NY Renews calls on Albany to reject austerity budget and provide for vulnerable New Yorkers

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: March 30, 2020

Contact: Arielle Swernoff | (646) 450-5461 | arielle@nyrenews.org 

Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org

Statement from NY Renews on budget negotiations

Coalition calls on Albany to reject austerity and provide for vulnerable New Yorkers

NY Renews, a coalition of nearly 200 environmental justice, labor, faith, and multi-issue organizations released the following statement on the ongoing New York state budget negotiations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: 

“We are a coalition that focuses on climate justice, centering the voices of people most impacted by the climate crisis. It is eminently clear that the people most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis are the same, and there is every reason to believe that profound changes to the planet’s ecosystem contributes to viral pandemics like the one we’re experiencing now. 

This is no time for business as usual. An austerity budget will leave already vulnerable communities behind. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens and we near the state’s budget deadline on April 1st, we call on Governor Cuomo and the state Legislature to pass a just budget that includes new revenue to support schools, health care, housing, and climate justice for all. 

We can’t sacrifice some parts of our collective well being for others. 

Without a fully funded Medicaid program, sick New Yorkers will not get the care they need. If the state raids NYSERDA clean energy funds, the environmental pollution that puts people at risk for COVID-19 complications will only get worse. Without real investments in keeping New Yorkers housed, people will be left on the street or in crowded shelters, vulnerable to disease. 

At this moment, Albany needs to double down on protecting New Yorkers, putting people to work, and building vital infrastructure for when this crisis ends. To do that, we need progressive sources of new revenue — not balancing the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable.”

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