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New York History Lessons on Spending, Borrowing & Saving for a Rainy Day


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The Erie Canal (photo: New York Power Authority)


Governor Kathy Hochul’s $216 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 includes a little-publicized provision to increase the state’s reserve funds, also called “rainy day” funds. Those are funds that the state reserves for downturns, hard times, and fiscal emergencies. 

A 2019 report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, “The Case for Building New York State’s Rainy Day Reserves,” explained that the state actually has two statutory rainy day funds – the Tax Stabilization Reserve and the Rainy Day Reserve. At the time of the report, the two funds together held just over $2 billion, about 2.8% of General Fund spending. In other states as diverse as California, Texas, and Michigan, the percentage is far higher, the comptroller reported.

“Rainy day reserve funds are needed to mitigate economic or other circumstances that could force cuts to essential services and harmful tax increases,” Comptroller DiNapoli explained. Rainy day reserves date from 1938, when the state was still feeling the impact of the Great Depression. Since then, the amount set aside for rainy day events has varied, and sometimes governors or legislatures have dipped into them for non-emergency purposes.

The “Director’s Presentation” by Division of the Budget Director Robert Mujica that accompanied Hochul’s budget proposal pointed out that the state’s finances have been badly damaged three times by sudden events in recent years: 9/11, the recession that began in 2007, and COVID-19. Such shocks can lead to pulling back on funding for important initiatives. He cites the state’s 2008 commitment to provide more school aid, which had to be curtailed when budget resources diminished. “Reserves are the best defense against a ‘repeat performance’ in the next crisis.” 

The state has a budget surplus now, in part due to federal covid aid. Hochul’s budget includes a commitment to bring the state’s reserves up to 15% of the state’s operating fund spending by 2025.

Will the Legislature go along with the proposal? Mujica cites “short memories and optimism” as potential deterrents to this fiscal prudence.

New York’s history suggests that Mujica is right.  

Sometimes New Yorkers have shown fiscal caution and an inclination to hold back for rainy days. More often, they have not  done so due to faith that the state’s good fortune would continue, or, if it was in abeyance, would return soon. Some examples:

State government, established in 1777, resorted to taxes, loans, and sale of loyalist property to support its Revolutionary War efforts. When that proved not to be enough, the state issued paper money backed only by the vague pledge that the bills would be redeemed in the future. New York emerged from the war awash in red ink. But the first federal bailout, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton’s “Assumption Plan,” in 1790, assumed responsibility for all state debts, including New York’s. That was a lucky break for the new state. It wiped the deficit off the books. As the state’s economy grew after the war, taxes flowed into the state treasury, keeping New York solvent.

In the early 19th century, after the federal government had declined New York’s request for support to build a canal across the state from Troy to Buffalo, the Legislature, at the urging of Governor DeWitt Clinton, voted to build it with New York’s resources. The Legislature established a Canal Fund that would be derived from special taxes and, when the canal opened, from canal tolls. Canal Fund commissioners began issuing bonds as construction began in 1817. The bonds were a risky bet but investors, mostly New Yorkers, confident in the young state’s prospects, snapped them up. The canal opened in 1825. New York’s first experiment with deficit funding paid off. The canal led to the development and prosperity of New York City and the rest of the state. The bonds were soon paid off, and the tolls eventually abolished.  

Along the way, though, the overly-optimistic state overspent on Erie Canal enlargements, constructing other canals, and aiding early railroads. By 1842, the state debt was nearly $26 million (exact comparisons are difficult, but that would be about $984 million today). The State Comptroller warned the state was on the slippery slope to bankruptcy. The Legislature enacted an emergency “Stop and Tax” law that levied a special property tax to bring down the debt. An 1846 state constitutional amendment mandated voter approval for future debt. In 1854, with economic prospects brighter, confidence returned and New York voters approved resumption of bond-supported canal expansion. 

By the end of the 19th century, the canal was too small for large ships and was being rendered obsolete by railroads. The Legislature voted $9 million in 1895 for enlargement and repair. A scandal erupted when it came out that most of the money had been squandered on overcharging and shoddy work by contractors. Some leaders said that massive spending was enough, it was time to abandon the canal or build a railroad on its right of way.

But a commission appointed by Governor Theodore Roosevelt (1899-1901) recommended a new, larger canal to replace the Erie and capable of carrying huge barges in 1900. The price tag was high, $101 million, the equivalent of more than $3 billion today. Railroads objected and people in upstate areas far from the canal were not supportive. But the majority of voters, hoping the new Barge Canal would replicate the Erie Canal’s impact on the state, approved the $101 million Barge Canal bond issue in 1903.

That was the largest bond issue by any state to that time. The canal was completed in 1918 but the investment did not pay off. The canal quickly slid toward obsolescence from rail and highway competition. It is still in operation today, mainly for tourism and recreation. The state has renamed the Barge Canal the Erie Canal but it did not mimic the success of its namesake. 

Governor Thomas Dewey (1943-1955) began construction of the New York State Thruway in 1946. It was supposed to be built with appropriations from the regular state budget but when escalating costs made that impossible, Dewey proposed a new Thruway Authority with authority to issue up to $400 million in bonds to be paid off mainly by tolls on the new road. The Thruway would be the “new Erie Canal” that would ensure New York’s prosperous future, he promised.

Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1951 to allow the state to guarantee the Thruway Authority’s bonds. The superhighway was completed in 1957. It was mostly a good investment for New York, speeding travel, stimulating new industries and communities along the route. But it helped speed the demise of the railroads and the Barge Canal and the tolls remain today.

Governor Nelson Rockefeller (1959-1973) was a strong executive who was eager to resolve problems and build things. He was impatient with restraints. In a 1962 speech, he decried “the timidity of leadership that rarely glimpses the dawn of any new concept but passively awaits the high noon of crisis.” Rockefeller vastly expanded the State University, built the Empire State Plaza government complex in Albany, and increased state government in other ways through legislative appropriations and, notably, substantial bond issues. Some of these bond issues were authorized by the voters; others were in the form of bonds issued through public authorities and other routes that did not require voter approval. State Comptroller Arthur Levitt was a critic of this “back door” borrowing technique, which he called a “subterfuge” to avoid going before the voters. Rockefeller’s initiatives and investments reflected New Yorkers’ confidence in their future and paid off and helped the state. 

