Climate justice
Like all of you, I know climate change is a real, grave threat to not only our borough and our city but our entire planet. I am determined to put Queens at the forefront as the most sustainable county in the United States.
We are proud to re-establish the Queens Solid Waste Advisory Board (QSWAB) — a diverse group of residents and industry representatives tasked with advising my office on a wide array of issues including, but not limited to waste, recycling, resiliency, and environmental equity.
But we must do more. We must plan for a healthy, clean future for our children and grandchildren, that envisions a future without fossil fuels and non-renewable energy assets.
Our office is committed to investing in programs that will enhance our air quality and public health in the long-run, educate future generations, and create tens of thousands of green jobs. To get there, I propose we immediately do the following:
Partner with higher education institutions, private entities, and the Queens EDC to create sustainability innovation labs
Utilize the power of my budget for investment in city-owned buildings to implement solar power
Ensure all new developments are sustainable
Partner with the private sector on public/private partnerships to help make private homes more sustainable
Once we achieve those short-term goals, I then want us to get to a place where we make Queens fully renewable by 2030.
To guide us there, I propose we:
Ensure full implementation of Local Law 97, the Climate Mobilization Act.
Create renewable energy sites such as Rikers Island, Edgemere Landfill in the Rockaways, and the Creedmoor Campus, to facilitate the closure of fossil fuel plants in Queens.
Work to create battery storage coupled with solar on city-owned buildings, making them fully green in Queens by 2030.
Partner with federal and state entities long term investments in resiliency measures to to protect Queens from the long-term effects of climate change
Fighting for a Green New Deal for public housing
We also can never forget Queens was among the places hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy. We need to act faster, and prepare better, before any future natural disaster. Let’s get to work.
