In April 2016, NYC-EJA and our member organizations released our report,  NYC Climate Justice Agenda: Strengthening the Mayor's OneNYC Plan. The report assessed whether or not efforts from City government, as laid out in the City's sustainability and resiliency blueprints, can begin to reduce the vulnerabilities of low-income communities and communities of color to climate change impacts; and proposed recommendations to broaden and strengthen such protections. We also released an accompanying document, the  Toolkit for Communities,  which aims to assist advocates in promoting a more environmentally just New York City.

We have made great strides in building more resilient industrial waterfront communities through our Waterfront Justice Project initiatives in the South Bronx and Sunset Park. In partnership with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute, NYC-EJA hosted a community workshop in Hunts Point where w e disseminated our Environmental Best Management Practices Toolkit, which consolidates pollution prevention and climate adaptation existing knowledge and best practices for the automotive industry. 

UPROSE and NYC-EJA rallying against displacement

We continue to push for community-based planning and support our member organizations in their local agendas. We've worked with THE POINT to co-host community disaster preparedness meetings in Hunts Point, with Brooklyn Movement Center on their energy work in Central Brooklyn, and with UPROSE to inventory auto shops in Sunset Park through our GRASP project, and resist the Brooklyn Queens Connector Street Car -- which may spur further gentrification along the waterfront and is vulnerable to flooding and storm surge. 

In June, NY Renews held a rally in Albany to  demand a just transition to 100% clean renewable energy. Our progress has been nothing short of remarkable: t he ambitious New York Climate and Community Protection Act passed overwhelmingly in the Assembly and it even won the support of a bipartisan majority in the State Senate ! In the end, we got within inches of passing it, defying expectations left and right.

With the incoming president, we need climate action at the state level now more than ever. NY Renews, an unprecedented statewide coalition of 90+ organizations, is poised to do just that. Earlier this month, hundreds of people came together for a Town Hall called Climate in the Era of Trump: How NY Can Lead the Fight. We continue to ask that you call Governor Cuomo today to urge him to get behind our bill! 

In 2016, NYC-EJA continued to push for more equitable and inclusive State energy policies and programs. NYC-EJA hosted an energy forum for low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities in partnership with The New School's Tishman Environment and Design Center earlier this month. The forum brought together NY community organizations, the Governor's Office, NYSERDA, and NYS Homes and Community Renewal to survey energy programs available to LMI communities. At the forum, NYC-EJA provided an accessible reference guide to NYS energy programs for LMI customers and communities.  

Throughout 2016, NYC-EJA was fortunate to present at multiple conferences and summits, including the two national conferences below.