But his liberal use of deficit financing set a trend for future governors, and for reports of criticism and caution by future state comptrollers. The comptroller’s 2021 “Financial Condition Report” identified $70.7 billion in “State-funded debt,” the second highest in outstanding state debt nationwide, about $3,500 per capita.

Which path should New York State take in 2022?

Governor Hochul has mostly chosen the path of confidence and optimism, investing in expanding New York’s future prospects rather than paying down the debt or, as some Republican leaders have advocated, cutting taxes. In her January State of the State address, she explained that much of her confidence stems from her reading of New York’s robust, successful history. That puts her in line with many of New York’s most successful, progressive governors in the past. 

On the other hand, beefing up the rainy-day fund (if she can get the Legislature to go along and include that in the budget it passes) sounds a notable theme of prudence and caution.  

That sort of expansive view of the future balanced with a measure of fiscal prudence may be just what New York needs now. It may also be just what Hochul needs to get elected in her own right in the fall.

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Bruce W. Dearstyne is a historian in Albany, NY. He is the author of The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State’s History and The Crucible of Public Policy: New York Courts in the Progressive Era, both published in 2022 by SUNY Press.

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The Climate Investment New York Needs to Make Now


(photo: office of Cuomo)

Construction jobs on the line (photo: Governor's Office)


In 2019, New York passed one of the strongest climate bills in the country, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

The CLCPA requires nothing less than a total transformation of our economy. Our state must reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and between now and then we must rapidly increase renewable energy production and decrease fossil fuel pollution. Critically, the law also requires that 35-40% of state climate and energy spending be directed to communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis — a nation-leading environmental justice requirement that has been copied by other lawmakers and even the Biden administration.

All of this is great news for New York. But fully transforming our economy, investing in frontline communities, and meeting the mandates of the CLCPA aren’t free, and three years later, we’re still waiting for the money to show up in our communities. That’s why my organization, the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, is part of a coalition supporting a $15 billion climate, jobs, and justice fund in the next New York State budget, due by April 1.

$15 billion is the bare minimum of what we need to meet our climate goals and invest in frontline communities. It’s just 7% of Governor Hochul’s proposed $216 billion budget — a small price to pay to address one of the biggest crises of our time while taking advantage of it to create jobs, particularly in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. NYSERDA, a state authority under Governor Hochul’s administration, said meeting the mandates of the CLCPA will take $10 billion per year to start, with the amount increasing over time. The same report also found that reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the CLCPA avoids $260 billion in economic impacts of damages caused by climate change.

Making these investments is fundamentally an issue of racial and economic justice. Climate catastrophe and fossil fuel pollution are coming for us all, but for Black, brown, immigrant, and low-income communities, disaster has already arrived. The communities represented by NYC-EJA’s member organizations, from Sunset Park to the South Bronx, are breathing in toxic levels of pollution from peaker power plants, trucking facilities, waste transfer stations, and highways. They are flooded during increasingly severe superstorms and hurricanes, which leave behind disease-causing mold and mildew even after the streets dry out and the skies clear up. As summers get hotter and hotter, people in environmental justice communities suffer disproportionately from heat stroke and related illnesses, because our neighborhoods lack the infrastructure to keep cool.

It’s not random that communities of color suffer the worst impacts of pollution and climate change; it’s by design. Burning fossil fuels, and allowing the seas to rise, temperatures to increase, and storms to worsen requires that some people will suffer the consequences. In a country built on the marginalization and subjugation of people of color, it is unfortunately no surprise that our communities continue to be offered up as sacrifice zones by people in power.

This $15 billion climate, job, and justice fund can begin to remedy these injustices and build a just, thriving future for all New Yorkers. The money would put our state on a path to replace pollution-causing fossil fuels with renewable energy, solarize and retrofit public schools and housing, and make mass transit greener and more reliable, especially for communities on the margins. It would create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs for our communities. In fact, if we keep the investments up, we could see 150,000 good, green jobs created over the next ten years.

The fund would also provide a “climate stimulus” to low-income and working New Yorkers. These climate stimulus payments would include transit vouchers to encourage riding the bus and train, grants for homeowners to make their houses more energy-efficient, and credits to reduce the cost of heating homes and small businesses in the winter. We don’t have to choose between prosperity for all and a renewable future: we can have both. 

One of the most exciting components of the $15 billion climate, jobs, and justice fund is that it will provide grants to local organizations in frontline communities for programs that improve resiliency, increase energy efficiency, and decrease fossil fuel pollution. Frontline communities are already leading the way in creating climate solutions, but we need the Governor and Legislature to make sure we get the funding we need.

Some amazing projects already exist: in Sunset Park, UPROSE started Sunset Park Solar, a cooperatively-owned solar installation that will make cheap, green electricity available for low-income tenants in the neighborhood. They’ve also developed a community-wide plan to create green jobs and improve resiliency along the industrial waterfront — a plan that helped attract North America’s largest off-shore wind assembly hub to the Sunset Park waterfront.

Or look to the South Bronx. The POINT CDC has created a “Be a Buddy” program, which connects volunteers with seniors and other vulnerable people in the community to check in during heat waves, storms, or other climate events. With money from the $15 billion climate, jobs, and justice fund, we could see programs like this expand and bloom across the state.

What we can’t afford to do is wait. The climate crisis is happening now, and people on the frontlines deserve real funding behind our climate solutions. It’s time for the Governor and Legislature to put their money where their mouth is, and follow through on making New York a real climate justice leader. Let’s invest $15 billion in climate, jobs, and justice this year. 

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Eddie Bautista is Executive Director of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance and a member of the Steering Committee at NY Renews. On Twitter @eddiebautista08 & @NYCEJAlliance & @NYRenews.

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State Budget Paradox: Flush with Money, Spending Plans, and a Large Dose of Caution; Is There Room for One More Big Program?


(photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

Gov. Hochul presenting her budget (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


Pandemic Dollars + Improved Tax Receipts = Plenty to Spend
Governor Kathy Hochul released the New York State Executive Budget on January 18, 2022, setting the framework for an adopted budget before April 1 of this year by the Legislature and governor. The state is astonishingly flush with money, both federal pandemic relief funds and dramatically-improved tax receipts.

