There was a peculiar sight in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall at high noon on Wednesday, and it’s one New Yorkers might spot across the city over the coming weeks: a 10-foot sign on the back of a white pickup, advertising free ice cream and the NY HEAT Act — a state bill designed to phase out natural gas infrastructure and put a lid on rising energy costs.
Deputy Borough President Kim Council distributed popsicles and ice cream bars at what was the first stop of a monthlong citywide tour to rally public support for the legislation. While the bill passed the state Senate in June, it’s still under review in the Assembly by the Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions. Elected officials and a coalition of local environmental advocacy groups, which includes Food and Water Watch, are running the ice cream campaign.
“Utility bills are continuing to rise, and it’s becoming more and more expensive to live in a borough that’s already incredibly expensive to live in,” Council said. “Unless they take action up in Albany, our rates are gonna continue to rise as temperatures continue to climb, so this New York HEAT Act offers a chance to reverse this destructive trend.”
NY HEAT — or Home Energy Affordable Transition — empowers and encourages the Public Service Commission, the state’s utility regulator, to downsize and in some cases decommission the state’s system of gas plants and pipelines. According to Environmental Advocates NY, the measure would also remove the legal basis and subsidies driving the expansion of gas systems.
Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Kim Council addresses the lunch time crowd around Borough Hall about the rising costs of utility bills and extreme heat.
Rosemary Misdary / Gothamist
The goal is to bring gas energy providers into alignment with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which mandates zero-carbon emission energy by 2040. Currently, natural gas and dual fuel (gas plus oil) power nearly…
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