December 13, 2004
Friends of New York’s Environment
Protecting Our Land, Air and Water
(formerly Friends of the Environmental Protection Fund)

Groups to Call on Governor Pataki to Reinvest in New York’s Environment

Isn’t the Environment Worth 2 Cents?

Diverse Coalition Calls on Governor to Restore Funding

Revenue Options Reviewed

(Albany, N.Y.) – Today, a coalition of more than 90 local, state and national environmental groups are calling on Gov. George Pataki to make renewing New York’s commitment to the environment a highlight of his budget proposal for the new year.

“Just a few years ago, New York was investing 1.6 cents of every dollar to protect our environment. Today that has fallen to just 1.2 cents. We are here from nearly a hundred different organizations representing hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to ask Governor Pataki to give two cents to the environment,” said Robert Moore, Executive Director, Environmental Advocates of New York.

In a statement sent to Governor Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver last week, the Friends of New York’s Environment coalition said: “Clean water and clean air in New York depend on protected open space, working farms and neighborhood parks. New York’s families need recycling programs that work and public health initiatives like breast cancer research. State agencies must have sufficient staff to implement critical environmental programs. Our quality of life and our children’s future depend on saving our water, our air, and our open space before it’s too late. New Yorkers have a great tradition of working to ensure that future generations live in communities that are clean and safe. Now is the time to renew that commitment.”

Speakers at today’s press event pointed to the no-growth Environmental Protection Fund – which has remained static at $125 million appropriated annually even as the state budget has grown by nearly $30 billion – and the fact that virtually all funds from the 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act have been committed. In addition, from 2002 to 2004, over $450 million in transfers from the environmental trust fund were authorized to provide general fund budget relief, leaving increasing numbers of clean water, environmental projects unfunded. Speakers highlighted existing needs and pointed to new sources of revenue that can and should be dedicated to conservation and the environment.

“New York must not fall further behind in its investments in our unique outdoor and recreational resources,” said Neil Woodworth, Executive Director of the Adirondack Mountain Club and Counsel to the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. “This is important to our families and our economy. And New York has the resources to act. State income generated by fees on the transfer of real estate is growing as shopping centers and suburbs replace forests and working farms. It is only fitting that money from this source be used to protect what is left.”

Additional sources of dedicated revenue suggested by the coalition include:

• expanding the bottle bill and using the unclaimed deposits for the Environmental Protection Fund
• passage of the Community Preservation Act which would allow towns in New York to establish their own ongoing environmental protection funds
• local and state bond acts
• and other ideas like new fees on building projects in wetlands.

“Our communities rely on wetlands to help keep our drinking water clean, prevent flooding and protect wildlife,” said Sarah Kogel-Smucker, Legislative Associate, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. “Yet New York State taxpayers pay the costs of processing applications to develop in wetland areas. This development subsidy doesn't make fiscal or environmental sense. Instead, we can generate revenue and better protect the environment by instituting wetlands permit application fees.”

Marcia Bystryn, Executive Director of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said, “As well as championing the vital need for investment in land conservation, working farms and open space protection we must also remember that New York’s urban environment is being shortchanged by current funding. Many urban communities have borne the brunt of environmental damage and suffer the consequences in poor health and a lack of recreational opportunities. Funds are urgently needed for the creation of community parks in underserved areas, recycling programs, public health initiatives and an expansion of the urban forestry program championed by Governor Pataki in his 2004 State of the State address. These programs are a wise investment. For example, waterfront revitalization brings not just a cleaner environment but also economic benefits. The New York League of Conservation Voters urges our state leadership to restore the cuts to environmental funding and increase investment in our future.”

“We believe that New Yorkers want to protect working family farms, both to conserve land and to grow healthy, fresh food close to where we live,” said Jerry Cosgrove, Northeast Field Director of the American Farmland Trust. “This year, there were over $85 million in farmland protection project applications to the Environmental Protection Fund, but only $12.5 million was available. We call on Governor Pataki and legislative leaders to invest more in preserving New York’s working farms.”

“With the nation at war, a sluggish economy and the persistent reminders of the September 11 attacks on lower Manhattan, the expansion and protection of open spaces and natural areas has never been more important to the health and well-being of New Yorkers,” said Brian L. Houseal, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council (an 18,000-member advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring the ecological integrity and wild character of the six-million-acre Adirondack Park). “The pressures of urban life have only grown more intense in the past few years. New Yorkers need places nearby that they can go to get away from it all, if only for a few hours or a few days.”

“Local Governments currently suffer a two to three year delay in implementing recycling initiatives due to insufficient funding of the recycling grant programs,” said Margretta Morris, President of the Federation of New York Solid Waste Associations. “Recycling project managers throughout New York call on the Governor and the state Legislature to reduce these delays by increasing funding of the Environmental Protection Program.”

“Thanks to Governor George E. Pataki, and the New York State Legislature, we’ve come a long way for the protection of birds, other wildlife and their habitats in New York, but we still have a great distance to travel,” said David J. Miller, Executive Director of Audubon New York. “The needs for open space protection continue to increase statewide. The Keyspan Property, a $16 million project on Long Island, was an essential component to our Long Island Sound Stewardship initiative, and serves as just one example of how great the need can be. There are other such important properties not only on Long Island, but in the Catskills, the Adirondacks, and throughout the state, and it’s now time to make the necessary investments in New York.”

“Governor Pataki has demonstrated his leadership and commitment to protecting New York’s open space. Using the state’s Open Space Conservation Plan as his blueprint, the Governor has announced the protection of nearly 800,000 acres across New York, with a goal of protecting a million acres,” said Open Space Institute President Joe Martens. “But it is more important than ever in light of the growing environmental needs across the state, that the Governor and the Legislature renew their commitment to protecting New York’s historic landscapes from sprawl, fragmentation and water quality degradation.”

"Today, New York’s lands and waters are being altered in ways that threaten our clean water, open space and way of life," said Henry Tepper, New York State Director of The Nature Conservancy. "But there is hope. The Governor has pledged to protect a million acres of open space. This year, the Legislature protected the Environmental Protection Fund from disproportionate cuts in its funding for clean water and open space. Guided by good science, the state, The Nature Conservancy and the environmental community can together achieve lasting results by protecting and restoring New York’s most important natural places. By committing to the goal of spending two cents for each dollar of the state budget on the environment, New Yorkers can secure clean water and open space for their children for many generations to come."

Erik Kulleseid, New York State Director for the Trust for Public Land, commented, “This November around the country voters approved 121 clean water, open space funding proposals generating $3.25 billion in conservation funding. Voters in New York approved seven ballot initiatives that authorized close to $270 million for open space. Local governments need a strong partner in the state, and in the past Governor Pataki and the state have been there for them, to match local funds with state dollars and help protect parks and natural areas. To reverse recent funding cuts, and meet the multi-billion dollar need for additional clean water, open space funding, we urge the Governor and the state to pledge future investments and reclaim New York’s rightful place as a national environmental leader.”

At 10:00 AM this morning at the Suffolk County government Dennison Office Building in Hauppauge, Long Island groups who are part of the Friends of New York’s Environment coalition held a local news conference calling for a “greater financial and leadership commitment by New York State to preserve the remaining unprotected farmland, open space and critical wildlife habitat of Long Island.” Copies of both today’s Albany and Long Island press releases are available at: www.eany.org/pressreleases/2004/121304_li.html. Background financial information used in the preparation of material for today’s press event and related documents is available at: http://nysosc3.osc.state.ny.us/finance/finreports/fcr04.pdf.


Click here to download Friends of New York's Environment's Case Statement. (PDF)