For Immediate Release May 31, 2023 Green Party Says NY Democrats Need to Act on Climate Before Adjourning The Green Party of New York is once again sounding the alarm that time is rapidly running out before global warming reaches the tipping point of no return. Party leaders call on the Governor and State Legislature to immediately enact a critical package of climate measures before adjourning on June 9th. The NY HEAT Act, Climate Superfund, and the 100% Renewable Capitol bill are among the measures supported by the Green Party. The Greens faulted the Democrats for failing to have raised at least $10 billion annually in the recent budget for climate measures but noted that the legislature still has the authority to enact climate revenue proposals before starting their six-month vacation. The state estimates that $3 trillion will need to be invested by 2050 to transition to 100% clean renewable energy. The Greens have also long supported recapturing the $15 billion annually (some years) from the existing state stock transfer tax, with at least some of the funds dedicated to a Green New Deal. The Green Party said that the handful of climate measures enacted in the recent budget is far short of the climate action needed to be taken. Scientists recently warned that they expect global warming to surpass the 1.5 degrees C target within the next five years – if not sooner. The United Nations has repeatedly issued a Code Red warning on climate change and said that governments are acting nowhere fast enough to avoid climate collapse. Continue reading

Green Party of New Yorkwww.gpny.org Media Release For Immediate Release: April 3, 2023For More info: Gloria Mattera, [email protected], 917-886-4538Peter LaVenia, [email protected], 518-495-8001Mark Dunlea, [email protected], 518 860-3725 Green Party Slams Hochul’s Effort to Gut the state’s Climate Agenda The Green Party of New York slammed Governor Hochul and Senator Parker for seeking to change the accounting rules on greenhouse emissions in order to appease the fossil fuel industry. “The Green Party in 2010 called for a Green New Deal, combining a ten-year timeline to transition to 100% clean renewable energy and zero emissions with comprehensive economic rights including a guaranteed living wage job, single payer universal health care, and affordable housing. 14 years later, the state gets only 5% of its electricity from wind and solar, and greenhouse gas emissions globally continue to rise. The Democrats remain unwilling to put the needs of the people ahead of the profits and campaign contributions of the fossil fuel industry,” said Gloria Mattera, co-chair of the state Green Party. Continue reading

Libertarian Party and Green Party File Petition to Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court in Ballot Access Case 3/13/23 -- The Libertarian Party of New York and the Green Party of New York have filed a petition for an appeal in their ballot access lawsuit to the Supreme Court of the United States.  The petition challenges the increase of New York State’s ballot access thresholds instituted in 2020 as part of then Governor Andrew Cuomo’s emergency COVID budget. The threshold for a party to maintain recognized party status and ballot access was increased from 50,000 votes to 130,000 votes or 2% of the vote in the previous gubernatorial or presidential election, whichever is higher. In addition, the signature threshold for getting an independent candidate on the ballot was increased from 15,000 signatures to 45,000 signatures. In 2020, four parties lost ballot access: the Libertarian Party, whose candidate Jo Jorgensen received over 60,000 votes; the Green Party, whose candidate Howie Hawkins received over 32,000 votes; the Independence Party, whose candidate Brock Pierce received over 22,000 votes; and the SAM Party, which did not run a candidate for President. In this election, only the Libertarian Party received over 50,000 votes, which was enough to maintain ballot access under the old thresholds. Continue reading

---- For Immediate Release Peter LaVenia | [email protected] |518-495-8001 Gloria Mattera | [email protected] | 917-886-4538 2/22/23 - 2023 has started off with a bang - literally - with 39 mass shootings in the first 3 weeks of the new year. “On the eve of the 5th year anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman High School mass shooting, Michigan State University campus became the next scene of carnage,” said Gloria Mattera, GPNY co-chair. “While elected officials from the Democratic and Republican parties pat themselves on the back for passing the feeble Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the killing continues,” added Peter LaVenia, GPNY co-chair. Continue reading

A Statement on the Mass Shootings in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX from the Green Party of New York State. The Green Party of the United States was shocked and appalled by the mass shootings that took place at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York on May 14th and at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24th, and the Greens of New York and Texas were the most heartbroken of all. Our sympathies remain with the families of the 31 men, women and children who were killed in those unbelievable crimes, as well as the 20 injured survivors. Continue reading

