New Poll: New Yorkers Oppose Williams Pipeline By a 20-point Margin

Many more New Yorkers oppose the Williams Pipeline than support it, according to a new poll conducted by the independent firm Anzalone Liszt Grove Research. The poll also found that, by a margin of 5 to 1, New Yorkers support the expansion of clean energy and renewables over the continued development of dirty fossil fuels like fracked gas. Opposition--which was by 20 points--is especially strong among Cuomo's primary base--Democrats, African Americans, and those who have a positive opinion of the Governor.

The Stop the Williams Pipeline Coalition issued the following statement:

"These poll numbers confirm what the over 38,000 public comments opposing this project make explicitly clear: New Yorkers by and large oppose the Williams pipeline and the potential for other new fossil fuel infrastructure. Coming off a terrifying week of record-breaking heat, power blackouts, and flash floods -- and given the recent passage of the Climate and Community Protection Act -- which leaves no room for new pipelines, the days of fracked gas in New York are done. Governor Cuomo needs to acknowledge this reality and stop this disastrous pipeline once and for all."

The poll found that opposition to the pipeline increased markedly after participants heard balanced arguments for and against the project, suggesting that the more New Yorkers know about it, the more vehemently they reject it. Along with the pipeline's significant climate impacts, construction on the project would reverse decades of progress made by New York's recovering harbor, churning toxic mercury and copper into the water and threatening shellfish, whales, and other essential habitat.

Since May, National Grid--a for-profit monopoly that stands to benefit from the pipeline's approval-- has been refusing new gas hookups to customers, claiming that it needs the gas supplied by the Williams pipeline had it been approved in May. Three separate agencies--the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Long Island Power Authority, and New York Independent Systems Operator-- have also predicted decreased demand due to improvements in energy efficiency, the continued adoption of air- and ground-source heat pumps, and the replacement of gas-fired power plants with offshore wind and battery storage.

The Stop the Williams Pipeline Coalition will hold a creative action at noon on Wednesday, August 7 outside of Governor Cuomo's office in Manhattan, reminding him to walk the talk on climate by stopping this fracked gas pipeline. As these poll numbers show, New Yorkers are resolutely opposed to this proposed expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure and strongly support the movement to renewable sources of energy.