Hundreds rally across NYS in support of the Climate and Community Investment Act and THRIVE Agenda
The rallies were part of a Climate, Jobs, and Justice Action Week organized by NY Renews and NYS Indivisible
Photo release: April 8th, 2021
Contact: Arielle Swernoff | arielle@nyrenews.org | (646) 450-5461
Photos from the rallies can be found here: https://bit.ly/3dJyVgo. Attribution is reflected in the photo name.
New York, NY — Yesterday, hundreds of grassroots activists across New York State took part in fifteen rallies outside of legislative offices as part of a “Climate, Jobs, and Justice Action Week” on April 7th, demanding the passage of the Climate and Community Investment Act in New York State and the THRIVE Agenda in Congress to create green jobs, combat the climate crisis, ensure all communities have access to clean and healthy air and water, and build an economy that works for all.
State and federal legislators participated in the rallies, expressing their support for bold climate action this year. Congressman Tom Suozzi joined one of four actions on Long Island. In New York City, State Senators Brad Hoylman and John Liu, as well as State Assemblymember Harvey Epstein joined a group of 150 activists marching from Union Square to Washington Square Park. State Senator Robert Jackson joined constituents at a rally in Harlem, and State Assemblywoman Anna Kelles joined youth activists at a rally in Ithaca.
The actions reflect the growing movement for a transformative economic recovery plan, one that addresses the interlocking crises of climate change, racial injustice, mass unemployment, and the pandemic and broad public health crisis. Activists organizing during the federal and state legislative recess will urge Congress, President Biden, Governor Cuomo, and the New York State legislature to go big with policy that centers climate, jobs, and justice.
Actions were organized by local Indivisible chapters and members of the NY Renews coalition, which organized for the passage of NY Renew’s landmark 2019 climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. An incomplete list of groups involved include: PUSH Buffalo, Western NY Peace Center, Climate Justice Cornell, Sunrise Ithaca, Mothers Out Front Tompkins County, Our Climate, Rochester Climate Solutions Accelerator, Jewish Climate Action Network, Dayenu, TREEAge, the Working Families Party, Peoples Climate Movement - NY, Rise & Resist, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, NYS Nurses, ALIGN - Alliance for a Greater NY, the Long Island Progressive Coalition, and more.
The rallies aimed to center the CCIA and THRIVE Agenda as must-pass policies for the remainder of the legislative session, and reflect the depth and breath of commitment New Yorkers share to creating transformational policy to address the interlocking crises of climate change, racial and economic injustice, and public health. Over 18 State Senators, and 280 leading union, racial justice, climate, faith, and community organizations have endorsed the CCIA.
To connect with grassroots activists organizing for a just, green recovery to the climate crisis during the week of April 5, contact arielle@nyrenews.org.
“In local actions around NY State, people rallied in support of the CCIA and the national THRIVE Agenda. While we use a range of tactics to get our voices heard, being in the streets on this coordinated day of action was especially powerful. We sent a collective message: Even in the midst of the ongoing COVID pandemic we cannot ignore the very real dangers of the climate crisis. We gathered at the district offices of elected officials and we marched on city streets. We chanted, we sang, we raised our banners and we called public attention to the urgent need to enact policies that will address the climate crisis while creating new union jobs and ensuring that the transition to a renewable economy is grounded in the commitment to racial and social justice. Now is the time to pass the CCIA and the THRIVE Agenda!” said Leslie Cagan, Director of Peoples Climate Movement - NY, one of the core organizing groups for the downtown NYC rally.
"We have black, brown, and poor communities across the capital district where children are graduating from high school with asthma, cancer, and other respiratory issues, we have "bomb trains" traveling through neighborhoods carrying dangerous, explosive fossil fuels, and a climate that is getting warmer and more unpredictable by the year. Our people cannot afford to continue watching our shared home be obliterated by pollution but the polluters can afford to fix the damage they have caused but never suffer from. We need to make the polluters that got us into this mess pay so we can try to get out of it and we need those funds to act as the beginning of reparations for the centuries of systemic racism and classism that have put black, brown, and poor people at the frontlines of every climate catastrophe. Our lives depend on the CCIA" -- Gabriel Silva, Community Organizer in the Capital District, Citizen Action, one of the core organizing groups for the Albany rally.
“Youth are too often overlooked as stakeholders in the decisions made today to confront the climate crisis. The CCIA will help change that by empowering young people in the workforce, at the decision-making table, and in their own schools. With our futures made increasingly uncertain by lost time, stalling, and skepticism in the face of climate change, the CCIA gives us a voice for our own lives.” -- Jade Lozada (co-policy lead) and Kathryn Gioiosa (co-political lead), TREEage, one of the core organizing groups for youth-led NYC rallies.
“Last spring we pushed Cornell to divest from fossil fuels. This spring, we push New York and the entire country to invest in a just transition that centers frontline communities of color. With the CCIA and THRIVE, corporate greed will not decide our future.” -- Zasu Scott, Political Action Organizer at Climate Justice Cornell, one of the core organizing groups for the Ithaca rally.
“It is crucial to prioritize the safety and health of frontline and disadvantaged communities, especially with COVID-19 disproportionately impacting them. The CCIA will not only serve as a catalyst for thousands of jobs and a sustainable economy, but tackle the climate crisis by making polluters pay and building a greener future.” - Jean Chung, Long Island Action Lead, OurClimate, one of the core organizing groups of the Long Island rallies.
###