Courtesy NYLS
Residents and environmentalists announcing their civil rights complaint against the pipeline project on Monday.
“Despite being the first phase of the pipeline’s construction, Brownsville and Ocean Hill were the last to find out about it,” said civil rights attorney Britney Wilson.
The Department of Environmental Conservation won’t make a decision for several months, but says that as it stands, the project would interfere with limits on greenhouse gas emissions set by the CLCPA.
The city is seeking public feedback that will help shape its first “Environmental Justice for All Report” planned for next year, looking at issues like water and air quality, waste management and access to green spaces.
The Reconnecting Communities Act which would have allocated $15 billion to retrofitting or replacing roadways that cut through economically disadvantaged areas, like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Un representante de las empresas que están detrás de la propuesta dice que han acordado revisar los planes en respuesta a la oposición de la comunidad y si el proyecto se aprueba, se construiría el convertidor en una zona industrial fuera del Bronx.
The decision was the first rate hike the state considered since passage of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, setting a precedent for how New York might enforce the use of natural gas by corporations as it strives to reduce emissions.
New York is the third worst city—behind Newark, N.J., and New Orleans, La.—in terms of urban heat islands, with temperatures reaching an average of more than 7.6 degrees higher than less developed areas nearby.
A representative for the companies behind the proposal say they’ve since agreed to revise the plans in response to the community opposition, and if the project is approved, would build the converter in an industrial area outside of the Bronx.
In light of the grim findings, environmental leaders reiterated calls for the state to pass legislation to fine corporations that fail to reduce emissions. Locally, the City Council is considering a measure to restrict fossil fuel hookups in new construction sites and gut renovations.
The state will vote Thursday on whether to approve higher gas rates to help fund construction of the seven-mile fracked gas pipeline, which runs from Brownsville up to Greenpoint.
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