(Photos: Ben Brandstein)
Environmental and community groups gathered outside New York University’s Kimmel Center this morning, rallying against a natural gas pipeline proposed by the Williams energy company. Meanwhile, inside, Governor Cuomo announced a $1.4 billion commitment to renewable energy programs. It’s said to be the biggest by any state in US history, but some protesters continue to say that Cuomo isn’t doing enough to stop fracking off the coast of New York City and elsewhere.
Armed with signs and illustrations depicting the various projects they disapprove of and the organizations they stand with, protestors condemned the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline as unnecessary, expensive, and harmful, chanting, “When New York harbor is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”
Kim Fraczek– director of Sane Energy Project, a group that works to stop fracking infrastructure throughout the state– says of the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline. “They’ll be trenching 23 miles of ocean floor,” she says, “digging up all these PCBs [polychlorinated biphenyls] and pollution that has settled over the years. It’s bad for the climate, bad for our marine family, bad for our health, safety, and democracy.” Since last summer, Fraczek has been denouncing the Williams pipeline by organizing events and setting up petitions opposing the project. She’s also one of the campaign coordinators of the Wind Not Williams campaign, supporting the offshore wind farm announced by Governor Cuomo earlier this year.
Many have accused Governor Cuomo of talking the talk but not walking the walk when it comes to environmental issues. Fraczek, for instance, references Governor Cuomo’s fracking ban in 2014. “You know, he banned fracking but we’re still seeing an insane buildout of fracking around New York State.” Protestors cited the proposed fracked gas power plant in Sheridan Hollow as an example of Governor Cuomo’s hypocrisy, a project that could expose residents to pollution in order to power and heat the Albany capitol building. Soon, Governor Cuomo will have another opportunity to show New York where he stands; Williams will be releasing their draft environmental impact statement regarding the pipeline later this month. “Once that process takes place he’ll have the power to deny the pipeline based on state rules,” says Fraczek.
As protestors filled the sidewalk outside NYU’s Kimmel Center, Governor Cuomo was inside making an environmental announcement of his own. Joined by former Vice President Al Gore, Cuomo made a formal request for New York to be excluded from the new five-year National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The program, launched in January, proposes to make over 90 percent of the total U.S. offshore acreage available to oil and gas drilling. Cuomo also announced $1.4 billion in awards for 26 large-scale renewable energy projects throughout the state. “We believe the future is a clean energy economy,” said Cuomo, “and New York is going to lead a counter-movement to what this administration is doing to the environment and illuminate the path forward.”
Governor Cuomo’s words are encouraging, but will his actions in the coming months reflect this? When asked for a response to the governor’s announcement, Fraczek said, “We are very pleased the Governor is opposed to drilling off New York, and we look forward to him exercising the same climate leadership to deny Williams NESE Pipeline, as well as other fossil fuel infrastructure currently plaguing New York residents.”
Until then, those at Sane Energy Project and other environmental groups will continue to organize events throughout the city, such as an information session at the Coney Island Aquarium on March 26, which will then culminate into a state-wide march on the capitol building on April 23.
Correction: An earlier version of this post conflated the Constitution pipeline with the Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline and, as a result, misstated the year the latter pipeline was proposed.
The Williams proposal was not proposed in 2013 and you linked to an article on the consitution pipeline. Ms. Fraczek is also not credible and has been lying in various newspapers , in testimony and on it goes for years now. An information session will not be held at coney island but rather a misinformation session will be held.
Karen Orlando works for a pro-gas industry website that uses a tactic to harass and slander residents who disagree with the fossil fuel industry. Karen Orlando has also sent descriptive and violent death threats to members of our group, in writing, and we have notified local law enforcement. She continuously harasses, taunts and threatens several New York residents at public hearings in front of state and federal agencies, which is documented in public record.
Karen Orlando is a pro-gas industry blogger for Natural Gas Now (Tom Shepstone’s pro-fracking propaganda site). That’s kind of all you need to know to discredit her ludicrous comment above.
Ms. Orlando is, sad to say, a mouthpiece for the fracking industry and writes for a publication called Natural Gas Now. Given that the industry has every right to make comments on articles in the public view, what isn’t granted is the right to threaten violence, which Ms. Orlando has done on many occasions, both verbally and in writing, and indeed has even carried out on at least one occasion. This has happened not only to people I know but also to myself, because she disagrees with our stance on behalf of the environment. Law enforcement have been alerted.
I have to object to the personal attack on Kim Fraszek in Karen Orlando’s comment. I’ve known Kim for years. She is a serious and careful critic of the oil and gas interests that are accelerating climate change. Thank you, Bedford + Bowery, for correcting your error on the date this particular pipeline, the Williams/Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, was proposed. I can assure your readers that information at the Coney Island Forum, will be accurate and supported by solid documentation. We all need to be concerned about projects like this one.