The Division of the Budget is predicting healthy surpluses in state funds alone, with over $5 billion in the current fiscal year, 2022, over $6 billion in the coming budget year, FY 2023, and surpluses for the entire planning horizon through FY 2027, even after all the federal pandemic relief funds are finally spent in FY 2025.

There’s plenty to spend. The governor’s budget includes an undesignated $2 billion “Pandemic Assistance Fund” from the current fiscal year state surplus to be negotiated with the Legislature. There is a $2.2 billion property tax rebate proposed to be distributed to homeowners this fall, and $1.2 billion for bonuses for health care workers to reward their work during the covid pandemic and retain their employment.

All of these items are funded from the state surpluses and don’t lock in any new spending commitments!

There is also $12.75 billion in federal pandemic assistance from the 2021 Biden Rescue Plan that the state is permitted to spend pursuant to federal approval of a New York plan. The Hochul administration has not yet specified that plan.

Budget Takeaways and a Paradox
Two major factors are driving the budget that seem a paradox, while there’s an opportunity for Governor Hochul and the new Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, to collaborate in a way that political enemies Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio did not. 

While it’s an extraordinarily liberal spending plan, the paradox is that it’s a plan to avoid spending too much in case New York’s problems take a turn for the worse. Meanwhile, Hochul and Adams can collaborate to operationalize the subsidies needed for ambitious affordable housing programs that are not conceptualized in the current budget.

A Liberal Spending Plan
Below are planned expenses over the next four years for education and health care, the two largest parts of the budget, from state operating funds (see p. 84, NYS DOB 5-Year Financial Plan); the numbers are in 1000s:

  FISCAL YEAR                                    ’22         ’23          ’24          ’25            ’26        ‘27

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Starting in FY 2023, school aid increases from $31.178 billion to $38.357 billion, about $7.2 billion, over four years, nearly 6% a year. There is also $13 billion in federal pandemic relief funds available for schools to be spent over several years.

State Medicaid spending, growing from over $25 billion in FY 2023 to $31.6 billion in FY 2027, is covering health care expenses for 7.7 million New York residents, more than one-third of the state’s population. The State Medicaid spending is only showing the state government’s share of the program. Total Medicaid expenses including federal and local government shares currently exceed $90 billion a year and are anticipated to reach $100 billion in 2027.

But Caution Over New York’s Uncertain Future: Weak Economic and Employment Recovery
The second takeaway is the deep caution in the plan, based on the risks of New York’s uncertain future. New York’s “pot of gold” is occurring despite the fact that the state’s employment recovery is the second lowest across the country since the pandemic low in April 2020 (only Hawaii, also a heavily tourism-dependent state, has a weaker recovery). Spending like the property tax rebate referred to above, from the state’s surpluses, are one-time expenses intended not to recur. In fact, the plan for the surpluses over the next few years is to save most of the money and put it into reserves.

State budget director Robert Mujica, who also held the position under former Governor Cuomo, argues that New York State was badly prepared for the three 21st Century calamities that forced big cutbacks for government in New York. First, 9/11, then the 2008-9 Great Recession, and, of course, the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The plan is to bring the state’s reserves to 15% of state operating funds spending (p. 18, DOB 5-Year Plan):

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Reserves at the end of the current year, FY 2022, are expected to be $8.9 billion and the plan is for them to grow to over $10 billion by FY 2025, and later reach over $19 billion. New York could then cope with a recession or another pandemic. Mr. Mujica makes no mention in the rationale for major increases in reserves of a dangerous out-migration of residents or the subset of wealthy taxpayers fleeing the state.

Large out-migration from the state was a fact in 2021, however. The U.S. Census reported that the state lost 319,000 residents between July 1,2020, and July 1, 2021, the most in the nation, although Washington, DC had a higher percentage decrease.

New York lost 352,000 to domestic out-migration, while international migration, a major source of population gain of over 100,000 a year to New York for decades, slowed to a minimal increase, 18,000. Trump-era immigration policies and the temporary closure of U.S. borders due to covid slowed international migration dramatically to the whole country, not just New York.

New York raised income taxes last year on the state’s wealthiest taxpayers (those earning more than $2.2 million married filing jointly). Budget director Mujica was asked last month if the increase was driving departures from New York, and said, “We haven’t seen any evidence of that.” He said the federal cap on deductions for state and local taxes could be a larger factor.

New York residents have been moving to the south and the west for decades; the question is whether the out-migration is a step-up from normal and poses a risk to the economy, and whether immigration trends will reverse so that New York can depend on that usual boon to its population and fortunes. Despite Mr. Mujica’s seeming lack of concern, I am sure the Division of the Budget will be intensely monitoring how many wealthy taxpayers are filing returns this year and years after, and how many residents are leaving.

Despite long-standing outmigration from New York, we just experienced an 800,000 population gain in the state, three-quarters of which was in New York City, from 2010 to 2020, according to the U.S. Census. And some of the recent drop could be temporary due to covid. Taxpayers who have moved out of state, to New Jersey or Connecticut, or even other states whose employment remains linked to New York, can still be paying income taxes here because their employer’s base is here.

A Massive Unemployment Tax Liability
A dilemma for the state and its employers is a $9.3 billion outstanding liability to the federal government for a loan taken by New York to help pay unemployment claims during the pandemic, when the need was massive.

Under normal Unemployment Insurance Law, when layoffs occur, employers have their unemployment insurance rates and taxes rise to replenish the state’s Unemployment Trust Funds. Since so many employees were laid off during the pandemic, that means steep rises in unemployment taxes for thousands of New York businesses to help make the Trust Funds whole.

According to a report by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, tax increases of $1 billion in 2022 are set and will increase over several years. The report discusses several ways the federal government has authorized states to repay the loaned funds, including one-time options involving the use of general state funds, the use of federal covid relief funds, and even issuing state bonds to help provide relief for businesses. The Empire Center for Public Policy has urged Governor Hochul to use some of the $12.75 billion in federal covid relief funds available to the state to help businesses repay this extraordinary obligation.

For the moment, the dichotomy between the largesse in the state’s treasury and the relatively weak employment gains is explained by the fact that the incomes of the state’s wealthiest and most affluent taxpayers, boosted by gains in the stock market, have held up during the pandemic, along with extra money from the income tax increase in 2021.

