YOUR
PRIDE.
YOUR
IMPACT.
Fuel the Arts.
Fight for Justice.
Improve Health.
Provide Opportunity.
Protect the Environment.
Join us and make a difference
with your charitable giving.
Contact Jane at
(212) 686-0010 x363 or
giving@nyct-cfi.org
www.GiveTo.nyc
PHOTO BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
Hunger strikers sat outside Governor Cuomo’s Midtown office last
week protesting the Williams Pipeline.
Pipeline blocked for now,
activists push climate bill
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
Last Tuesday, six women popped
open blue, purple and pink umbrellas
as they sat on the sidewalk
on Third Ave. outside Governor
Cuomo’s offi ce as rain started to fall.
They knew they were in for a long
haul.
The group of climate activists gathered
at the Midtown location on May
14 to participate in a three-day hunger
strike to pressure Cuomo to block the
Williams Pipeline. The 24-mile long
pipeline would carry fracked gas from
Pennsylvania shale fi elds across the
lower bay of New York Harbor to heat
homes in the outer boroughs and Long
Island.
The activists fi ghting the plan succeeded.
The next day, the governor’s
administration blocked the pipeline.
According to Politico, the Department
of Environmental Conservation found
that the Williams Pipeline, offi cially
known as the Northeast Supply Enhancement
project, would have signifi -
cant environmental impacts on water
quality.
But the battle is far from over for the
activists. The day after the announcement,
they rallied on the City Hall steps
and also outside of 118th 10th Ave.,
where Cuomo had a private party with
former and current staff members. The
denial by D.E.C. was “without prejudice”
meaning that Williams could reapply
again.
Besides keeping their eye on the
Williams Pipeline, activists plan to
pressure Cuomo to pass the Climate
and Community Protection Act. The
act calls for a 50 percent reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and
for a 100 percent renewable energy
economy by 2050. The goal of the governor’s
“Green New Deal” is for the
state’s electricity sector to use 70 percent
renewable energy sources by 2030
and 100 percent by 2040.
But environmentalists say the plan is
not aggressive enough. They note that
climate scientists say that, in order to
avoid catastrophic effects of climate
change, greenhouse gas emissions must
be reduced by 80 percent from 1990
levels by 2050.
“If New York passes good legislation,
then other states will be brave enough
to follow us,” said Claire Ullman, from
Rise and Resist, one of the groups who
were waiting for Cuomo on Tenth Ave.
on May 15. Ullman hopes for a domino
effect of state laws on climate change
that ultimately would reach Washington.
“If we have good national legislation,”
she said, “then the U.S.A. can
fi nally step up and lead the world in
confronting our global climate emergency.”
DONATE YOUR CAR
Wheels For Wishes
benefiting
Make-A-Wish®
Metro New York
* 100% Tax Deductible
* Free Vehicle Pickup ANYWHERE
* We Accept Most Vehicles Running or Not
* We Also Accept Boats, Motorcycles & RVs
WheelsForWishes.org
* Car Donation Foundation d/b/a Wheels For Wishes. To learn more about our programs or
Call:(917)336-1254
Schneps Media TVG May 23, 2019 11
/www.GiveTo.nyc
/www.GiveTo.nyc
link
/WheelsForWishes.org
link