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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Phoebe Galt, pgalt@fwwatch.org

NY Gov. Hochul Endorses Push to End Fossil Fuels in New Construction

Statewide Coalition Urges Speaker Heastie to Save New Yorkers Money, Create Jobs and Fight Climate Change by Passing All-Electric Building Act

ALBANY, New York

Today, in her State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed a push to end fossil fuels in new construction. In response, the #GasFreeNY campaign, which includes AIA New York, Earthjustice, Food & Water Watch, New York Communities for Change, NYPIRG, Rewiring America and WE ACT for Environmental Justice, issued the following statement.

Following today’s comments, the Governor is expected to include language enshrining the move in the executive budget, due later this month, as she did last year. The All-Electric Building Act (S562), which would require all-electric new construction statewide beginning in 2024, is a top priority for environmentalists this legislative session, amidst skyrocketing fossil fueled heating costs and the worsening climate crisis. Last session, the State Senate also supported this vital action, but the Assembly blocked the bill’s inclusion in the state budget.

“Governor Hochul supports the critically necessary step of ending gas in new construction. The All-Electric Building Act will lower energy costs, create good-paying jobs, save lives, and help the state tackle the climate crisis. As the climate crisis accelerates and New Yorkers feel the pain of skyrocketing energy bills, the Assembly and Speaker Heastie must work with the Senate and the Governor to include this life-saving bill in the SFY2023-24 Budget and create a #GasFreeNY. Each new building hooked to gas locks more families into overpaying to heat their homes, while padding the fossil fuel industry’s profit, torching our state, and endangering New Yorkers.”