Dozens of protesters lined the boardwalk in Long Beach on Sunday, Sept. 14, as they urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject fossil fuel projects that would raise costs for Long Islanders.
Residents and community organizations gathered to call on Hochul to stand up to the Trump administration after published reports suggested that it might reach a deal to advance the Constitution gas project.
Protesters chanted phrases like “Hey, hey Hochul, fossil fuels have got to go,” and “Neighbor, neighbor, can’t you see, climate justice is what we need.”
Multiple people on the boardwalk who passed by shouted and cursed in opposition to the protest.
The Williams Companies introduced the Constitution pipeline in 2012 to transport gas from Pennsylvania to New York’s Southern Tier and the Catskills region. The company then introduced the Williams Northeast Enhancement Project, also known as the NESE pipeline, in 2017.
The proposed pipeline would run along the coast of New York City, Staten Island, Coney Island and the Rockaway Peninsula. Environmental advocates have been against the pipeline for years, but it may be pushed forward as the Trump administration has backed fossil-fuel projects.
Eric Weltman, the senior organizer of the protest, called the project expensive, dangerous and unnecessary.
“Hochul must decide. Will she side with Trump or will she protect the interests of New Yorkers and fight for lower energy bills and clean water and a livable climate?” he said.
George Povall, the executive director of All Our Energy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to climate solutions, renewable energy and environmental advocacy, said Hochul should reject the project to protect the water and marine life from fossil fuel pollution.
“People pushing this project seem to think that marine life and avoidance and protection, and dealing with toxic sediment is a joke,” he said.
Peggy Moise, a Hempstead resident, said she is a single mother of three who has to at times choose between paying bills and feeding her children.
She said the pipeline would raise utility costs by 3.5%, equaling roughly $150 a year per family.
“That may not seem like much to a millionaire CEO, but for me, that’s a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs,” she said. “This pipeline will make that struggle even harder. That ain’t right.”
Several environmental organizations co-sponsored or supported the protest, including Food & Water Watch, Long Island Progressive Coalition, All Our Energy, New York Communities for Change, South Shore Audubon Society, Sierra Club Long Island Group, Transition Town Port Washington, Bellmore-Merrick Democratic Club, Assemble Long Island, Long Island Clean Air Water & Soil and the Working Families Party of Nassau County.
