NYers Rally to Tell Gov. Hochul and DEC: Reject Trump Pipelines!

ALBANY, NY (09/03/2025) (readMedia)-- Today, outside the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) headquarters, more than 50 New Yorkers and advocates held an emergency rally to demand Governor Hochul and DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton reject the Trump pipelines. Organizations participating in the rally included Frack Action, Citizen Action NY, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Food & Water Watch, NYPIRG, Sunrise Movement, Environmental Advocates NY, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline, NYPAN Enviro Committee, and Third Act NY.

Watch a recording of the rally here.

View images from the event here.

Governor Hochul is currently fast-tracking two dirty, fracked gas pipelines at the Trump administration's direction: The Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE) and Constitution pipelines. These pipelines would be a disaster for New Yorkers, threatening our water, costing families more on their energy bills, and posing serious health risks to nearby communities - all so the Governor can curry favor with the Trump administration.

After meeting with President Trump this Spring, Governor Hochul reportedly agreed to have the DEC fast-track two long-dead pipeline proposals that her own state agency repeatedly denied: the Williams NESE pipeline, which would run through the New York Harbor and into Far Rockaway; and the Constitution pipeline, which would run across 125 miles of the Southern Tier and into the Albany area. The White House has since claimed Hochul "caved" on the pipelines in exchange for allowing a wind project in New York State to continue, while the Governor has hardly denied a deal and committed to working with Trump.

Despite widespread opposition from hundreds of elected officials, advocates, and even her own allies in Congress, Governor Hochul and the DEC are moving full speed ahead to appease Trump before New Yorkers can stop her. Now, New Yorkers are demanding she put our water, wallets, and communities over politics and reject this terrible deal.

Isaac Silberman-Gorn of Frack Action said, "We are here today to tell Governor Hochul and DEC Commissioner Lefton to deny the NESE and Constitution pipelines, as NY did years ago. The only reason these pipelines have resurfaced is because Trump and the gas industry are trying to bully Governor Hochul into approving them. New Yorkers don't like bullies; we like leaders who stand up to bullies. So Governor Hochul and Commissioner Lefton: stand up to Trump and reject his dangerous pipelines!

Background

Neither the NESE or Constitution applications have been amended since they were repeatedly denied by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which means they both still pose the exact same environmental threats to New York. The Constitution pipeline would threaten more than 250 waterways throughout Upstate New York, endangering sensitive habitats and wildlife populations that depend on healthy ecosystems, while the Williams NESE pipeline would stir up toxic contaminants in the New York Harbor that harm critical fisheries and other wildlife habitats.

These pipelines would also force regular New Yorkers to pay billions to expand fossil fuel infrastructure that is increasingly unreliable and expensive to maintain. The Williams NESE pipeline alone will cost more than $1.3 billion, forcing ratepayers to pay $200 million every year for more than a decade on construction. While energy companies promise it will eventually decrease costs, National Grid estimates its New York City and Long Island customers would see a 3.5% increase in costs to pay for construction - adding to repeated rate hikes already making energy unaffordable for most New Yorkers. In addition to direct construction costs, the pipelines would also jeopardize hundreds of millions in local economic activity, tourism, fishing and other small businesses that rely on healthy local ecosystems.