MARCH 25, 2022 www.qns.com RIDGEWOOD TIMES
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Councilman unveils blueprint for greater investment in city parks system
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Standing beneath the iconic Unisphere
in Flushing Meadows Corona
Park on March 14, Councilman
Shekar Krishnan unveiled his “5 Point
Plan” to build, upgrade and expand
parks across New York City.
The new chair of the Parks and Recreation
Committee called for increased
investment in green spaces; the rapid
expansion of public parks, playgrounds
and trees across the five boroughs; as
well as the transformation of the Parks
capital construction process.
“During this pandemic, we’ve seen the
way in which parks and green spaces
are as much an issue of public health
as an issue of racial justice and equity,”
Krishnan said. “We need to immediately
invest more in our existing parks, and
create new public, green, restorative
spaces for all New Yorkers.”
Krishnan’s plan calls on the city to
invest $1 billion for New York City parks,
plant 1 million trees by 2030, create a
Parks Construction Authority to build
more efficiently, provide waterfront access
for all New Yorkers and commit to
new or upgraded playgrounds in every
ZIP code in five years.
“While there is much to love about
our parks system, there is also plenty
of room for improvement,” Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards said.
“The ambitious proposals laid out in this
plan, from the equitable construction
of playgrounds to expanded waterfront
access for all, would represent tremendous
investments in our families and
our shared future. I look forward to
working with Council member Krishnan
on implementing his plan and on all
efforts to deliver more and better parks
and playgrounds to our families.”
The mayor’s preliminary budget,
announced last month, allocated $495
million for the maintenance and operation
of NYC Parks, or about 0.5% of the
total budget and a $63 million cut from
the prior year. Krishnan’s blueprint
calls for an increase in resources dedicated
toward lifesaving parks space to
$1 billion, as advocated by organizations
including New Yorkers for Parks,
the New York League of Conservation
Voters, the Trust for Public Land and
District Council 37 as part of their longstanding
“1% for Parks” campaign.
Krishnan and his Council colleagues
also called for the planting of 1 million
trees to help increase the city’s tree
canopy to 30% by 2035. Councilman
Robert Holden, who served as president
of the Juniper Park Civic Association for
25 years before seeking elected office,
endorsed Krishnan’s proposal.
Read more on PoliticsNY.com.
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
State Senator Michael Gianaris called
on the state Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) to reject
NRG’s appeal of the agency’s denial of permits
to build and operate a new fossil fuel
power plant in Astoria. The DEC denied the
company’s initial application in October.
“The DEC was right to deny a permit for a
destructive, fossil fuel plant in Astoria and
should reject the appeal as well,” Gianaris
said. “Our community drew a line in the
sand against new fossil fuel infrastructure
and won. Let the DEC issue a strong statement
that ‘no new fossil fuel plants’ is the
policy of New York as we fight the ravages
of the climate crisis.”
After many months of advocacy, rallies
and protest marches by Astoria residents
and environmental activists against the
NRG project, the DEC rejected the application.
Astoria is already home to multiple
power-generating facilities, and the area
immediately surrounding those plants is
known as “Asthma Alley,” where residents
are known to have higher-than-average
rates of respiratory diseases such as asthma
and emphysema. A new plant would
also make it likely the state would fail to
comply with the Climate Leadership and
Community Protection Act (CLCPA), New
York’s nation-leading climate laws which
Gianaris championed in 2019.
CLCPA commits the state to an “equitable
clean energy future,” with 70% of electricity
being renewable by 2030, 100% of electricity
being carbon-free by 2040, and an
85% emissions reduction overall by 2050.
NRG’s proposal would have replaced
50-year-old power generators in the
Ditmars-Steinway area.
“NRG remains committed to providing
reliable backup power to New York City
and its ratepayers,” NRG spokesman David
Schrader said. “Recent events have
demonstrated in very clear terms the
importance of having a robust energy mix
to ensure the lights stay on. The Astoria
Replacement Project proposed by NRG
would help address reliability gaps, while
also helping New York meet its aggressive
climate goals.”
Since the DEC denied a permit for the
project, New York Independent System
Operator Inc. published a study that determined
an extreme 98-degree sustained
heatwave would test the system limits
today and exceed the grid’s abilities beginning
in 2023.
Schrader explained, adding that, “NRG
is pursuing an adjudicatory hearing of the
NYSDEC’s decision because the denial was
both legally and factually flawed and the
NYSDEC exceeded its authority to deny
the permit based on its interpretation of
the Climate Leadership and Community
Protection Act.”
State Senator Michael Gianaris is urging state regulators to reject an appeal by
NRG for a permit to replace a power plant in Astoria. Photo courtesy of NRG
Jackson Heights Councilman Shekar
Krishnan alongside Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards.
Photo by Emil Cohen/City Council
Astoria lawmaker calls on state to reject NRG appeal for permit to replace power plant
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