Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice Awarded More Than $125 Million in Federal Grants and City Matching Funds, Saving Communities $1.1 Billion

Policies and Programs Protect New Yorkers from Heat and Flooding, Use the Best Available Science and Data, and Electrify Buildings and Transportation

December 20, 2024  
CONTACT: Kimberly Winston, [email protected], 917-853-6832

NEW YORK – Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) Executive Director Elijah Hutchinson today shared a list of key accomplishments in 2024 aimed at keeping New Yorkers safer from climate impacts and advancing better health and environmental justice. Leveraging unprecedented federal funding opportunities, MOCEJ has secured more than $125 million from federal grants and city matching funds for sustainable buildings, flood mitigation, coastal resilience, and climate science and data. With more than $85 million of these funds to support resilience and preparedness, MOCEJ is saving communities an estimated $1.1 billion in damages, cleanup cost, and economic impact. The first climate office in city history to have environmental justice in its name, MOCEJ oversees the Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture, the New York City Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, and the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Coordination.

“From day one, our administration has focused on creating a safer, more affordable New York City. In 2024, we continued to deliver on that vision and ‘Get Stuff Done’ for working-class New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Thanks to our extraordinary public servants, America’s safest big city got even safer this year, with overall crime down and thousands of illegal guns, mopeds, and ghost cars taken off city streets. We passed historic legislation to turn New York into a ‘City of Yes,’ shattered affordable housing records once again, and put billions of dollars back into New Yorkers’ pockets. We broke records for the most jobs and small businesses in city history and moved millions of trash bags off our sidewalks and into containers. But we know that there is even more we can do to continue to uplift working-class families. As we look to the future, our administration remains committed to keeping New Yorkers safe and making our city more affordable for the millions of New Yorkers who call our city home.”

“Through our office’s efforts, we’ve been able to grow good jobs and achieve emissions and pollution reductions, making 2024 a win-win-win for the economy, planet and New Yorkers,” said Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice Executive Director Elijah Hutchinson. “Even with a return to pre-pandemic levels of activity, we’ve remained below pre-pandemic greenhouse gas levels, and we continue to lead the nation when it comes to things like climate budgeting. We’ve also set into motion our Urban Forest and Environmental Justice plans, which will both provide environmental benefits for disadvantaged communities in the coming years. Through it all, we’re taking into account our changing weather, energy pollution reduction goals, and grid reliability, so that we can support our communities with investments that ensure they’re protected from extreme weather and provided with good-paying green jobs, making New York City is an easier place to live.”

MOCEJ highlights from 2024 include:

Advancing Environmental Justice

• Released the Environmental Justice NYC (EJNYC) Report, the city’s first comprehensive study on systemic environmental inequity, and the EJNYC Mapping Tool, a free, interactive, public online resource that analyzes neighborhood-scale environmental threats. They both utilize the city’s first-ever Flood Vulnerability Index, which was developed for MOCEJ by a team of researchers to identify the communities most vulnerable to coastal flooding..
• Launched Year Two of Климатически сильные сообщества (CSC) – a first-of-its-kind engagement program that maximizes infrastructure and climate funding opportunities for heat- and flood-vulnerable environmental justice neighborhoods. CSC has expanded into East New York and Coney Island (BK), Concourse and Mott Haven-Port Morris (BX), Chelsea and Inwood (MN), Flushing and Rockaway-Mott Basin (QN), and Stapleton (SI), and continues its previous engagement in Canarsie and Brownsville (BK), Soundview (BX), East Harlem (MN), Corona (QN), and Port Richmond (SI). The program has already secured $10 million of federal funding to lower the water volumes in Central Park’s Harlem Meer in advance of heavy rain and $760,000 to develop adaptation solutions for Canarsie’s industrial business zone.
• Kicked off the first phase of the city’s first Urban Forest Plan with NYC Parks (Parks), City Parks Foundation, and other stakeholders, which will equitably expand the city’s tree canopy to 30 percent to keep New Yorkers safer from extreme heat and flooding, beautify streets and clean the air.
• Awarded $37.5 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for Public Solar NYC, to help low-income households in all five boroughs benefit from solar.
• Launched the NYC Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate website, with information on energy bill assistance and energy efficiency programs that can help New Yorkers reduce the amount they spend on their energy utility bills.
• Supported the Department of Buildings and the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) with the creation of the GreenHOUSE Fund to allow building owners complying with Local Law 97 to purchase offset certificates whose proceeds can be directed to electrification and energy efficiency projects in affordable housing developments. This program will flow through the Resilient & Equitable Decarbonization Initiative, a joint effort with HPD and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
• Issued a Request for Collaboration for community interest for the U.S. EPA’s Community Change Grants Program, resulting in the city supporting more than 15 projects requesting approximately $250 million, with $14 million already secured. This includes a project in the Rockaways and supporting our environmental justice engagement citywide.

