NYLCV applauds City Council Speaker Adams, Finance Chair Justin Brannan, and the entire City Council for prioritizing environmental protection and the climate fight in their FY26 Preliminary Budget Response. We especially applaud the Council’s call to reverse the Mayor’s devastating cuts to the Parks Department and restore hundreds of staff positions. These restorations are a necessary step, but we need the Council and the Administration to go much further to ensure all New Yorkers – regardless of what neighborhood they live in – have access to clean and safe green space, and our parks can function as the green infrastructure we need them to be in this age of extreme weather.
We also commend the Council for:
- Calling for funding to expand and scale up community composting, which is key to reaching the city’s zero waste goal;
- Proposing a capital stream to support the implementation of LL97 with funds to help small- and moderate-income cooperative apartment buildings and condominiums pay for green energy upgrades;
- Adding critical funding to fully staff the Bureau of Coastal Resiliency within the Department of Environmental Protection, which is critical to defend against storm surge and sea level rise;
- Urging the Mayor to move forward with the design and construction of the East River Esplanade, including an eight-block stretch in East Harlem;
- Adding $2 billion over four years to support critical maintenance and infrastructure upgrades at NYCHA facilities;
- Investing more dollars toward the Fair Fares program to achieve a more equitable and affordable mass transit system;
- Calling for funding to plan for the transformation of Rikers Island into a hub for clean energy and environmental infrastructure after the closure of its jail facilities.
In the face of climate denialism at the federal level, we urge City Council leaders to fight hard during budget negotiations to secure funding and policies that will protect our environment, shore up our resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.