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Climate Week Showed What’s Possible; Now New York Has to Deliver
The conversations I had suggested very few participants left New York Climate Week with a clear sense of New York State’s potential to lead on climate—and the extent to which we’re failing to meet the moment.
Oct 28, 2025
During the last week of September, as Climate Week turned New York City into a hub of panel discussions, protests, and policy announcements, I felt both inspired and unsettled. It is always energizing to watch tens of thousands of people come together from around the world to discuss solutions, progress, and roadblocks at every level of climate action—from households to national governments—alongside the global leaders convening at the United Nations at the same time.
But as I review what we’re doing here at home, in New York State, to respond to climate change, I’m impatient that we haven’t made more progress—and I’m determined to press our state to step up faster.
While the name “New York Climate Week” suggests a focus on climate action in, around, and by New York State, the topic of what exactly New York is doing to respond to the federal government’s assault on climate programs didn’t come up nearly enough. “States are the frontlines for climate action” was repeated over and over by speakers throughout the week, but the conversations I had suggested very few participants left New York Climate Week with a clear sense of New York State’s potential to lead on climate—and the extent to which we’re failing to meet the moment.
Once upon a time, our state was an early climate leader. In 2019, the organization I now lead, Environmental Advocates NY, worked with a coalition of legislators, partner organizations, labor unions, businesses, and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to enact the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), laying the groundwork for slashing greenhouse gas emissions, building renewable energy, and centering equity in the process. Even as climate denier Donald Trump sat in the White House during his first term, they made history.
Leadership is not measured by the speeches we give or even the laws we pass, but by how we follow through and the impact of our legislation.
A single state might feel small, but what New York does is important. New Yorkers power the world’s eighth-largest economy, if we were a nation. Our government purchases, priorities, and preferences move markets and change corporate behavior. Our energy policy sets an example for the nation, and under the CLCPA we’ve seen real clean energy progress. The Empire Wind project, if it goes forward, will generate 800 megawatts of renewable energy in the current phase and another 1.2 gigawatts in later phases. By last year, solar capacity had reached 6 GW, on the way to our 2030 10 GW solar target. Funding is flowing to climate-resilient infrastructure, green jobs, and innovation.
But we can, and must, do even better.
Overall, we’re only about a quarter of the way to our legally mandated 2030 emissions reduction goals, and our current path won’t get us over the line. We’re approaching 30% renewable energy, which is progress, but we won’t reach our 70% 2030 target. We failed to pass corporate reporting mandates this year, and the state’s top politicians have ground progress to a halt on Cap-and-Invest, the law’s primary revenue generation program.
Every day we delay sets us back. And what’s worse, fossil fuel projects we’ve already rejected are coming back from the dead: Just last month, the environmentally dangerous NESE underwater pipeline moved closer to approval.
New pipelines lock us into a future we can’t afford, and will mean decades more dependence on oil and gas, at the very moment we should be accelerating our clean energy transition. Every dollar we spend expanding fossil fuel infrastructure is one we’re not spending to advance clean power, climate resilience, and real energy independence.
Leadership is not measured by the speeches we give or even the laws we pass, but by how we follow through and the impact of our legislation, by what we choose to build or not build, by what we invest in and what we avoid, by how we make sure everyone benefits from our resilient future.
The good news: We know what we must do.
During Climate Week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced further details about the historic $1 billion commitment she’s made to the newly created Sustainable Future Fund, which will fund energy efficiency upgrades for homes and schools, clean transportation, new renewable generation, and more.
But the state still hasn’t implemented the much larger (and legally required) Cap-and-Invest program to generate revenue for climate investment. That needs to happen now. We need to redouble our commitment to the clean energy transition, modernize our electrical grid, help the communities carrying the heaviest climate impact burden, and—most importantly—draw a clear line against fossil fuel expansion.
The thousands of climate leaders who filled New York’s streets and stages last month all know that transformation is possible. Our state’s lawmakers and governors have backed them up with rhetoric. The outstanding question: Will New York ramp up our commitment to follow through, and lead?
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Sen. Gillibrand, New Yorkers Counting on Affordable Housing Need Your Support
We need Sen. Gillibrand to come meet with us, listen to our stories, and then take them back to the negotiating table in Washington.
Oct 07, 2025
The cost to keep a roof over our heads is the highest recurring expense for every family. Yet, the primary source of support for people who need help with housing is on the chopping block in Congress right now.
When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) launched her presidential campaign, she attended our Follow Black Women town hall with 100 Black women. At the time, the rent was already too damn high, and homeownership was already out of reach. Fast-forward five years and rent is up nearly 20% overall, with some boroughs in the city seeing twice that increase. It has been over five years since we last heard from her. But given what’s happening in the federal government right now, it’s urgent that she come home and hear from us right away.
Community Voices Heard (CVH) member Fabiola is a mother of two who has lived in Housing and Urban Development-funded housing in Newburgh, New York for more than 20 years. She has dealt with health issues that are exacerbated by black mold, poor ventilation, and years of disrepair. She stays because there is literally nowhere else she can afford in Newburgh. She is not alone.
In 2023, the New York State comptroller reported that 2.9 million New York households were cost burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs. The NYC comptroller found in January 2024 that over half of all renter households—52.1%—were rent burdened.