A Bonus: Proposed Budget Creates an Opportunity for NYS & NYC to Collaborate on Affordable Housing
There is a real opportunity for Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams to collaborate around housing. The governor’s budget plan includes a new $4.5 billion housing capital plan with intentions to produce or preserve 100,000 affordable units, including 10,000 new supportive housing units, over five years. Although Mayor Adams has not put together his own housing plan, Mayor de Blasio’s Housing 2.0 plan is ongoing, with thousands of low- and moderate-income housing units still anticipated.

While in many cases affordable units can be cross-subsidized with market-rate units in development projects, cash subsidies are essential for poor, needy, and working class New Yorkers and both the governor’s and the city’s housing development plans, including whatever ambition is expressed by the new mayor, will need operational subsidies as the units come on line.

The New York Housing Conference has endorsed the state government creating a Universal Rental Assistance program similar to the federal government’s Section 8 Housing Voucher Program.

New York City’s Section 8 waiting list has 30,000 households, and the city received 8,000 emergency Section 8 vouchers in the federal American Rescue Plan. If the city’s Section 8 waiting list is 30,000, I estimate the rest of the state could have 20,000 households on Section 8 waiting lists in various municipal housing authorities. In December, Governor Hochul signed legislation to supplement the city’s emergency rental subsidy for those experiencing homelessness to bring it to the federal Section 8 level, and there is $100 million in the budget for this program, named Transitional Rental Assistance.

It could cost $1 billion a year to fund 50,000 rental assistance vouchers and set-aside housing units for homeless New Yorkers. The governor could request (and even compel) the city to share costs for the vouchers in the city. With joint funding and integrated planning, new low- and moderate-income units and vouchers can bring major relief. The state and city could start down this path, always hoping for the federal government to come through with additional vouchers of its own.

The state is planning to add over $10 billion to its reserves to reach $19 billion in the next three years. The goal is great, but does the state really need to put all of that money aside? Clearly it could partially fund a state housing voucher plan with some of the money it intends to put into reserves. The surpluses are anticipated to continue past 2025, and it will take time to implement 50,000 new vouchers. If migration out of state clearly begins to impair the economy, or if another recession occurs, the state and city can put on the brakes on this or other spending. 

Overall, the governor’s executive budget is sensible, but with the state in such great fiscal shape right now, it is not too risky to add this one major new program -- a state housing voucher to reduce homelessness -- and keep its ultimate cost under control.

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Jim Brennan was a member of the New York State Assembly for 32 years, where he chaired four committees. On Twitter @JimBrennanNY.

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An Opportunity to Boost the Environment, Economy, and Workers


(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Street construction (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


We have at times been led to believe that legislation can typically only fall in one of the following categories: environmental improvement, economic boost, or labor-friendly. In fact, we have actually seen instances where this is true and the goals outlined within a bill are at odds with others.

But New York has an opportunity this session to support and pass legislation that clearly encompasses all three: the Roadway Excavation Quality Assurance Act (REQAA). Long bill name, huge potential impact.

The REQAA would require that workers be paid prevailing wage when crews have to cut open a street to do utility work. And attaching prevailing wage to this type of job, which is very common, is far more consequential than you might think. First, prevailing wage means trained, highly-skilled workers are doing the job – workers whose skill-sets ensure timely and efficient repairs, so you’re not without power, heat, cooling, etc. for extended periods of time. If these skilled workers are making repairs to a damaged utility line, they would be able to stop a gas leak more quickly.

Better for the environment, better for everyone paying a utility company for service.

Importantly, paying prevailing wage means the workers doing these dangerous jobs are paid a livable, family-sustaining wage. In short, they can afford to feed their families, live a solid middle-class life, and have the financial resources to patronize their hometown shops and restaurants.

Better for a deserving workforce, a shot in the arm for the economy.

It’s important to recognize that New York’s energy landscape is evolving, and the job market for people who work in this field is, too. Passing the REQAA would be a prime example of making sure that as the energy industry is advancing, it takes the workers with it.

The REQAA is an opportunity for labor, environmentalists, and economists to fight together for a better future for New York State. Don’t you think we owe this to all New Yorkers?

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Patrick Purcell, Jr. is the Executive Director of the New York State Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust. Assemblymember Karines Reyes proudly represents the 87th District of New York State. On Twitter @KarinesReyes87 & @NYSTriFunds.

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The Other Theodore Roosevelt Statue at the American Museum of Natural History: A More Fitting Tribute to the Conservation President


theodore roosevelt sculpture

Theodore Roosevelt in the AMNH (photo: amnh.org)


The American Museum of Natural History in New York recently arranged for the removal of the controversial equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt from the front of the museum, where it had stood since 1940. The decision to remove the statue came about in response to charges that the statue reflects racist and colonial values. Given all the national publicity related to this event, the public could easily conclude that Roosevelt's special connection to the museum is no longer being honored, but such is not the case.

The museum still has a bronze sculpture of Roosevelt on display in its Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall. This bronze sculpture depicts Roosevelt as a real person sitting on a bench with room for visitors to sit beside him.

These two statues differ dramatically in how they represent Roosevelt. Designed in 1939 by James Earle Fraser, the equestrian monument depicts Roosevelt as if he were a colonial ruler.  He looks larger than life and a bit aloof as he sits astride his horse, flanked by African- and Native-American men walking a step or two behind him. 

The bronze sculpture of Roosevelt sitting on a bench is a much more approachable depiction of Roosevelt. Created by Studio EIS in Brooklyn and unveiled in November 2012, this life-sized sculpture is based on photographs that were taken of Roosevelt when he and naturalist John Muir went camping together in Yosemite in 1903. Soon after this camping trip, Roosevelt set into motion a plan that resulted in a tremendous expansion of the land set aside for national forests and new national parks. In this sculpture, he looks like a rugged outdoorsman, which is exactly what he was.

Although the equestrian monument stood at the front of the American Museum of Natural History for more than 80 years, it really has very little to do with Roosevelt’s connections to the field of natural history.  In contrast, the sculpture of Roosevelt sitting on a bench in the middle of the American Museum of Natural History speaks directly to his long-standing interest in natural history and his support for the American Museum of Natural History.

