmental legislation. This year, the chapter also considered the Mayoral candidates’ answers in the A Greener City Hall video that the organization launched last month.
The New York League of Conservation Voters is the only non-partisan, statewide environmental organization in New York that takes a pragmatic approach to fight for clean water, healthy air, renewable energy, and open space. For more information, visit www.nylcv.org.
Kathryn Garcia is a lifelong New Yorker and the former Commissioner of the Department of Sanitation where she led the world’s largest municipal waste management, recycling, street cleaning and snow response agency. A former interim chair and CEO of NYCHA, and COO of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Kathryn has overseen some of the most ambitious projects and reforms in New York. Kathryn is running for mayor of New York City to bring the experience and leadership necessary to deliver strong services that will make government work for everyone equally and improve the everyday lives of New Yorkers by building a more affordable, more sustainable, more livable New York.
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