2 APRIL 15, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Forest Hills H.S. student activists rally in favor of climate act
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A group of student activists
from Forest Hills High School
gathered to raise awareness
and support from their local elected
offi cials for the New York Climate and
Community Investment Act (CCIA) at
Juniper Valley Park on Wednesday,
April 7.
About a dozen students set up signs
along a corner of the Middle Village
park at 80th Street — with one that
read “Make Polluters Pay, Pass The
CCIA” attached to strings hanging
from a tree and a lamp post — and
spoke with community members
about the newly introduced bill.
The CCIA (S4264A), which was
introduced in March, is meant to
create hundreds of thousands of jobs,
invest in communities most impacted
by climate change and pollution, and
build a renewable economy in New
York by taxing corporate polluters.
Rachel Rose, 17, co-president of
Forest Hills High School’s Green
Team club, said theirevent at Juniper
Valley Park is just one of several actions
taking place across New York
City and state as part of Climate, Jobs,
and Justice Action week organized
by New York Renews Coalition.
“We just got it introduced into the
state Senate, and so a lot of people
and students are working locally to
try and really make sure their local
state senators are signing on to this
and getting it passed,” Rose said.
Victoria Lu, the event coordinator
for Forest High School’s Green
Team club and member of New York
Renews Coalition, said they are
particularly asking for state Senator
Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. to support
the bill.
“In the past he’s actually agreed to
lobby with us and he has co-sponsored
the Climate Leadership and
Community Protection Act (CLCPA),
so we’re hoping that he shows the
same type of support with the CCIA,
which is basically the funding for
the CLCPA, and push it through the
Senate,” said Lu, 16.
Lu explained that the CCIA emphasizes
the connection between environmental
justice and racial justice
to specifically benefit Black, Indigenous
and People of Color (BIPOC)
who have been disproportionately
impacted by climate issues.
“It provides around $15 billion
a year and reinvests it into BIPOC
and frontline communities, it helps
create more sustainable jobs, like it’s
projected to create around 150,000
jobs in the next decade, and it
would also prioritize green schools
around more environmentally affected
areas,” Lu said. “And an important
piece of this bill is that none
of the money is going to go to private
prisons, the policing sector, none of
that — it’s really just meant to invest
in Black and Brown communities.”
The CCIA was introduced by
Brooklyn state Senator Kevin Parker
and is currently co-sponsored by several
Queens state senators, including
Jessica Ramos, James Sanders, Jr. and
Leroy Comrie.
Addabbo is not a co-sponsor. The
senator, who was leaving Albany
after voting on the state budget on
Wednesday, told QNS that while
the state passed the CLCPA they are
still in the early stages of the act
and are “behind on hitting some
benchmarks.”
But, Addabbo said that the state is
“moving in the right direction,” and
he continues to be a proponent of
climate change measures and renewable
energy in the 15th District.
In regards to the CCIA, Addabbo
said he will “definitely review” the
bill and added that he appreciates
the young residents who are a part
of the climate movement.
Forest Hills High School students rallied in support of the Climate and
Community Investment Act at Juniper Valley Park on April 7.
Photo by Angélica Acevedo
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