Elected Officials and Activists Call on Mayor to Fully Implement NYC 'Green New Deal'

*Reposted from Gotham Gazette, Written by  Samar Khurshid  (photo: @NYCComptroller)*

With climate crises bearing down on New York City, including hurricanes and tropical storms that flooded landlocked neighborhoods and killed more than a dozen New Yorkers last year, elected officials and activists are pressing Mayor Eric Adams to act with urgency in implementing a law to tackle carbon emissions in the city.

At a rally in midtown Manhattan on Thursday morning, climate activists gathered with officials including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Members Alexa Aviles and Lincoln Restler, and former Council Member Costa Constantinides to urge the mayor to put his full strength behind Local Law 97, which sets emissions limits for the city’s biggest buildings, which are also its largest polluters.

The landmark, nation-leading law was passed in 2019, as part of the groundbreaking Climate Mobilization Act, also termed the “Green New Deal” for New York City. It was a major achievement for Constantinides, the lead sponsor, then-City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who ensured its passage, Mayor Bill de Blasio, who signed it into law, and the climate activists who pushed for it, among others.

But now it is up to the new mayor, Adams, to implement the law successfully, and those who rallied Thursday are questioning his commitment to doing so.

For entire article visit: https://www.gothamgazette.com/city/11150-push-mayor-adams-implement-nyc…