Dear friends,
We have achieved Friday. Congress averted another government shutdown until February, so we can turn our attention to other matters. I am not interested in the argument that we are better off without a government.
It’s time to play whack-a-mole with a dirty fossil fuel project. This one keeps popping back up for another whack. We need to act today, because the Department of Environmental Conservation has a Monday deadline for ruling on the permits to allow the project to go forward.
National Grid conducted the assessment of the impact of the project, and in classic fox-guarding-the-henhouse fashion, they found that there was no danger to the hens. In this case, the hens are our neighbors in North Brooklyn.
[A] letter from the Sane Energy Project — which was also signed by the University Network for Human Rights, Pace Environmental Law Clinic, Dr. Anthony Ingraffea, and Dr. Robert Howarth, who sits on the state Climate Action [Council] – says the analysis is faulty.
The group says National Grid did not analyze the environmental impact on the surrounding community, including the nearby public housing complex Cooper Park Houses.
The analysis by environmental groups found emissions that were “more than 78 times those reported” in the initial assessment.
National Grid’s disregard for the community is not new. The company is under investigation for possible civil rights violations by two federal agencies — the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation; both are looking into the construction of the North Brooklyn Pipeline. The terminus of the pipeline is the Greenpoint Energy Center, where the LNG vaporizers are to be located.
Call on the Commissioner of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to reject the expansion. I made it easy!
As we brace ourselves for a Supreme Court ruling that will likely weaken the abortion rights protections in Roe v. Wade, I am reminded of the importance of action at the state and local levels. This is not to concede the point, however.
The federal strategy is
to intensify the pressure on Congress and political candidates to support a bill to enshrine abortion rights into federal law.
Tell the Senate to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act.
In California, New York and other overwhelmingly Democratic states, abortion rights supporters are expected to push for expanding access to abortion, leveraging new technologies like telehealth, improving insurance coverage of the procedure and creating new funds to cover costs for women traveling out of state.
Support Planned Parenthood NY.
I attended an inspiring meeting with the NY Working Families Party today, which is building its base, organizing progressive legislators into a single bloc, and building a candidate pipeline. At the same time we are aiming to elect a progressive governor and win with clear mandate.
Contribute to the NY Working Families Party, which is “leading the fight for social, racial, and economic justice in New York state.”
Voting rights legislation continues to take a back seat at the federal level. Here are two things to do about that:
Tell Senate Democrats: Abolish the filibuster and pass voting rights legislation now.
Sign up to phone bank with Common Cause to get the Freedom to Vote Act passed.
And finally, a local issue that needs another look:
There is a big push in the very long-term struggle to reduce class sizes in New York City schools. The class-size issue has come to the fore because of COVID and social distancing, and right now, there is a bill before the city council to reduce class size that has an overwhelming number of sponsors. It just needs to come to a vote.
Send a letter today to Council Speaker Corey Johnson to demand that he schedule a vote for the class size reduction bill, Int 2347. This is a 30-second action from NYC Kids PAC and Class Size Matters.
Covid cases are rising, and I don’t have to tell you about omicron, which is all over the news. It looks as though the Covid booster shots are dramatically effective against severe disease. Get your booster, wear your mask, and keep your chin up.
Have a great weekend!
with love,
L