Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney speaks out against peaker plants during a hearing in Queensbridge Houses, joined by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (Photo courtesy of House Oversight Committee)
The progressive war against peaker power plants in western Queens — long known as “Asthma Alley” — got some additional firepower when Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney held a community roundtable discussion during a House Oversight and Reform Committee session in Astoria on Thursday, Aug. 26.
The special session began with a press briefing in front of the Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City with Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, highlighting the urgent need to transition away from peakers in New York. The session then moved indoors for a committee roundtable at the Variety Boys and Girls Club in Astoria, where Maloney was joined by Bronx/Queens Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as community members impacted by peaker plants.
Don’t miss environmental news like this Click for free updates
Maloney noted that it’s been reported that more than 3,000 New Yorkers “lose their lives” from health conditions related to particulate pollution annually. She said the city’s power plants are “chiefly responsible.”
“Peakers are the dirtiest and most dangerous smokestack, used at times of peak energy demand and largely concentrated in low-income communities. For the 1.2 million New Yorkers living within one mile of a peaker, rates of asthma and deaths from COVID-19 are severely elevated,” Maloney said. “In addition to the noxious fumes from peaker plants, these residents are exposed to constant pollution from large power plants that run all the time, and chronic vehicle congestion.”
Maloney spoke of Clarke’s PEAKER Act, which would create a tax incentive and a new grant program to help retire peaker plants in historically marginalized communities.
She also said she supports community-driven solutions, such as the PEAK Coalition’s proposals to eliminate half of the city’s 89 peakers by 2025 and all of them by 2030.
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