Roosevelt’s interest in natural history is reflected in his reading. One of his favorite books from his childhood was John George Wood’s Homes without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of Animals, Classed According to Their Principle of Construction, a scientific treatise that originally came out in 1866. He continued to read books about natural history throughout his life. His library at Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s home in Oyster Bay, New York, is still extant, and it includes hundreds of books that relate to natural history. 

His interest in natural history extended into the realm of field work. When he entered Harvard in 1876, his dream was to study the natural sciences in the field and become an ornithologist like his role model John James Audubon. The sculpture of Roosevelt sitting on the bench captures this side of Roosevelt. He is depicted holding the pair of binoculars that he often used when observing wildlife.

Roosevelt’s association with the American Museum of Natural History also goes back to his childhood.  In fact, his father co-founded the museum in 1871. Even as a boy, Roosevelt donated specimens from his own taxidermy collection to the museum. As an adult, he remained an ardent supporter of the museum, so it is fitting that this sculpture is located just steps away from the museum’s exhibits of North American mammals and other wildlife.

Roosevelt is sometimes described as the conservation president, and the sculpture of him sitting in the middle of the American Museum of Natural History celebrates this side of President Roosevelt.

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Mark I. West, Ph.D., is the Bonnie E. Cone Professor in Civic Engagement and a Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and author of the forthcoming book, Theodore Roosevelt and His Library at Sagamore Hill.

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Why We Welcome Vegan Fridays in New York City Schools


(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Mayor Adams at a vegan cooking demo (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


The Adams administration recently announced that plant-based meals, free of animal products except for federally-required fluid milk, would be served across the New York City public school system on Fridays. Mayor Adams had been crystal clear throughout his campaign about the connection between food and health: “We must stop feeding the crisis.”

Because city schools serve nearly 1 million meals each day, rolling out the program citywide presents one of many opportunities to put our public health and sustainability priorities on our plates.

What many city residents may not fully understand is just how powerful food can be in not only preventing disease but also treating it. Adams’ personal experience of reversing type 2 diabetes by eating a diet predominated by unprocessed plant foods – beans, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds – is not an anomaly. Countless people affected by diabetes across the country have had results similar to Mayor Adams, and a rising cadre of healthcare professionals affiliated with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine are counseling their patients to eat diets that are primarily comprised of unprocessed plants, along with other positive lifestyle behaviors, as a first line of defense.

And it’s not just diabetes: heart disease, high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, digestive problems (from acid reflux to constipation), elevated cholesterol, and many other health issues count diet as a root cause. What we put in our mouths directly affects all parts of the body as a holistic system. Dietary habits even modify our genes.

What does this have to do with our kids and vegan Fridays? Here are four reasons we welcome the change and other forthcoming health-forward city feeding policies:

Kids are getting sicker at younger ages. It’s no secret that children across the country, and New York City is no exception, are experiencing the same poor health as adults. They are also experiencing high rates of ADHD, anxiety, asthma, and other chronic respiratory conditions. Children are being diagnosed with chronic conditions that used to be seen only in adults, including diabetes, and most children will have fatty streaks in their arteries, the beginning of cardiovascular disease, by the age of 10. We should not take any of these stats as a given.

Disease is not an inevitable result of the imperfect human body but a direct outcome of the poor nutritional environment our country built throughout the 20th century. Dismantling it will take tremendous effort, and our very lives depend on it.

Kids don’t need animal products to meet their nutritional needs, certainly not on a daily basis. While the food groups and the food pyramid we learned about in our childhood incorporated daily animal food consumption as an essential part of a healthy diet – and our parents and grandparents told us the same – the evidence now shows otherwise.

In fact, children across history and today across the country are being raised on well-balanced plant-based diets and thriving. What's more, they have more immune system resilience, lower rates of chronic disease as they age, and healthier weight than their peers. While more research needs to be done, it's clear that one plant-based meal served at school will not create a nutritional deficiency in children. Instead, it will add critical micronutrients and fiber that are only found in plant foods, while reducing consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol, abundant in animal foods.

Serving plant-based meals introduces critical messages that plants are essential for health. As children (and adults) come to learn that plant-based meals are nourishing and even delicious, we can dispel myths and stigmas about plant-based eating. Over time, this will not only breed a culture of tolerance of different eating patterns but also has the potential to give children and families more informed choices about how to eat for health.

Schools are an ideal place for such education, and in the near-term absence of such instruction in the classroom, modeling and sharing this information in the lunchroom is a welcome first step.

Our planet depends on more plant consumption. As climate change looms large in our minds, animal agriculture is the often-unspoken elephant in the room. Raising animals and their byproducts for human consumption contributes substantially to greenhouse gas emissions. Every step our city takes, with its tremendous purchasing power, to reduce our dependence on animal agriculture helps us to return our ecosystems to health and preserve the planet for our children.

But the details matter. Just as with other meal options in schools, palatability and presentation is important. Parents reporting that their kids didn’t care for the new vegan meal on its first Friday should remember that this phenomenon is not limited to the vegan meal and Meatless Mondays, already in place in city schools. In the background, our school system is working hard on cracking the code of providing meals at scale that are both nutritious and delicious, without defaulting to animal products or highly-processed foods.

As healthcare professionals, community nutrition educators, and health-conscious community leaders, we teach about whole food, plant-based nutrition to achieve the health goals we seek, and this includes a steep reduction if not elimination of refined foods like white flours, oils, sugar, and salt. Black bean burritos and Mediterranean chickpeas are a huge step in the right direction.

Here and now, we must prioritize solving our intractable public health issues that have very obvious, even if challenging, solutions. We support Mayor Adams on his quest to bring healthy eating and lifestyle behaviors into the limelight and offer new and empowering paths forward for all.

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By Lianna Levine Reisner, President & Network Director, Plant Powered Metro New York; Michelle Loy, MD, FAAP, DipABLM; Louise Merriman, MS, RD, CDN; and Aifra Ruiz, Nutrition & Fitness Coach and New York City public school parent leader. Plant Powered Metro New York empowers people to find better health and overcome chronic disease through whole food, plant-based nutrition. On Twitter @PlantPoweredMNY.

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A Bronx Soccer Stadium for the New Mayor? Maybe


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An NYCFC game at Yankee Stadium (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


Is it time for a soccer stadium in the South Bronx now that NYCFC is the Major League Soccer champion and the U.S. is (hopefully) on its way to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup?

Maybe.

