Climate Jobs NY participating in Rep. Rice Press Conference Calling on the Federal Government to Greenlight Long Island Offshore Wind Development
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 25, 2020
CONTACT: Mariah Dignan, Long Island Organizer, mdignan@climatejobsny.org 917-708-5474
Climate Jobs NY participating in Rep. Rice Press Conference Calling on the Federal Government to Greenlight Long Island Offshore Wind Development
Here is the Congresswoman’s official Press Release:
Tomorrow, August 26, at 11:15 a.m., U.S. Representative Rice will host a Press Conference calling on the Federal Government to Greenlight Long Island Offshore Wind Development.
Rice is urging the Department of Interior (DOI) to designate development areas in the New York Bight and hold new lease auctions before the end of 2020
LONG BEACH, NY – Tomorrow morning, U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (NY-04) will host a press conference with local leaders to call on the Department of Interior (DOI) to designate final Wind Energy Areas in the New York Bight and hold new lease auctions before the end of 2020. Following the press conference, Rice will send a bipartisan letter to DOI formally calling for the designations with her New York colleagues; Representatives Tom Reed (NY-23), Tom Suozzi (NY-03), Jerry Nadler (NY-10), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Eliot Engel (NY-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Grace Meng (NY-06), and Max Rose (NY-11).
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), a federal agency within DOI, was scheduled to announce Wind Energy Areas in early 2019, yet over a year and a half later, the final designations have yet to be made. Final designations must be made prior to lease auctions for developers to bid on the right to apply for federal permits to construct wind projects in these areas.
The event is open to members of the media. Masks are mandatory and social distancing must be practiced. Please RSVP to Stuart Malec at stuart.malec@mail.house.gov.
WHO: U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (NY-04)
New York State Senator Todd Kaminsky
Joe Martens, Director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance
Josh Klainberg, Executive Vice President of the New York League of Conservation
Voters
Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of the Citizens Campaign for the
Environment
Mariah Dignan, Long Island Organizer for Climate Jobs NY
WHAT: Press conference to urge federal action on Long Island offshore wind development
WHERE: Long Beach Boardwalk (Grand Blvd. Entrance)
WHEN: Wednesday, August 26 at 11:15 a.m.
From Climate Jobs NY:
Mariah Dignan, Long Island Organizer for Climate Jobs NY said, “Rep. Kathleen Rice clearly understands what’s at stake. By releasing the final wind energy areas in the NY bight, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) can propel the offshore wind industry forward in New York and throughout the Northeast. Climate Jobs NY thanks Congresswoman Rice for her leadership and the dozen local members of congress who signed onto the letter to Secretary Bernhardt. We truly have a once in a generation opportunity to put Long Island at the center of a green economic recovery. Offshore wind development is poised to create thousands of good union jobs while stabilizing energy costs and having a significant impact on emissions. Our future lies with the clean energy economy.”
ABOUT CLIMATE JOBS NY
Climate Jobs NY (CJNY) is a growing coalition of labor unions—representing more than 2.6 million working New Yorkers—united to combat climate change and reverse inequality. CJNY’s mission is to advocate for a clean energy economy at the scale climate science demands, create good union jobs, and support more equitable communities and a more resilient New York. CJNY’s members include the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the New York State AFL-CIO, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the Long Island Federation of Labor, Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Third District, the United Association Plumbers and Pipefitters in New York State, 32BJ SEIU, the New York State Nurses Association, Laborers International Union Local 79, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30, AFSCME District Council 37, the Transport Workers Union of America, and Transport Workers Union Local 100.