Campaign to Defend Environmental Fund Extends to Buffalo, Long Island, Westchester, Brooklyn & Beyond

ALBANY, NY (03/23/2010)(readMedia)-- Groups from as far away as Buffalo, Riverhead, Poughkeepsie, New York City and elsewhere have joined the "We Love New York" campaign and placed personal ads in their local papers to call attention to the dire need to restore the State's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). The personal ads target the actions of state lawmakers with regard to the EPF, which was cut by $69 million, or 33 percent, in Governor Paterson's budget proposal. The groups are calling on the State Legislature to restore the Fund to $222 million in the final enacted budget. The campaign also launched new billboards in the State Capital today featuring New York's official mammal, the beaver, looking for love in the form of resources to protect the environment.

In Buffalo, an ad thanking Senator Antoine Thompson for supporting the EPF is running in ArtVoice. "If the Governor's cuts to the Environmental Protection Fund aren't restored, efforts that range from revitalizing Buffalo's waterfront and protecting local farms to supporting our zoos and aquarium will be compromised or shut down for good. We're calling on Senator Thompson to continue his diligent efforts to restore our environmental trust fund," said Brian Smith, WNY Program Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

Long Island Pine Barrens Society unveiled advertisements in the Long Island Press and Newsday calling on State Senators Brian Foley and Craig Johnson to restore critical resources to the EPF. The group also ran an ad thanking Assemblyman Robert Sweeney for his continued support. "Long Island's drinking water and efforts to preserve open space will be severely impacted if the Governor's draconian cuts to the Environmental Protection Fund aren't restored. These cuts put the very future of the Long Island Pine Barrens Act in jeopardy," said Richard Amper, Executive Director, Long Island Pine Barrens Society. "The 'We Love New York' campaign has caught fire everywhere with groups and individuals posting personal ads and zeroing in on their own elected officials. Viral is the campaign of the future."

Ads thanking Westchester County's contingent of State Senators, including Vincent Leibell, Suzi Oppenheimer, Ruth Hassell-Thompson and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, for supporting EPF restorations ran in the Journal News. "If state lawmakers don't restore the Environmental Protection Fund, the Hudson River Estuary Program--which is the retail face of the Department of Environmental Conservation in the Hudson Valley--will be hard pressed to help municipalities protect wildlife habitats and enhance access to the river. It's up to the State Legislature to fully restore cuts to the EPF along with the Hudson River Estuary Program," said Andy Bicking, director of Public Policy for Scenic Hudson.

In Brooklyn, ads targeting Senate Leader John Sampson are running in the Bay Ridge Eagle, Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn Heights Press and Brooklyn Daily Eagle. "Many of our favorite places in the New York City metro area rely on support from the State's Environmental Protection Fund. The Fund does everything from keeping Brooklyn's Botanic Garden and the Bronx Zoo open and fully staffed to investing in new public parks and access to the waterfront. We're calling on our leaders in the State Senate and Assembly to restore the Environmental Protection Fund and keep the places we love most open to the public," said Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

The campaign includes billboard, online and print advertisements, including personal ads, asking state leaders to demonstrate their love for New York by supporting the Environmental Protection Fund. Campaign ads are available at www.KeepProtectingNY.org.

This is the second year in a row that the Governor has disproportionately cut the Fund, which helps ensure the health and safety of New York's air and water, updates sewage treatment facilities, keeps working farms operating, preserves historic heritage sites and open space, revitalizes waterfronts, monitors pesticide use, and much more. Last year, state lawmakers restored some EPF dollars during budget negotiations. The State Senate's recently released budget resolution restores the EPF to $222 million.

The campaign, the largest mounted by environmentalists in state history, was unveiled in Albany on March 9th. Campaign underwriters include: The Adirondack Council, Audubon New York, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Environmental Advocates of New York, Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of Hudson River Park, Land Trust Alliance, Long Island Pine Barrens Society, New York League of Conservation Voters, North Shore Land Alliance, Open Space Institute, Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, The Nature Conservancy-New York, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

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For more information:

Erica Ringewald (518) 210-9903, Environmental Advocates of New York

Richard Amper (631) 369-3300, Long Island Pine Barrens Society

Jay Burgess, (845) 473-4440, ext. 222, Scenic Hudson

Dan Hendrick (212) 361-6350, ext. 206, NY League of Conservation Voters

Brian Smith (716) 831-3206, Citizens Campaign for the Environment