NYLCV RELEASES 2016 NYC COUNCIL ENVIRONMENTAL SCORECARD
OVER 40 PERCENT OF THE COUNCIL EARNED A PERFECT SCORE BUT 9 MEMBERS HAD FAILING MARKS
MANHATTAN DELEGATION SCORES HIGHEST WHILE STATEN ISLAND FLUNKS AGAIN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2016
CONTACT: Jordan Levine 917-392-8965 / jlevine@
NEW YORK – Today, the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) released its 2016 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 2016 Scorecard
The full document is available here.
Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters said: “Given the obvious challenges for advancing bold environmental policy at the federal level, cities and states are going to need to step up. The good news is – despite a few stragglers – we have strong allies in the City Council who have advanced a number of significant pieces of legislation in the past year from the Carryout Bag Bill to expanding benchmarking to electric vehicle charging. The key for 2017 is going to be ensuring the Council does not rest on its laurels as the citywide election cycle picks up. We are hopeful that every bill on the this scorecard will reach the Mayor’s desk by the end of the year.”
Highlights Include:
- Over 40% of the Council scored a perfect 100.
- The average score this year was 83, up from 75 in 2015 and 80 in 2014.
- The Manhattan Delegation, with an average score of 89, scored the highest out of the five boroughs.
- Staten Island, at an average of 43, scored the lowest for the third consecutive year.
- 9 of 50 council members scored received a failing score.
Scores of Key Committee Chairs:
Consumer Affairs: Rafael Espinal, 100
Environmental Protection: Costa Constantinides, 100
Parks & Recreation: Mark Levine, 100
Recovery & Resiliency: Mark Treyger, 80
Sanitation & Solid Waste Management: Antonio Reynoso, 100
Transportation: Ydanis Rodriguez, 100
Perfect Score of 100:
Bronx – Cohen, Cabrera, Torres
Brooklyn – Levin, Reynoso, Espinal, Menchaca, Lander, Williams, Maisel
Manhattan – Chin, Johnson, Garodnick, Kallos, Levine, Rodriguez, Rosenthal,
Queens – Constantinides, Crowley, Dromm, Richards, Van Bramer
Staten Island – none
Most Improved:
Cabrera: 100, up from 38 in 2015
Greenfield: 87, up from 27 in 2015
Eugene: 80, up from 27 in 2015
Low Scores:
60 – Miller
60 – Cumbo
47 – Palma
41 – Wills
40 – Grodenchik
27 – Borelli, Matteo, Mealy
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, except for medically excused absences.
NYLCV selected the legislation in the 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.