A stadium built expressly for soccer could serve as a hub for this global sport in our global city. In addition to serving the home team (NYCFC) it could attract clubs from every continent for exhibition games, drawing fans from New York’s diverse communities. Imagine: Argentina vs. its former colonial ruler, Spain; France vs. Germany; South vs. North Korea. The match-ups would feed the ethnic pride of neighborhoods from Queens to Brooklyn, Manhattan to Staten Island, and of course in the Bronx.

A gleaming new stadium outfitted with high-tech screens, lounges, interactive consoles for fan engagement, and instant access to color commentators, coaches, and players would be a cathedral for soccer. As Yankee Stadium is to baseball, an NYCFC stadium would be a mecca for American soccer. And the same mass transit-rich hub that serves 50,000 fans of The Bronx Bombers each game would easily accommodate 25,000 fans of the Boys in Blue. There are three subway lines (B, D, and 4 ), a new Metro-North station, and three MTA bus lines. Easy to get to; easy to leave.

A soccer-specific stadium alongside Yankee Stadium, the Universal Hip Hop Museum, The Bronx Children’s Museum, and a few blocks from Pregones Theatre, the Hostos Center for Arts and Culture, Andrew Freedman Mansion, and The Bronx Museum could further enrich a diverse cultural corridor second to none in New York City. Sports and Salsa and drama and art and  film and dance. All together in one square mile. Activities, events, and joy for people of all ages and inclinations.

Or maybe not. 

A new stadium won’t work if it ignores the vital needs of its host community, one of the poorest in the country. The South Bronx can’t afford to be victimized like it was when the new Yankee Stadium was built. Former Mayor Bloomberg gave then-Yankee owner George Steinbrenner a sweetheart deal: no property taxes and only $1 per year in rent.

Like Steinbrenner, the NYCFC owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is one of the world’s wealthiest people, and the community is still plagued by poverty and despair. A new South Bronx soccer stadium won’t work if it deprives the neighborhood of the revenue it deserves for housing, health care, and combating hunger and unemployment.

A new stadium can’t work if it turns the neighborhood into a mini-Vegas, filled with slot machines, sports betting kiosks, and 24-hour-a-day gambling. The debauchery that accompanies urban betting palaces is at odds with the religious, family-focused nature of South Bronx neighborhoods like Concourse Village, Melrose, and Morrisania. Recently, many major league sports teams and leagues are partnering with gaming companies like Bally’s, Resorts International, and Caesars. In Madrid, they are even building a new soccer facility that will be half-soccer stadium and half-casino. But, in a recent survey of residents, business owners, and employees in The South Bronx, only 33% favored a casino-stadium hybrid.

Maybe not. If the arena doesn’t have a dome so it can be utilized year-round for concerts, conventions, and convocations. If it isn’t accessible for use by local teams. If it doesn’t have a professional women’s soccer team. If it doesn’t include a youth center for those who favor e-sports or need coaching or a refuge from any number of things. If it doesn’t provide local businesses with preferential rents in the stadium.

If the stadium is environmentally irresponsible. If it will result in more pollution than it mitigates in the neighborhood. The South Bronx is sadly known as “Asthma Alley” and the borough ranks last in health among New York State’s 62 counties. If a stadium results in more traffic jams made up of idling Ubers, Lyfts, and taxis spewing fumes into the lungs of residents and preventing safe passageways for pedestrians and residents, we don’t need it.

Or definitely not.

Unless the team owners partner with the neighborhood and offer those who work, live, serve, or own businesses and property a piece of the pie. A New York City soccer stadium will be an enormously valuable asset worth billions of dollars. There’ll be naming rights (Facebook Field?), broadcast fees (for MLS games, exhibition games, and World Cup matches), corporate sponsorships, merchandising and ticket sales. The South Bronx deserves to benefit as partners from any and all of these revenue streams. This host community has earned the right to be paid for its nine decades of hospitality and the infrastructure it would provide for a new stadium.

Or definitely.

If Mayor-elect Adams endorses our partnership idea and makes a Neighborhood Ownership Plan a symbol of his administration’s commitment to inclusion, diversity, and equity.

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Dr. Cary Goodman, a sports sociologist, is the executive director of the 161st Street Business Improvement District around Yankee Stadium.

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The Continual Discovery of Our City’s Past, in Black History Month and Beyond


(photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photography Office)

Black History Month (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photography Office)


Each February, we celebrate the achievements of towering singular figures — icons who paved the way for Black Americans to have a more just and dignified existence in the United States. Indeed, they should be lauded for their accomplishments, but we must also remember the innumerable people whose experiences constitute the whole of Black histories.  

There are many nonprofits that promote and preserve New York City’s rich cultural heritage. These nonprofits are doing exemplary work to ensure that the city’s tapestry of stories includes local artists, activists, laborers, and historians that may otherwise be little known. This is important for a few reasons: it portrays more accurate narratives about historically-marginalized groups; paints a fuller picture of histories that are as diverse as the people who live them; and leads to a better understanding of our past so we can expand the possibilities of our future. 

One little known story in our city begins in 1969 Brownsville, where Mother Rosetta Gaston created the Children’s Cultural Corner in her home to pass down African-American history and culture to younger generations. Today, known as the Brownsville Heritage House, it is situated on the second floor of the Brooklyn Public Library’s Stone Avenue Branch and continues to preserve local heritage through the arts, education, and history.

BlackSpace, a collective of Black urbanists, is working with the House to shore up its activities as a community hub. This includes developing an archive of its 500-artifact collection, plus items from local residents that highlight Brownsville’s histories of changing demographics, progressive organizing, and Black Arts Movement-inspired schools.

Another effort that is bringing everyday stories to light is underway in Staten Island. The Staten Island Museum is working with the Richard B. Dickenson Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and Frederick Douglass Memorial Park, an African-American cemetery, to digitize Census and burial records and make Black family histories more accessible.

Of particular significance is a museum card catalog that Dickenson, the late borough historian, created with entries for every mid- to late-19th century African-American resident on the Island. The U.S. Census largely excluded Black people until 1870, so records before this period are especially informative for families tracing their ancestry.

In Upper Manhattan, the Dyckman Farmhouse uncovered the names and stories of enslaved people and indentured servants who built the building in the 1800s and worked there, but whose historical presence was made invisible. This history came to life at the Farmhouse in 2020 through an installation by the artist Reggie Black. He projected “Slaves Lived Here” onto the building, literally bringing to light the stories of laborers at the site and in the surrounding Inwood neighborhood.