For Immediate Release December 7, 2022 Green Party says NYS draft Climate Plan locks the planet into climate collapse “We’re out of time” say the Greens The Green Party today urged the NYS legislature to return to Albany in January ready to enact a far more ambitious climate plan than is being prepared by the Hochul-dominated Climate Action Council, staffed by many holdovers from the Cuomo administration. The Greens said that the draft plan, which the Governor has refused to share with the public, has far too many examples of corporate greenwashing. A draft plan was reviewed by the Council members at the State Capitol complex on Monday, with the vote to adopt it set for Dec. 19. “The plan being proposed by the Climate Action Council does an adequate job of laying out many of the challenges facing NY in enacting a rapid transition to 100% clean renewable energy. We might have applauded much of it – 15 years ago. It is up to the legislature to now make the critical policy decisions and investments. The UN keeps shouting that we can no longer afford incremental changes. They must put the needs of future generations ahead of the donations of the 1%,” remarked Gloria Mattera, State Party co-chair. The Party says that the state must commit to raising at least $15 billion a year to immediately begin financing the transition to clean renewable energy, such as subsidizing the costs to enable residents to decarbonize their buildings. The Greens expressed alarm over the plan's support for a so-called “Cap and Invest” which seems very similar to the cap-and-trade program opposed by environmental justice groups and Pope Francis.   Continue reading

Opposes Halt to Gas Tax or Criminal Justice Reform, Opposes Public Funds for Buffalo Sports Stadium The Green Party today said that the accelerating climate crisis calls for the state to enact the Green New Deal as part of this year’s state budget, with at least $30 billion devoted to the state building out renewables and enactment of an economic bill of rights including universal single payer health care, a guaranteed living wage job and income, universal child care, affordable housing and tuition-free public education from pre-K through college. Continue reading

2/4/22 - The Green Party of New York announced today that they plan to run candidates for state and federal offices in 2022, starting with Governor. The party is looking for candidates who embrace the Green Party agenda including strong climate action, ending mass incarceration, economic democracy, single-payer health care, and social justice. “Even though Governor Cuomo and the Democrats rammed through legislation under the cover of COVID to strip the election rights of alternative parties like the Greens, we are not just going to roll over and die. America is in a dark moment, where basic democratic, economic and civil rights are under increasing assault. We all need to stand up and demand another world that puts the common good ahead of the greed of the 1%,” Continue reading

1/18/22 - Green Party leaders today said that Gov. Hochul’s proposed $216.3 billion FY 2022-23 executive budget falls far short of what is needed. The Greens stated that Hochul continued the failed budget priorities of ex-Gov. Cuomo, and that her proposed budget would enrich the 1% and campaign donors rather than working class New Yorkers.  Continue reading

Green Party Says “State of the State”  Dire on Climate, Grassroots Democracy, Social and Economic Justice in New York Continue reading

12/2/21 - Green Party leaders today called on the Legislature and Gov. Hochul to enact a “Gold Standard” ballot access bill that would expand voter choice in New York State. Continue reading

8/3/21 - Green Party officers demanded that Speaker Carl Heastie move immediately to impeach Gov. Cuomo and Leader Stewart-Cousins to remove him from office in light of the shocking findings contained within Attorney General Letitia James’s investigation. They stated Cuomo’s violation of state and federal laws indicate that he and his administration are deeply corrupt, and that he cannot credibly lead the state. Party leaders concluded that Cuomo’s refusal to resign indicates that, like a rotten autocrat, he will never leave without being forced to do so. Continue reading

3/31/21 - Green Party officers celebrated the passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) as the culmination of a decades-long struggle by activists and communities to allow for legal sales of cannabis and to begin the process of rebuilding spaces ravaged by the failed Drug War. Party leaders said the organization had always proudly been on the front lines of the struggle for marijuana legalization. Party spokespeople also said they hoped the flaws of MRTA would be addressed soon, and that New York would follow Oregon’s lead and decriminalize all drugs. Continue reading

3/5/21 - Green Party officers today called for the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo and reiterated their Feb. 12 demand for his investigation and impeachment by the Legislature after the latest revelations in the nursing home and sexual harassment scandals. Party officers stated the news high-level Cuomo staffers rewrote a report to hide the true extent of nursing home deaths and the ignoring of Gov. Cuomo’s own executive order on referring sexual harassment allegations to the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) in the case of Charlotte Bennett are examples of ongoing abuse of power by Gov. Cuomo and should be investigated as such by the Legislature. They said Gov. Cuomo’s actions were a breach of public trust and should result in his immediate resignation. Continue reading

