Arverne, NY — Dozens of residents and activists from New York Communities for Change, Food & Water Watch, Fridays for Future NYC and Climate Defenders joined local representatives Tuesday to release a letter from 130 New York elected officials calling on Governor Hochul to reject the proposed Williams NESE pipeline. Speakers warned the project, which would raise utility bills and threaten local waters, is moving forward without meaningful public input.

“So many of us in Rockaway had to evacuate when Hurricane Sandy hit and the flooding ruined our homes. Governor Hochul can’t let Trump get away with pushing the dirty, expensive Williams pipeline, which would mean higher utility bills and a higher likelihood of my home getting hit by more flooding,” said Arlene Phipps, Rockaway resident and New York Communities for Change member. “My bills are already too high and my insurance keeps going up due to the flooding. It’s time for the governor to step up to Trump and look out for people like me who want to just afford to live here instead of Big Oil billionaires who make a profit sinking our homes.”

“Donald Trump wants to force New Yorkers into dirty, dangerous fracked gas pipelines that drive up our bills and put our communities at risk,” said New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado. “The Williams NESE pipeline threatens our water, our beaches, and our climate — and it’s already been rejected for good reason. Governor Hochul should reject this project once and for all and put the people of New York ahead of fossil fuel interests.”

“The DEC rejected the NESE pipeline 5 years ago as a threat to public health, but Trump is trying to lock New York into decades of debt and dirty energy,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “The $1.4B NESE pipeline is costly, toxic, and unnecessary and 13,000 New Yorkers have made it clear: we do not want the Williams Pipeline!”

Despite being rejected multiple times, Williams Co. has reapplied for permits to construct a massive pipeline through the waters off the Rockaways. Just this month, over 11,000 public comments were filed in opposition to the project, and nearly 1,000 New Yorkers joined Lieutenant Governor Delgado and local assembly members in a march calling on Governor Hochul to stop it.

“I strongly oppose the proposed Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline and urge my fellow elected officials to reject this unnecessary and dangerous fossil fuel project,” said Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson. “It disturbs toxic sediment, puts endangered species at risk, and jeopardizes the environment and the $79 million in economic activity generated by Rockaway and Coney Island beaches. Communities like the Rockaways — home to many Black, Latino, and immigrant families — have long borne the burden of environmental injustice, and we refuse to be burdened further if this pipeline spills. If completed, it gives National Grid an excuse to raise rates for residents. Governor Hochul and my fellow elected officials, please stand with the people of New York by denying this pipeline, extending the public comment period, and ensuring real public hearings.”

“It is deeply frustrating that we have to continue arguing against the same pipeline that we have argued against many times, years ago. With even more evidence of the devastating climate impacts and health issues that this project promises to exacerbate, we must keep fighting to protect our air, land, and water,” said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. “I stand with a broad coalition of New Yorkers against this pipeline that would cause irreparable damage, threaten the health of New York’s harbors, and violate state climate law.”

The letter includes elected officials from across the state, including those facing other pipeline threats under Trump. Alongside NESE, Williams’ Constitution pipeline and Enbridge’s Project Maple are also under review and could raise utility bills for New Yorkers if approved.

“As soon as we heard there were plans afoot to construct more pipelines in New York, our village board immediately moved to pass a resolution against the proposals including the Williams NESE project,” said Mayor Niki Armacost of Hastings-on-Hudson. “Westchester residents are already facing massive rate hikes and with the climate crisis only getting worse, we need our Governor to hear what residents are saying. We cannot afford higher energy bills and the pipeline expansions must stop.”

“These pipelines are dangerous. We don’t like them! They don’t offer any benefit to residents of Binghamton and create the risk of water contamination, higher utility rates and we already said no to this,” said Councilmember Nate Hotchkiss of the Binghamton City Council. “Please do not cave to Trump’s bullying and say no to the Williams NESE pipeline and the Constitution pipeline they are pushing here as well.”

“From Long Island to Binghamton, New York’s elected officials, including Lieutenant Governor Delgado, are sending a message to Governor Hochul: Stand up to Donald Trump and block this dangerous, expensive and unnecessary fracked gas pipeline,” said Emily Skydel, Senior Organizer with Food & Water Watch.

“Everyone from Rep. Jeffries to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, from Lieutenant Gov. Delgado to legislators across the coast, all recognize that the Williams-NESE pipeline would be disastrous at a time when the burdens of high energy costs and climate catastrophes continue to fall on working-class communities across New York,” said Lena Goings, a 17-year-old lead organizer with Fridays For Future NYC. “We need to be building out renewable infrastructure to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels, not more dated and dangerous pipelines that will poison New Yorkers, destroy our future, and raise our bills.”

“The people of New York have rejected this toxic pipeline before and we are beyond frustrated to have to fight the same fight yet again, especially because our Governor is thinking of cutting a deal with Trump,” said Marva Kerwin of Rockaway Revolution. “Williams wants to make billionaires richer by robbing from our children’s future. And our governor wants to aid this scheme without public comment. So we are saying publicly: Keep the fracked gas in the ground. Let us, and the marine life we share the water with, live.”