We need each elected official at every level—DC, Albany, and City Hall—to get the message and prioritize housing policy that centers affordability, dignity, and opportunity for all Americans.
CVH member Dolores has lived in Wagner Houses in East Harlem since 2000. Before that, she was illegally evicted from her apartment in Washington Heights with her 6-year-old, and ended up homeless for nearly four years. NYC Housing Authority Section 9 has provided her and her son safe housing for 25 years. That's now under threat. She is not alone.
The number of New Yorkers aged 55 and older in the city's shelter system increased by approximately 250% between 2004 and 2017. As of 2024, more than 520,000 New Yorkers are on a wait list for affordable senior housing. Across the country, the national population of people over 65 experiencing homelessness is projected to triple by 2030. Regardless of who we voted for in 2024, I’m sure none of us voted for our seniors to spend their golden years on the streets.
Gillibrand is the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. She knows better than anyone that Republican congressional leaders have been working nonstop to unleash hell on working families. First they passed a 10-year budget plan that steals our healthcare, safety net, and public dollars and gives everything we’ve got away to greedy billionaires and corporations. And now they’re coming for the roofs over our heads—forcing us into homelessness if we can’t pay more, just to lock us up when we’re left with no choice but to sleep in cars or camp on sidewalks.
This isn’t a tall tale. It’s where we are headed—unless Gillibrand proposes a different path and uses her position to turn things around. For years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has helped get and keep Americans with low and fixed incomes housed. Donald Trump’s White House pushed for a 43% cut to rental assistance and housing vouchers. Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) House of Representatives passed an appropriations budget that cuts HUD’s fair housing activities by 67%. These nightmarish proposals are the starting point for negotiating a final appropriations budget. So we need Sen. Gillibrand to come meet with us, listen to our stories, and then take them back to the negotiating table in Washington.
Around 74% of Americans believe the current economic situation is making housing less affordable. And the current economic situation is hitting some of us especially hard. Black women lost 319,000 jobs in the public and private sectors between February and July, more than any other group. Yet despite being hit with the worst of it, Black women overwhelmingly want solutions for everyone. Regardless of race, gender, or zip code, we know that more affordable housing means stronger, safer, more stable communities.
We need each elected official at every level—DC, Albany, and City Hall—to get the message and prioritize housing policy that centers affordability, dignity, and opportunity for all Americans. That said, it’s long past time for Sen. Gillibrand—who ran for president on a platform revolving around a Family Bill of Rights—to step it up.
If she doesn’t fight for us today, it won’t matter if she comes calling to ask for a donation, an endorsement, or a vote tomorrow, because we will have lost our homes.
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Trump Admin 'Illegally' Freezes $18 Billion in Infrastructure Funds for New York City
One New York state senator called the move "extortion, plain and simple."
Oct 01, 2025
A senior Trump administration official said Wednesday that $18 billion in infrastructure funding for New York City is being frozen, citing diversity, equity, and inclusion concerns—however, a White House insider attributed the move to the federal government shutdown, while critics noted that both Democratic congressional leaders represent the Empire State.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said on the social media site X that the $18 billion was "put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles."
However, a Trump administration official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the federal government shutdown that started at midnight is to blame for the freeze, as Department of Transportation personnel tasked with reimbursing workers have been furloughed.
Some skeptical observers noted that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries both represent New York and are both Democrats—whom Republicans are blaming for the government shutdown. Polling shows that more Americans say Republicans or both parties are to blame for the shutdown than Democrats alone.
President Donald Trump also threatened this week to cut off all federal funding to New York City if democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani wins next month's mayoral election. This, after the president threatened a federal takeover of the nation's largest city.
The withheld money is allocated for projects including the Hudson River Tunnel and Second Avenue Subway—which was first proposed in 1920 and has been under construction since 1972.
"You might as well threaten us with taking away the Dodgers."
Reacting to Vought's announcement, US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on social media: "Let’s open our eyes. This isn’t a functioning democracy any longer when—in the middle of a high stakes funding fight—the president illegally suspends federal projects in states run by Democrats as a way to punish the political opposition."
New York state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-26) posted, "Trump Republicans are so cruel and incompetent that they're now playing games with billions in funding for critical infrastructure projects, putting the literal foundations of our city at risk."
"This is extortion, plain and simple," he added.
The radical publishing collective Strangers in a Tangled Wildnerness encapsulated the sentiment of many New Yorkers in a Bluesky post directed at Trump, or perhaps Vought:
Motherfucker, you think you can coerce New York City by holding the SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY hostage?This project has been dragging on for a literal century. You might as well threaten us with taking away the Dodgers. Pathetic shit. apnews.com/live/donald-...
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— Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness (@tangledwilderness.bsky.social) October 1, 2025 at 7:53 AM
As for Vought's stated reason for halting the funds, Trump, Republican officials, and MAGA luminaries like the late podcaster Charlie Kirk have baselessly cast diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—an effort to mitigate centuries of ongoing systemic and institutional racism—and "woke" hiring practices as a catchall archvillain responsible for a host of ills ranging from transportation accidents to natural disasters.
Ripping on Vought's DEI claim, history professor Aaron Astor quipped, "Is the Queens Midtown Tunnel woke now?"
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