2/23/21 - The Green Party of New York said today it was time for the Democrats to finally deliver on their call to legalize marijuana, a position the Greens have advocated for decades. Continue reading

1/8/21 - The Green Party of New York called on Governor Cuomo today to embrace a progressive agenda for 2021, including a Taxing the Rich to fund a Green New Deal COVID relief package, enactment of single payer health care, and passage of long-delayed marijuana legalization including reinvestment in impacted communities.  Continue reading

New York - Green Party officers today said they were working hard to save the party’s ballot line, and that voting for Joe Biden on any line in New York State dilutes the progressive power needed to push Democrats to the left. They stated that a strong Green Party vote and continued ballot access would say New Yorkers expect the Federal government to prioritize workers, students, and seniors, not the corporate elite. They noted the new law that requires parties to receive 130,000 votes or 2% of the presidential vote (whichever is higher) combined with the 32 point lead Biden commands in New York make the choice of Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker easy and imperative.  Continue reading

(Rochester, NY) - The Green Party of Monroe County is calling for the resignation of Mayor Lovely Warren and Police Chief, La’Ron Singletary.  We also insist that City Council dismantle the Rochester Police Department and replace it with an accountable, public safety-oriented entity that does not routinely injure, and sometimes, kill citizens.    After the homicide of Daniel Prude on March 30 by RPD officers, the Mayor and Police Chief, kept the incident quiet as hundreds of residents have been marching in the streets calling for changes to the police department. The public knowledge of this murder only happened due to a lawsuit by Prude’s family.  If it was not for that legal action we would still not be privy to the video that shows this execution. “Our condolences go out to the family of Daniel Prude, but everyone is tired of giving out condolences.  City government covering up a murder by the police speaks to the criminal culture of the Mayor and the police department she controls.  We cannot wait for another election, the Mayor and Police Chief have to go now so that we can begin to make the changes needed to keep our citizens safe,” says Alex White, Green Party officer and former candidate for local office.  The Green Party of Monroe County is also calling for the dropping of all charges against anyone who has been protesting in support of Black Lives Matter including the 9 people who were arrested on September 2, 2020. The local Green Party has consistently run candidates who have called for a transformation of policing in Rochester, alleviating poverty, and eliminating corruption in government. For more information: Alex White, (585) 281-5953, [email protected] Bonnie Cannan, GPoMC Co-Chair, (585) 200-0628, [email protected]   ##

Albany, New York, July 27, 2020 – The Green Party of New York (GPNY) and the Libertarian Party of New York (LPNY) filed a Federal lawsuit today in the Southern District of New York to invalidate restrictive ballot access provisions passed as a rider to the FY2021 State Budget. Continue reading

New York City - Green Party officers responded to the passage of New York City’s FY 2021 budget with the following statement: “In the face of a massive month-long social uprising demanding the end of police violence against Black and Brown communities and a massive reduction in the NYPD budget, the Mayor and City Council instead used accounting tricks to maintain funding for the department, while attempting to claim otherwise,” said Chris Archer, chair of the Green Party of New York County. “We are disgusted by the half-truths and lies emanating from city government, and the continued police violence against our communities as well as peaceful protesters. In a time when the elimination of 22,000 city jobs is being proposed, the Mayor and City Council’s refusal to cut the NYPD shows where their priorities lie: maintaining a police state above all else.” Continue reading

New York — Green Party leaders today echoed the calls by Black Lives Matter and civil rights activist groups across the nation protesting the murder of George Floyd and other black Americans, and called for the immediate defunding of police departments across the state. The Greens support redirecting the funds towards community needs and social services. Continue reading

The Green Party of New York is outraged by the murder of George Floyd by former officer Derek Chauvin while fellow officers menacingly kept distressed and concerned by-standers at bay. The evidence is unequivocal that Chauvin and the other former officers killed Floyd and all of them need to be arrested, charged, and convicted for their crimes. The arrest of Derek Chavuin, while a welcome development, must be followed with the same for the other former officers. Continue reading

Green Party officers said that New York State Legislators coming back into session on Tuesday had a chance to put an end to austerity measures and the class war being waged on working New Yorkers. Party leaders said the easiest path would be collecting the Stock Transfer Tax currently valued at nearly $16 billion a year and rebated to Wall St. investors since 1981, but that modestly raising taxes on New York’s 118 billionaires would work as well.  Continue reading