To make the stories of today available to future generations, African Voices Communications, known for its literary magazine and women’s film festival, is working with Spelman College. They are digitizing and archiving back issues of its magazine and database of films to preserve fiction, poetry, and other artwork from the African diaspora. Functioning as a permanent repository, the college will make the records accessible online for a broader public. 

Black History Month is a reminder to rededicate ourselves to an ongoing study of the past, a process that should begin with looking at all the histories that brought us to where we stand today.

The New York Community Trust supports groups that are preserving these stories and making them widely available. We hope others will join us in this continual discovery of our city’s past by visiting cultural institutions that steward Black histories, as well as encouraging friends and family to do the same. These histories can be a source of new inspiration from a city whose true wealth—its people—always renews us with hope for the future.

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Salem Tsegaye is the program officer for arts, culture, and historic preservation at The New York Community Trust -- the community foundation for New York City, with divisions in Westchester and Long Island. On Twitter @SalemTsegaye of @NYCommTrust.

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It’s Time for a Democratic School Governance System in New York City to Replace Mayoral Control


Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office

Students at school (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


Our more than 1,600 schools have been under “mayoral control” since 2003 when the New York State legislature gave New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg full control of the school system. The City Board of Education (which former Mayor Bloomberg unofficially renamed the Panel for Educational Policy) has the power to approve contracts, budgets, regulations, “standards, policies and objectives” related to educational achievement and student performance, but is made up of a majority of mayoral appointees, who are terminated or forced to resign if they vote against the mayor’s will.

While parents and advocates have succeeded in amending the law to insert some additional checks and balances, the ultimate decisions that affect 1 million children in the school system and their families still rest with one man: the mayor.

Last month, Governor Kathy Hochul released her Executive Budget, which includes a four-year extension of mayoral control, although it has no impact on the state budget. Parent leaders have objected to such a maneuver in the past, claiming that school governance deserves its own bill and a vote. Yet once again, we find ourselves having to argue our case against mayoral control of New York City when legislators are preoccupied with the real budget issues.

Here are the major reasons why we oppose mayoral control of city schools and believe that state leaders should enable rights-holders in New York City to create a new school governance system.

Despite what supporters of mayoral control claim, there is virtually no accountability. We know who is in charge but there is very little that rights-holders, such as parents, can do to hold mayors accountable and those who have the power, such as the Governor or members of the State Legislature and New York City Council are often unwilling to do so. 

In addition, New Yorkers are not single-issue voters, not to mention that mayoral elections happen only once every four years. Both Mayors Bloomberg and de Blasio implemented policies that were failures in their first term, yet both of them were re-elected to their second term (and Bloomberg got a third term against the will of New York City voters).

While the City Council holds hearings on a variety of education issues and can require reporting on education-related matters, the Council does not have the power to require the Department of Education, let alone the Mayor, to take any action or change course. The best the City Council can do is create some level of transparency for an agency that is extremely opaque.   

At the state level, the Legislature and the Governor have the power to hold the Mayor accountable by amending or enforcing the education law but neither seems willing to exercise this power. Despite more than a decade of parent leaders pleading with legislators to create more checks and balances, only very minor tweaks have been made. Instead of creating real accountability, the State Legislature and the Governor have used mayoral control as a political bargaining chip. And even in this political horse trading, they have failed to implement significant substantive changes to improve school governance in New York City. 

Supporters of mayoral control have also claimed that the old school boards were corrupt. There are two problems with this claim. Under mayoral control, corruption became bigger and more importantly, one does not dismantle a whole system because of corruption. If we were to follow this logic, then neither house of the State Legislature should exist (or the Governor’s Office, for that matter). 

None of this may matter if mayoral control was making a positive difference in the lives of our most marginalized students. Unfortunately, it has not.

The inequities that have existed since the founding of this nation are still painfully visible in our school system. Under two mayoralties and almost 20 years of mayoral control of city schools, our schools remain highly segregated -- New York City is one of the most segregated school systems in the nation -- and our Black, brown, immigrant, low-income students, and students with disabilities continue to be neglected by a system that was created to serve white and affluent students. Even during the pandemic, which illuminated the inequities for all to see, the de Blasio administration pressed forward with policies that did not serve historically marginalized students, who suffer deeply from covid’s disparate impact.

We simply cannot continue a system that does not well serve the majority of the students. Some legislators agree and have asked us what should replace mayoral control.  We must first acknowledge that the nation’s largest school system with majority low-income students of color must not be “controlled” by one person regardless of who it is. Second, we must recognize that the best solutions in the world come from collaborations among diverse rights-holders. Perspectives of and ideas from parents and students, particularly those historically marginalized, are necessary in developing sound policies. Teachers, support staff, and administrators also bring critical perspectives and must be at the table. 

We need to create an alternative school governance system through an inclusive, collaborative, and participatory process. For some years our organization -- Education Council Consortium -- has asked the State Legislature to create a task force to develop recommendations for alternatives. Indeed, a task force established in 2002 was exactly how the current system of Citywide and Community Education Councils was created. 

It is past time we focus on and invest real resources in developing a new school governance system for New York City public schools. Those politicians who decry playing politics with the education of our children must do the right thing: start a process to develop a democratic system of governance that replaces mayoral control of city schools.

******
NeQuan McLean is Co-chair of Education Council Consortium and President of Community Education Council 16. Shino Tanikawa is Co-chair of Education Council Consortium and the Public Advocate Appointee to the Citywide Council on High Schools. On Twitter @NequanMclean & @Estuaryqueen & @EducationCounc1.

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California’s Moving to Expand Health Coverage to Immigrants; What About New York?


ca mov expand

Health care in New York (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed a $2.7 billion expansion to his state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, in his state budget proposal. This transformative policy would extend to all immigrants, regardless of their status, covering an estimated 700,000 individuals. As California moves forward to expand immigrants’ access to health care, shouldn’t New York have immigrants’ backs, too?

The answer is yes. Here in the Empire State, community members and legislators have joined together to support a proposal known as Coverage for All (A880/S1572), which would create a state-funded Essential Plan for all New Yorkers earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level who are currently excluded because of their immigration status. The question is: will Governor Hochul show the same leadership as Governor Newsom, and support the expansion of health coverage and care to New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status?

