New York League of Conservation Voters
(212) 361-6350, Ext. 206
For Immediate Release
September 5, 2018
Contact: Shachar Sharon
NYLCV Responds to VW Settlement Announcement
Albany, N.Y. – Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation today announced that the state’s the $127 million Volkswagen Settlement will be invested in clean transportation including electric school buses. As part of its Clean Buses for Healthy Niños Campaign, the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund has been advocating for investing this settlement funding into clean school buses in environmental justice communities.
Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said, “The announcement to invest our state’s $127 million VW Settlement in clean transportation is a significant step forward towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are proud that our members’ advocacy for the electrification of school buses has been heard by the administration and is one of the priorities in Governor Cuomo’s plans. We are especially excited that the investments will be prioritized for environmental justice communities that have traditionally been overburdened by pollution, which leads to health risks including asthma. As our Clean Buses for Healthy Niños campaign has shown, children who ride diesel school buses remain one of the most vulnerable populations to diesel pollution and stand to gain the greatest benefits if we eliminate these sources of pollution through electric school buses. We look forward to working with the administration and stakeholders to ensure that electrification of our state’s school bus fleet remains a top priority as this plan is implemented.”
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 and Twitter.
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