City Voters Delivered $4.2B Green Bond Act; But Funding Formulas Steer Dollars Upstate
NEW YORK— Expecting to see green, New York City officials are seeing red instead.
Approved by voters statewide in 2022, the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act allows the state to borrow $4.2 billion to pay for big projects, such as stormwater and wastewater systems, green buildings, coastal protections and electric school buses.
More than $313 million has already gone from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and other state-controlled agencies to local governments. But while New York City is home to over 40% of the state’s population, just $6 million of the Environmental Bond Act money so far has gone to the five boroughs — under 2%.
In the city, destructive and deadly storms like Hurricanes Ida and Sandy have highlighted an urgent need for investments that green bonds could fund. And not surprisingly, local voters supported the Bond Act more enthusiastically than anyone else in the state, with 89% of Manhattan, 88% of The Bronx, 82% of Brooklyn and 78% of Queens voters approving.
“When New York City voted for that Bond Act, we as residents expected to get our fair share,” said Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan), who had been engaged in talks with city officials about how to ensure the boroughs get more of the money. “It’s a cruel irony that we are not getting that proportionate share of funding, given the electoral support that we showed.”
The law allocates funds based on spending categories, such as land conservation and water infrastructure, not by region. And so far, the state has relied on funding formulas that cap how much any one locality can receive. New York City, the biggest city in the U.S., is just another municipality to the state.
For instance, the state is now seeking applications for a Green Resiliency Grant program in part funded by the Bond Act, with a total of $60 million available to cover up to 90% of the cost of stormwater management projects. But no single municipality is permitted to get more than $10 million.
By Samantha Maldonado, reprint courtesy The City, Sept. 3, 2024. To read her entire report, visit www.thecity.nyc.