In the United States, our broken health-care system treats health care as a privilege, instead of the right it should be. It has been commodified to the point where people die because they decided not to seek preventative care due to high prices or they go bankrupt when choosing to seek medical care. 

Take the experience of Reyna Tellez, a Make the Road New York member and Queens resident who has struggled without health care in New York and recently shared her story with us: “In the past, I have paid about $200 for a single doctor's visit and about $300 for medications. Sometimes, I have had to take out a loan to pay for medication. Early last year I found a lump in my breast and finally in July a biopsy was done. However, the hospital told me they couldn't remove the mass because I don't have health insurance. I am scared and still in pain. I am a single mother, I am afraid for my two children.”

Reyna’s experience is, unfortunately, a common one for undocumented immigrants, who cannot access health insurance and necessary medical care because of exorbitant costs.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vast inequalities that exist within our health-care system. In the darkest days of the pandemic, immigrants and other New Yorkers of color stepped up to work in harm's way. Immigrants make up 54% of New York’s essential workforce. But, while they were putting their bodies on the line, many were being systematically excluded from the health-care system they needed if they got sick. According to a 2021 report by Families USA, more than 8,200 New Yorkers died from COVID-19 due to a lack of health coverage. It is estimated that at least 2,700 of them were undocumented. 

When more than 40% of all COVID-19 infections, and roughly one out of every three COVID-19 deaths, are associated with health insurance gaps, there is systemic failure. With no current federal plan to address the problem of inequality in coverage, especially for undocumented people, individual states must step up to remedy this.

The answer for our state is Coverage for All, which would help New York move toward extending health-care coverage to all. Similar to what Governor Newsom has proposed in California, the bill would ensure access to coverage and care for undocumented residents.

By investing the resources to develop a more inclusive health-care system, New York will be creating healthier and more sustainable communities. Roughly 154,000 New Yorkers are uninsured and not eligible for insurance due to their immigration status. Passing Coverage for All in this year’s state budget, due April 1, would fix that. It would also help continue moving towards implementing the New York Health Act, the north star for universal care in New York.

Immigrant New Yorkers are not the only ones calling for an expansion of health coverage either. Insurers across the state have come out in support of Coverage for All and dramatically expanding coverage. Moreover, according to the Urban Institute, insuring 110,000 uninsured people could also save providers over $318 million in uncompensated care costs. 

Like Governor Newsom, Governor Hochul has spoken of the need to invest in and improve our health-care system. By passing and funding Coverage for All in this year’s budget, she has the opportunity to make it happen. We all deserve access to doctors and hospitals and care. We all deserve to live healthy lives. 

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Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas is an Assemblymember representing the 34th District in Queens. Theo Oshiro is the Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York. On Twitter: @votejgr & @theooshiro of @MaketheRoadNY.

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We Must Protect the New York-New Jersey Watershed


protect watershed the

On the Hudson (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


The New York-New Jersey Watershed Protection Act is critical for maintaining our fisheries, protecting our wildlife, and conserving our natural resources, urban greenspaces, and coastal resources. This watershed, the land that channels New York and New Jersey’s largest waterways and rainfall into the Hudson-Raritan Harbor Estuary, benefits us in many ways. Restoration efforts for the numerous waterways flowing through the Hudson Valley and New Jersey are scarce and underfunded. Restoring the watershed is an arduous task, due to extreme weather, such as rising air and water temperatures, increasing storms and rainfall, and rising sea levels.

The New York-New Jersey Watershed Protection Act, a bill under consideration in Congress, seeks to change this fact, introducing a watershed restoration program and a grant program to implement restoration and protection activities for the watershed.

Implementation of the New York-New Jersey Watershed Protection Act would alleviate some of the detrimental effects of storms caused by climate change and provide more protection for residents and wildlife from future crises. It would also reduce the loss of biodiversity and natural habitat, provide more residents with clean drinking water, and improve the quality of life by providing green spaces for communities to gather and cherish the natural habitat.

Managing the shorelines of the watershed is critical for flood mitigation. The current climate brings about unprecedented crises in natural disasters. Extreme loss of life and billions of dollars followed Hurricanes Sandy, Irene, Lee, and most recently, Ida. This bill recognizes that nature-based flood mitigation and restoring riparian corridors are cost-effective solutions. These nature-based features will maximize the resilience of neighboring communities and natural habitats in this era of changing sea levels and storm risks.

Managing the shorelines is also critical to improving the fish and wildlife habitat. This watershed also supports threatened and endangered species, including the shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon. Sustaining and enhancing fish and wildlife restoration and protection activities is pivotal for maintaining biodiversity. We need to meet the ecological needs of the wildlife and their habitat–for their protection and benefit and our own.

Many residents in the watershed region lack environmental justice. The populations living in the watershed region deserve access to clean water and the chance to enjoy the wildlife. Maintaining the water quality will improve opportunities for public access and recreation. The water quality in this region is particularly imperative, as this watershed is the source of drinking water for millions of people on the Mohawk, Raritan, and Hackensack Rivers.

The resources provided by the watershed support a very densely populated region, and they deserve adequate green spaces. The public depends on the improvement of the ecosystems and ecological processes in the watershed for clean water and enjoyment. The Watershed Protection Act aims to engage communities lacking in environmental justice through outreach, education, and community involvement to increase support for the restoration and protection activities in the New York-New Jersey Watershed. It also aims to improve opportunities for personal recreation along rivers and shorefronts within these communities.

New York Congressional Rep. Paul Tonko’s bill currently has 25 cosponsors: 16 from New York and nine from New Jersey, including all of the House representatives from Queens. These representatives from New York and New Jersey, and the rest of us from these two states and beyond, should continue to urge members of Congress to support this bill. It is America’s most crowded watershed.

Just this month, a companion bill of the same name was introduced by Senators Cory Booker, and Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Many versions of this bill have been in and out of Congress for years, and now more than ever, it is absolutely crucial to get it passed and signed into law by President Joe Biden. Our government representatives need to work to solve this problem and protect the watershed, for the environment’s sake, as well as our own.

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Sarah Quispe is studying at St. John’s University to receive a bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degree in criminology and justice.

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