Queens, NY – Members of the Stop Williams Pipeline Coalition visited Assemblymember Stacey Pfeffer-Amato and State Senator Joseph Addabbo on February 25, 2019 urging them to join over 40 NYC elected officials and sign on to a letter opposing the Williams NESE fracked gas pipeline slated for NYC shores just off the Rockaway Peninsula.
The Stop Williams Pipeline Coalition is organized by Rockaway Beach Civic Association, Rockaway Women for Progress, 350 Brooklyn, Food and Water Watch, Fossil Free NY, NY Communities for Change, Sane Energy Project and Surfrider NYC.
After unanimous votes against the pipeline proposal from Community Board 14 and Rockaway Beach Civic Association, plus bi-Partisan opposition by Rockaway Councilmembers Donovan Richards and Eric Ulrich, the coalition leaves constituents wondering why the Senator and Assemblymember have not signed into the letter yet when there is clear indications that NYC does not need this extra gas load from the fracking fields in PA. National Grid payers will also be stuck with a $1Billion price tag, while Williams Co. gets away with a guaranteed 14% rate of return.
The Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Pipeline is a fracked gas pipeline proposed by Tulsa-based energy company Williams. It would run through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the waters off of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and the Rockaways.
Climate change is a stark reality for the Rockaway Peninsula, as many residents are still dealing with issues left by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and we know that locking ourselves into more fossil fuels will only exacerbate climate change to an already delicate community.
© Erik McGregor – erikrivas@hotmail.com – 917-225-8963