The Green Party of New York (GPNY) expressed its disagreement with the 'Long Island Six' State Senators who called last week for an end to the moratorium on the Williams gas pipeline construction to Long Island. GPNY officers said an immediate halt to fossil fuel infrastructure construction was an absolute necessity to combat the climate crisis. Green leaders instead called on the state to require use of renewable energy sources for new home construction and a program to aid retrofitting old houses. This has long been part of the Green Party's vision of the Green New Deal. Continue reading

NEW YORK —The Green Party of New York (GPNY) said today's meeting of the Public Campaign Financing Commission, empaneled by the Governor and Legislature, has the opportunity to propose urgently-needed reforms to broaden and strengthen democracy in New York. GPNY officers stated they “support a system of full public campaign financing, broader than had been proposed by the Governor,” and the “banning of fusion.” Party officers also promised their members will express support of these reforms to the commission.  Continue reading

The Green Party of New York (GPNY) renewed its call for justice for Eric Garner in response to the Justice Department’s announcement that it would not bring federal civil rights charges against the New York City Police Department officer responsible for killing Garner, an unarmed citizen, five years ago today. Continue reading

The Green Party of New York (GPNY) said last night's vote on a ballot measure to introduce ranked-choice voting (RCV) for New York City municipal primaries and special elections was disappointing, as commissioners voted 8-6 against applying RCV to general elections. Party officers praised the six commissioners, including Democrat Sal Albanese and Republican Stephen J. Fiala, who made a strong case for RCV in all municipal elections for New York City voters. Continue reading

For Immediate Release ALBANY—The Green Party of New York today called the campaign finance matching funds proposal put forward by the Governor an incumbency protection system, and discriminatory against candidates not running as Democrats or Republicans. Party officials said the legislature needs to pass a full public campaign finance system like Maine and Arizona. Continue reading

For Immediate Release ALBANY—The Green Party today urged state legislative leaders to drop their opposition to the Governor’s budget proposal to expand the role of the New York Power Authority in developing renewable energy, including providing electricity to CCAs (Community Choice Aggregation) and other public entities. “With time running out to save life on this planet from catastrophic climate change, this is not the moment for state lawmakers to focus on protecting the profits of private developers of renewable energy. This needs to be an all-hands-on-deck moment. Public ownership of renewables would speed up their development and reduce costs for consumers,” noted Peter LaVenia, state party co-chair. Continue reading

For Immediate Release NEW YORK—Green Party officials said today that while there were some positives in the Assembly and Senate one-house budget resolutions, they did not move far enough or fast enough on critical issues such as healthcare, ending the drug war, and wealth inequality. Party officers said the Legislature needed to ensure it passed crucial legislation this session outside of the budget process, and that the party and its members would continue to press their agenda. Instead of moving boldly, now that the Democrats are in total control of the State Legislature, the Assembly and Senate budget resolutions leave important issues on the table. Single payer healthcare, for instance, has overwhelming support among the public and even a majority of Democratic state legislators, yet it still faces an uphill struggle and was not introduced in the budget. Continue reading

Albany, March 4, 2019 - The Green Party of New York agrees with Monday’s decision by the Democratic Party State Committee to ban electoral fusion, though for fundamentally different reasons. Fusion, often presented as a tool to expand democratic choice, is in reality ballot lines-for-hire used to entrench the two-party system and provide political cover for the Democratic and Republican parties. It enables patronage machines that masquerade as small parties and shifts power from rank and file party members to candidates and campaign donors. And it contributes to an electoral arena where it is all but impossible for legitimate, independent third-parties like the Greens to compete. Fusion breeds confusion. Continue reading

For Immediate Release  New York - Members of the Green Party of New York (GPNY) came out in full force to demand immediate and comprehensive action to address the planetary emergency of climate change at New York State Senate hearings held the week of February 10, 2019. Greens called for the elimination of new fossil fuel infrastructure, particularly the building of new gas pipelines and gas-fired power plants, and moving to a carbon-neutral, 100% clean, renewable energy economy by 2030. They emphasized the need for a just transition for workers and frontline communities most affected by climate change. Continue reading

For Immediate Release NEW YORK—The Green Party of New York denounced the ongoing US-backed coup in Venezuela as the latest in a long line of US imperial interventions in Latin America. Party officers pointed out that the Trump administration has been enforcing crippling sanctions on Venezuela and met with military leaders last year to plot a coup, which was openly reported in US news outlets. The US openly backed a coup in 2002 that temporarily deposed President Hugo Chavez, and the Bush, Obama, and Trump regimes have supported the right-wing opposition and its neoliberal plans for the Venezuelan economy. Party leaders said members of the New York Congressional delegation, including Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Representative Ocasio-Cortez should introduce a resolution to cut off all US support for the coup. Continue reading