Environment
Working with Mayor Bloomberg, Chris Quinn has helped to make New York one of the greenest cities in America. From fighting global warming to protecting our watershed to passing the City’s first comprehensive solid waste management law, Chris is proud to have helped lead the way on this critical issue.
As Speaker, Chris:
- Passed the Climate Protection Act, requiring the City to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.
- Passed first-in-the-nation laws to green city buildings, which will save 30 billion gallons of water annually and reduce our carbon footprint equal to the total carbon emissions of Oakland, CA.
- Passed a new Solid Waste Management law, diverting thousands of tons of waste every day from overburdened neighborhoods, and reducing pollution and congestion on city streets by 3 million truck miles per year.
- Dramatically expanded recycling in New York City to include electronic waste like computers, plastic shopping bags, clothing, and all plastic containers.
- Added hundreds of new recycling bins in public spaces, and brought composting to all five boroughs.
- Provided funding to help purchase and preserve more than 100,000 acres in the city’s watershed, and has been a strong opponent of hydrofracking in the area.
- Removed cars from the road by providing better access to green transportation, including launching the highly successful East River Ferry and expanding bike storage and parking.
- Passed laws requiring city buildings to use cleaner heating oil, reducing pollution from school buses and ferries and prohibiting vehicles from idling outside schools.
- Funded repairs to hundreds of public parks and playgrounds and won critical protections for our community gardens.