Dear friends,
It will show in detail how close the world is to irreversible change.
I doubt you’ve missed the news that another town in North America was swallowed by wildfire this week and that the Gulf Stream — which stabilizes global weather patterns — is collapsing.
There’s no time for hand-wringing. Right now, here in New York, a fossil fuel company called NRG is proposing to build a brand new fracked gas power plant in Astoria, Queens. This area of Western Queens is already known as “Asthma Alley” because of a long legacy of pollution and poisoning from fossil fuel power.
The Sane Energy Project is mobilizing a campaign to stop the power plant. We need to be part of this campaign.
Tell the Governor and the Department of Environmental Conservation to stop the proposed new fracked gas power plant in Astoria, Queens. Here’s a ready-made comment!
We are still fighting National Grid’s plan to raise our rates to pay for the North Brooklyn Pipeline. If you’re able, come out on Saturday:
If you can’t come out this weekend, please donate to the Sane Energy Project.
Sometimes, it’s refreshing to be for something rather than against something. This may be your moment!
If you are a teacher (active or retired) with funds in the Teachers Retirement System of the City of New York or a city employee in the NYC Employees Retirement System, you have an exciting opportunity to use your financial clout to support a “a legacy-defining collaborative project and call for unity and self-determination.”
The project is called Downtown Crenshaw Rising and the plan is to buy and redevelop the Crenshaw Mall in LA for the Black community. The project is close to being realized. Although they’ve raised the funds to purchase the mall, the seller, Deutsche Bank’s asset management group, remains determined to sell to a traditional developer. That’s where we come in. Pension funds are invested in Deutsche Bank DWS (the asset management group) and if you’ve got money invested in those funds, you’re a stakeholder.
Good thing we learned all about comptrolling. As you may recall, the comptroller is our fiduciary. A fiduciary has a duty to act in a client’s best interests. In this case, we are the clients, and the comptroller has to audit municipal spending and keep an eye on finances generally — including city contracts and public pension funds — on our behalf.
Write to Comptroller Scott Stringer to let him know that you’d like your pension invested in a community-centered development. This is a ready-made action!
Next week, I’m on a panel to discuss advocacy work. One of the questions they plan to ask us is
Looking ahead to the possibility of real change for women, families, and work, what do you feel most pessimistic about? Optimistic?
I am optimistic about our collective power to reimagine and remake the world. We are, however, on a tight schedule. Please do your homework.
with love,
L