Volume 17, Issue 1

From extreme winter weather to a new mayoral administration, January set 2026 as a year to watch. As we begin Black History Month, let's look back at some of our latest environmental justice work.

Over the last two weeks, NYC has experienced some of our most intense winter weather in years. With record low temperatures and the most snowfall in recent years, we see, in real time, the growing unpredictability of our global climate systems. While Mayor Mamdani and the thousands of city workers put great efforts into protecting New Yorkers from the worst of the storm, over a dozen still lost their lives, highlighting the need for our continued advocacy for effective climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. In addition, it emphasizes the need for thorough and timely implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and other key climate goals to minimize human impacts to the global climate system that increase the risk of these extreme weather conditions.

Source: Mina Khan

Source: Victoria Sanders

January brought not only a new year, but a new mayoral administration. With this administration comes new appointees, including longtime NYC-EJA ally and current Chief Climate Officer, Louise Yeung, as well as the freshly appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Lisa Garcia.



“The NYC Environmental Justice Alliance applauds Mayor Mamdani and his team for their selection of Lisa Garcia as Commissioner of DEP. Having known and worked with Lisa Garcia over 25 years, I can attest to Lisa’s commitment to environmental stewardship, devotion to duty and responsible innovation. Most importantly to NYC-EJA, Lisa is unwavering in her advocacy for — and with — disproportionately environmentally impacted and climate vulnerable communities,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of NYC Environmental Justice Alliance.

While we are optimistic for all we can accomplish alongside Mayor Mamdani, we hope that the administration will keep in mind that the issue of affordability cannot be separated from climate justice. In the coming year, we hope that the Mamdani administration will make headway on the following urgent initiatives.

Source: Mina Khan

On the tenth anniversary of the formation of the NY Renews coalition, member organizations met in Albany to discuss the challenges and opportunities present in the climate movement. Members delved into topics focused on the near and long-term, ranging from defending the CLCPA, securing climate funding, affordability, emissions reductions and emerging issues around nuclear, data centers, thermal energy networks and solar. The information gleaned at the convening will shape the NY Renews comprehensive agenda for 2026 and map a path forward for years to come.

Source: Ken Shles

On January 22, the Public Service Commission approved Con Edison’s proposal to raise electric bills by about $4 per month through 2028. This outcome follows a year of work by the PEAK Coalition wherein the coalition fought ConEd’s initial proposal to raise electric bills by around a stunning $26 a month. While we are disappointed that the decision fails to adequately address ongoing energy pollution, affordability, and reliability issues in environmental justice communities, it represents a meaningful check on the utility’s attempt to collect more revenue without making real progress. NYC-EJA and our PEAK Coalition partners remain committed to holding ConEd accountable, including through our continued challenge to the company’s de facto moratorium on building clean energy infrastructure in the communities that need it most.

Source: Daniel Chu

Governor Hochul released the 2026-27 Executive Budget. The State Legislature held its Joint Budget Hearing on Environment and Energy on January 28th. NYC-EJA delivered testimony calling out the Governor for zeroing out climate funding and called for $3 billion in dedicated climate funds through the Sustainable Futures Program. NYC-EJA's testimony emphasized the need for state agencies to comply with the climate law’s requirement that at least 35-percent of clean energy funds be dedicated to direct investments in disadvantaged communities. We called on the legislature to address pollution from the operations of e-commerce warehouses with the passage of the Clean Deliveries Act (S1180 / A3575). We highlighted the need for the state to seriously address the dangers of extreme heat by codifying the Extreme Heat Action Plan and fully funding its implementation.

You can read our full testimony here.

Source: Conor Bambrick

CUNY TV: Environmental Justice and Inequality in New York City | One to One (1/8/2026)

Nature Communications: An updated modeling framework and sensitivity analysis of methodology for the climate health vulnerability index (1/8/2026)

City & State: Who’s going to pay for AC in New York City? (1/22/2026)

EarthJustice: Five Big Wins for the Big Apple from Congestion Pricing (1/26/2026)

NYC Office of the Mayor: Mayor Mamdani Announces New Appointments to Lead Key City Agencies (1/27/2026)

Be sure to check for more exciting news from NYC-EJA about our ongoing work, on our website, on social media, and in future newsletters! And if you like what you read, please consider making a tax-exempt donation to support our work.

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