Green Party Opposes Hochul’s Nuclear Push, Retreat on Climate        Renews its Call for an EcoSocialist Green New Deal The Green Party said it strongly opposed Governor Hochul’s push to expand nuclear power in New York, saying it was a false climate solution that would drive up the cost of electricity while creating numerous environmental problems. The Party noted that the long time needed for construction of nuclear plants means that it would have no impact on the dire need to keep global warming below the 1.5 degree C target, a target that has been exceeded globally over the last year and a half as extreme weather continues to accelerate its rampage across the planet. Nuclear is far from being carbon free, especially when its life cycle of construction, fuel development, decommissioning, and long-term storage of nuclear waste is included. The Party renewed its call, first made in 2010, for an Ecosocialist Green New Deal, which combines a ten-year timeline to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions with clean renewable energy and conservation, combined with a robust Economic Bill of Rights to guarantee a Just Transition that provides economic security for all New Yorkers. The global green party movement has opposed nuclear power since its formation half a century ago. It has also always called for public ownership and democratic control of the energy system. This includes public ownership of the transmission system. As both the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and Pope Francis have pointed out, capitalism’s focus on growth and profits renders it incompatible with solving the existential climate crisis. “While the climate denial by Trump and the GOP is a crime against humanity, the climate evasion by Democrats such as Hochul and Speaker Heastie also threatens human civilization as we know it. Rather than running away from the tepid goals in the state’s climate law (CLCPA), Hochul and the Democrats need to stand up to the fossil fuel industry. This includes a major carbon tax (not cap and trade) to stop the hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies provided to polluters by not making them pay for the damages they cause,” said Mark Dunlea, Secretary of the EcoAction Committee of the national Green Party. Continue reading

The Green Party of New York strongly urges Gov. Hochul and the New York State Legislature to hold an emergency session to directly address and work to mitigate Trump’s disastrous budget bill that was just narrowly passed by Congress. There are currently several pieces of legislation already in play where Hochul and the Democratically controlled State Legislature could fast track in a special session that will protect New Yorkers, particularly our most vulnerable neighbors.  Respond to Trump's declaration of war against immigrants by passing the New York for All Act which aims to protect immigrant communities by prohibiting local and state resources from being used to assist federal immigration enforcement, particularly in deportation efforts. . Continue reading

Green Party Slams Democrats for Lack of Legislative Action Call for Key Issues like NY for All, NY Heat, and PRRIA To Pass in A Special Session The Green Party of New York harshly criticized the democratic-controlled New York State Legislature – especially the Assembly – for adjourning for the year without taking action on many issues critical to the well-being of New Yorkers. Key issues that the legislature failed to enact include New York for All (protect immigrants from ICE), NY Heat Act (only the 100-foot rule was repealed), Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA), expansion of rent control upstate, various parole and criminal justice reforms, raising the welfare grant and minimum wage, higher taxes on the wealthy, ballot access reform, and the NY Health Act (single payer universal health care). Continue reading

1/16/25 - The Green Party of New York said that Governor Hochul’s State of the State failed to lay out the bold action needed to deal with the multiple crises facing New York. “Governor Hochul claims her 2025 agenda will deal with the economic problems facing working class New Yorkers, but her proposals are timid steps conditioned by corporate donors rather than the radical and swift action we need,” said Peter LaVenia, co-chair of the Green Party. The Green Party released its progressive agenda for 2025, including ballot access reform to restore third party political rights, enacting Ranked Choice Voting and proportional representation, passing state-wide single-payer universal healthcare, and needed housing reforms including rent control, constructing one million units of publicly owned social housing. The party argued for immediate action on climate change and opposed Hochul’s steps toward nuclear power, and said that taxing the rich, including stopping the rebate of the Stock Transfer Tax, would help pay for needed reforms and social program expansion including reinvestment in impacted communities, rather than Hochul’s small “inflation rebate” and tax cuts. They said immediate action should be taken to protect immigrants in the face of president-elect Trump’s threat to deport millions, and that New York should divest from companies involved in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Continue reading

11/9/24 The Green Party of New York called upon Governor Hochul to begin delivering on her promise to stand up for New Yorkers after Donald Trump’s election by signing key climate legislation including the Climate Superfund bill and restarting congestion pricing. The Green Party, which finished third in the national elections, also called upon state lawmakers to hold a special legislative session in early December to pass critical bills, particularly on climate and immigration rights, and to override any gubernatorial vetoes. They also said the Legislature should repeal the draconian ballot access laws passed under Cuomo in 2020 and work on making New York’s laws a gold standard for democracy and choice. “We need action, not sound bites. Voters rejected VP Harris because they know the Democrats are much better at making promises than they are at delivering them. With Trump poised to withdraw from the Paris climate accords, it is up to the states to provide real leadership. Hochul should make polluters pay by immediately signing the Climate Superfund Act. The Governor needs to speed up climate action, not weaken the already too slow timelines in the CLCPA while embracing false and expensive climate solutions like nuclear and hydrogen,” said Peter A. LaVenia, Jr., Green Party of New York co-chair. Continue reading

