As Dangerous Air Quality Threatens NYers, Activists to Demand Speaker Heastie Pass NY HEAT Before Session Ends

NEW YORK, NY (06/08/2023) (readMedia)-- Video available here. Photos will be available here.

Today, as New York State experiences its third state day of dangerous air pollution from more than 150 climate change-driven wildfires in Canada, and city and state leadership has recommended New Yorkers stay inside, climate activists braved the hazardous air to hold a press conference outside Speaker Carl Heastie's NYC office to demand that the Assembly pass the NY HEAT Act on the final scheduled day of Albany's legislative session.

Holding signs and wearing masks to protect against the health-threatening air, activists demanded that Speaker Heastie pass the NY HEAT Act to move New York off the fossil fuels supercharging Canada's wildfires. The Senate passed the NY HEAT Act Tuesday night, as New York's air quality index topped 200, measuring among the worst in the world.

"Speaker Heastie's Assembly is failing to meet the urgency of the climate crisis, even as it seeps through our windows and chokes our lungs with smoke," said Food & Water Watch Northeast Region Director Alex Beauchamp. "Speaker Heastie is running out of time to pass critical legislation that will curb our reliance on fossil fuels and protect New Yorkers' health. To prevent New York state from becoming a dystopian climate catastrophe where just breathing increases our risk of asthma, the Assembly must pass NY HEAT now."

The NY HEAT Act would support an affordable transition off fossil fuels by stopping the expansion of the dirty, toxic gas system; and reducing utility bills by eliminating gas subsidies and capping energy bills at 6% for low- and middle- income families, saving them up to $75 per month. These households are the most impacted by volatile gas prices and high energy bills, paying three times more of their income on energy bills than other families.

"My friends have been facing burning throats and breathing problems. We're worried about our parents who have respiratory issues and were out working in this environment. This situation is similar to COVID-19, particularly in the way that our leaders are failing to take action against it," said Fridays For Future NYC high school student and activist Modhupa Tsali. "We know where the problem is. We've known about air pollution and the climate crisis since middle school. We urge you to act against it now by passing the NY HEAT Act."

"For young people across NYC, the smoke covering our city is a glimpse into our future," said Fridays for Future NYC high school activist Helen Mancini. "Adults everywhere must take action on the climate crisis that they created. This includes the State Assembly. We need a just transition to renewables ASAP, and the NY HEAT Act is the way to go."

"Every new gas distribution line adds fuel to these climate fires," said Shay O'Reilly, Senior Organizing Representative for the Sierra Club. "The gas utilities are lobbying ferociously to continue poisoning us – and make us pay for it. We need Speaker Heastie and the Assembly to show some leadership and get NY HEAT passed."

"We're feeling Albany's lack of necessary climate action with every breath this week," said Brynn Fuller-Becker, Communications and Advocacy Manager of New Yorkers for Clean Power. "But it's not too late to change course. The Senate showed their commitment to cleaner air and lower bills for their constituents by passing NY HEAT earlier this week. Now the Assembly must finish the job and stand with New Yorkers, not the dirty, outdated gas companies that got us here."

"The realities of the climate crisis are smacking us in the face, disaster after disaster. The time for the Assembly to pass the NY HEAT Act is now" said Megan Ahearn, NYPIRG Program Director. "New York must swiftly transition to a fossil free future. Our health and our wallets depend on it."

"Every New Yorker is suffering the impacts of climate change right now - the question is whether Speaker Heastie will remain accountable to them and pass NY HEAT, or if he'll defer to the corporate gas utilities that want to keep building fracked gas pipelines, unimpeded," said Avni Pravin, Deputy Director of Alliance for a Green Economy. "There is still time for him to join the Senate and 60 Assembly sponsors to get this critical piece of climate legislation passed and we are urging him, with every toxic breath we are taking right now, to move this bill in the Assembly without delay."

"As thick, toxic pollution covers New York State, it's abundantly clear that there's no time to waste when it comes to transitioning our economy off fossil fuels and onto renewable energy," said NY Renews Coalition Coordinator Stephan Edel. "We call on the Assembly pass NY HEAT to help shift our buildings away from fracked gas and onto renewable energy while lowering energy bills for the people in our state who need it most. It's a win-win. It's time to act."

"New York's air quality was tracked as the worst in the world yesterday. This is not a drill. Pass the damn NY HEAT bill," said Kim Fraczek, Director of Sane Energy Project. "NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Governor Kathy Hochul have every opportunity today, the final day of the legislative session, to do the bare minimum for climate justice and pass the NY HEAT Act. This crucial bill magnifies the intersection of racial and economic justice by eliminating subsidies for toxic fracked gas, while protecting priority communities from skyrocketing increases in their utility bills. If they do not pass this bill today, we will hold them both responsible for every single utility bill hike to come across the state."

"At a time when National Grid plans to raise rates by 16% for Long Island families, it is absolutely critical for us to pass NY HEAT this session," said Ryan Madden, Sustainability Organizer for the Long Island Progressive Coalition and Steering Committee Member for NY Renews. "NY HEAT will lower utility bills $75 a month for those least able to pay and clear the path to a more affordable, reliable and 100% renewable heating system. To clean our air and lower our bills, Speaker Heastie must ensure this passes now."

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