8 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
‘No fracking way!’: Astoria community gathers
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
More than 200 people marched through
Astoria in protest of the NRG power plant
on Saturday, Sept. 12, calling for Governor
Andrew Cuomo to reject NRG’s proposed
plans for the site and implement a Green
New Deal.
NRG, a large fossil fuel company
involved in energy generation and retail
electricity, is seeking approval from the
State’s Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) to replace and
upgrade existing generators at 31-01 20
Ave.
But some community members and
elected offi cials believe NRG is attempting
to bypass more up-to-date environmental
review process due to
their plant that was previously
approved in 2010 and community
approval.
Protesters of all age
groups met on the corner
of 19th Street and
Ditmars Boulevard in
Astoria Park, where they created
signs that read “Green Energy, Not
Dirty NRG,” “No fracking way!”
and “Public utilities under public
control.”
Th e march was organized by a public
power coalition that included New
York City Democratic Socialists (NYCDSA),
350.org, Sane Energy, Food &
Water Action, New York Communities
for Change, Sunrise Movement, New
York Youth Climate Leaders and Queens
Climate Project.
Astoria residents were also joined
by local lawmakers, state Senators
Michael Gianaris and Jessica Ramos,
Comptroller and 2021 mayoral candidate
Scott Stringer, Astoria Assembly candidate
Zohran Mamdani and Astoria City
Council candidate Tiff any Cabán.
Stringer previously penned an open
letter to the DEC in opposition of the
plant, aiming to protect the health of
Astoria residents and the environment.
He called on the DEC to require the project
Photos by Dean Moses
undergo a full environmental review.
“Th e state should not allow NRG to
advance this new project under the auspices
of regulatory permissions granted
nearly a decade ago and should instead
insist that the project account for the
profound harm fossil fuel infrastructure
poses to our communities and our climate,”
Stringer wrote. “Th is proposal, just
as any further expansion of fossil fuel
infrastructure, is incompatible with our
climate goals.”
At the march, organizers asked seniors
and children to lead the march, so they
could dictate the speed. Chants included
“Whose air? Our air!” “Hey, hey, Cuomo!
Fossil fuels have got to go!” “Th ey get rich,
we get sick, NRG is full of it!”
At one point, a little boy led the march,
chanting, “No more gas, no more oil!
Keep the carbon in the soil!”
Th e march ended at the proposed location
of the proposed NRG Power Plant.
Mamdani, who is endorsed by NYCDSA,
echoed Stringer’s comments.
“We cannot let our
community continue
to pump more carbon
into the atmosphere
and contribute to
more of this devastation
in the future,”
said Mamdani.
“The state must
reject the proposal
to lock in continued
carbon pollution
at NRG’s Astoria facilities,
implement a moratorium
on all new fossil
fuel infrastructure, end
all fossil fuel subsidies,
and make
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