10/21/24 - New York is the worst state in the nation for voter choice at a time when growing numbers of citizens are dissatisfied with the Democratic and Republican party’s candidates, according to Green Party officials.  Party leaders pointed out that New York is the only state in the nation to have just two presidential candidates on the ballot, and that in the last 40 years this has happened in only one other state, Oklahoma. Oklahoma has since eased its ballot access laws in 2012 to allow for multiple presidential candidates.  The Green Party said that this lack of choice hurts democracy in New York, contributes to voter suppression, and amounts to cartelization of the political process by the Democratic and Republican parties. Party officials said that Gov. Kathleen Hochul and New York legislators should move quickly to restore ballot-access requirements to what they were prior to 2020’s draconian changes by disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and then work to make New York’s election laws a “gold standard” for the nation. Continue reading

9/3/24 Ahead of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s energy summit in Syracuse on September 5, the Green Party of New York urged state lawmakers to speed up the transition to zero emissions and 100% clean renewable energy. Hochul convened the summit after admitting that the state was failing to meet its clean energy goals, prompting business leaders to urge her to weaken the climate laws. The Green Party pushed for a climate law far stronger than the CLCPA (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act) adopted 5 years ago. Since 2010 it has called for an ecosocialist Green New Deal in New York, with a ten-year timeline to 100% renewable energy and zero emissions, combined with a comprehensive economic Bill of Rights. The Party also urged lawmakers to implement the congestion pricing program for NYC that Hochul has halted. “Hochul and other Democrats, including Kamala Harris, continue to appease the fossil fuel industry and their campaign donors.  We need the Democrats to reject false climate solutions such as nuclear power, hydrogen, biofuels, fracking, natural gas, and carbon capture and sequestration. We need to create energy and economic systems that are publicly owned and democratically controlled that focus on preventing climate collapse and promote the common good, not wasting money on greening capitalism and the 1%,” said Gloria Mattera, co-chair of the Green Party. The Party faulted Hochul for slow-walking implementation of the Build Public Renewables Act and for failing to sign the legislation to block the use of carbon dioxide for fracking. Continue reading

3/28/24 The Green Party of New York (GPNY) announced today that Jill Stein had overwhelmingly won the New York primary for the Presidential nomination at their convention on Saturday in Troy, NY and will be placed on the Green Party of New York’s presidential nominating petition, winning 88.3 % of the vote and securing 12 of 13 delegates to the national convention. Jasmine Sherman also received 11.6% of the vote and 1 delegate.  Continue reading

Media Release For Immediate Release: December 29, 2023For More info: Gloria Mattera, [email protected], 917-886-4538Mark Dunlea, [email protected], 518 860-3725 Green Party Says Governor, State Lawmakers Need to Dramatically Accelerate Climate Action in 2024 Politicians Have Run out of Time to Avoid Major Climate Disruption, Need DiNapoli to Divest from Exxon and Other Oil and Gas Companies The Green Party of New York said today that New York needs to adopt an ecosocialist Green New Deal (GND)  that includes a transition to 100% clean renewable energy and zero emissions within a decade along with a strong economic Bill of Rights. This would include major subsidies to fund the rapid decarbonization of all buildings in the state, including heat pumps, geothermal, and energy conservation. Such efforts should begin immediately in all public buildings, starting with the State Capitol complex. The Green Party first called for a GND in 2010. The party criticized the so-called cap-trade-invest program being pushed by Governor Hochul as the wrong solution. The Greens said that the Democrats’ tepid climate agenda in New York, such as the CLCPA (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act), is an example of the lack of effective government action on climate that led the UN Secretary-General to say that the Gates to Hell have been opened, as extreme weather exploded globally in 2023. Continue reading

10/8/23 - Calling Gov. Hochul’s denouncement of a Palestinian solidarity rally an act of political hypocrisy and cowardice, the Green Party of New York reaffirmed its commitment to the end of the occupation of Palestine. Green officers stated that oppressed peoples like the Palestinians living under occupation regimes had a right to resistance, and that the conditions of the occupation in Gaza border on genocidal. Greens also noted Hochul’s willingness in the last year and a half to support Ukrainian resistance to Russian occupation alongside her sanctimonious denouncement of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli apartheid state.  Continue reading