Protecting New Yorkers from Flooding

• Won nearly $55 million, plus more than $18 million of city matching funds, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, for the Coney Island Creek Raised Shoreline Project to reduce climate-induced tidal flooding and storm surge for the environmental justice neighborhoods of Sea Gate and Coney Island, and portions of Brighton Beach.
• Installed more than 250 Фладнет sensors in New York City, putting the administration on track to reach Mayor Adams’ target of 500 flood sensors ahead of schedule. They provide real-time, street-level flood information through a free, online dashboard, and the data can be used to inform future efforts.
• With NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Parks, broke ground on Battery Coastal Resilience (BCR), a critical, $200 million component of the $2.7 billion Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency strategy. BCR will rebuild and elevate the wharf promenade in The Battery, staying true to the character and uses of the park while protecting against projected sea level rise in the year 2100. Expected to be completed in 2026, it will protect 100,000 residents, 300,000 jobs, and 12,000 businesses, and is the first city project to meet the commitments of the C40 NYC Clean Construction Accelerator to reduce emissions from construction over 50 percent.
• With the Department of Design and Construction and Parks, completed the first section of East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) $10 million under its original projected budget and two months ahead of schedule. ESCR will protect 110,000 Lower East Side residents, including 28,000 in public housing, against sea level rise and coastal storms. Sections of ESCR currently open to the public are the new, ADA-accessible Delancey Street Bridge; Murphy Brothers Playground, with new flood protection, a basketball court, two new ballfields, and a new playground area; Stuyvesant Cove Park; and Asser Levy Playground.
• Won more than $498,000 from FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, plus more than $150,000 in city matching funds, to develop new building code measures that address stormwater flooding risk across the city.
• Launched Rainproof NYC – a collaborative initiative of city agencies, community leaders, nonprofits, and the private sector that addresses the challenges caused by heavy rain and released recommendations from three working groups in Rainproofing New York City.
• Through EDC, completed construction of the Old Howard Beach Street project, which will protect New Yorkers from what would have been routine tidal flooding in 2050.

Making Buildings and Energy Clean

• Won $1.38 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program to find strategies to reduce embodied carbon in city construction, phase out dirty fossil fuels in municipal buildings, increase capacity to identify electrification and resiliency project financing, and evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory methods.
• Released a request for proposals to expand NYC Accelerator, the free program offering trainings, guidance, and technical resources to building stakeholders. The expanded program aims to reduce one million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from Local Law 97-covered buildings by 2030. Proposals are due January 24, 2025.
• Launched the North American Electric Construction Coalition to develop the market for electric construction equipment, reduce harmful air and noise pollution, and improve quality of life.
• With EDC, selected the initial design and development teams of the NYC Mass Timber Studio, a new program supporting projects that use the natural, renewable and sustainable material mass timber. Six of the seven teams are in environmental justice neighborhoods.
• Adopted recently released NYSERDA Guidance on Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing, allowing new construction projects and buildings undergoing renovations resulting in full electrification to be eligible. So far, this has resulted in two new PACE projects moving forward with $123 million in financing in 2024.
• Released the Renewable Rikers Feasibility Study Report, which assesses siting of renewable energy infrastructure on Rikers Island, and reconvened the Rikers Island Advisory Committee, which advances recommendations on a future Rikers Island.

Using Science, Data, and Budgeting to Animate Climate Action

• Released NPCC4, the New York City Panel on Climate Change’s (NPCC) fourth full climate assessment report for New York City, which confirms the city will be warmer, with more extreme heat events, and face growing risks from intense rainfall and inland flooding. The NPCC is an independent advisory body that synthesizes scientific information on climate change and advises city policymakers on local resiliency and adaptation strategies that protect against climate threats.
• Appointed the fifth NPCC to continue long-term climate assessment for New York City.
• Released the 2023 Citywide and City Government Greenhouse Gas Inventories, which show city government has reduced GHG emissions six percent since the start of the administration and two percent citywide.
• With the Office of Management and Budget, introduced the city’s first-ever climate budgeting publication through the FY25 Executive Budget. Climate budgeting incorporates science-based climate considerations into budget decision-making.
• Increased participation in the Углеродный вызов Нью-Йорка – a public-private collaboration to reduce GHG emissions of the city’s buildings – to 102 organizations, its highest total since the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased reporting to 97 percent, the highest rate in its 17-year history. Three new organizations joined the program this year: Centers Health Care, Sisters of Charity Housing Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Public Library, the first cultural institution to sign on.
• Supporting the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, launched the Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge, a private-sector initiative to reduce food-related carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2030 and address the fact that a fifth of the city’s overall emissions come from production and consumption of food, a finding from MOCEJ’s first-ever consumption-based emissions inventory.

Electrifying Buses and Trucks

• With MOCEJ’s guidance and support, New York City and its school bus vendors were awarded over $140 million for 452 electric school buses from the U.S. EPA’s 2024 Clean School Bus Rebate Program, a huge win as we work towards electrifying one of the largest school bus fleets in the nation. In addition to this, the city received nearly $1.5 million from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, plus $300,000 of city matching funds, to support MOCEJ and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection with school bus electrification planning and workforce development.
• With NYC Department of Transportation, secured $15 million in federal funding to expand electric trucks. This will help build a freight-focused electric truck and vehicle charging depot at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, in an area with one of the highest asthma rates in the country.

Advocating for City and State Legislation on Climate

• Successfully advocated for the enactment of critical legislation including:

          – Green Roof Tax Abatement (S. 6409A / A. 6901A) to help building owners equitably expand green roofs in New York City.
          – Community Garden Water Bill Exemption (S. 9053 / A. 9919) to exempt nonprofit community gardens registered with Parks from paying for water, providing equitable water access to address extreme heat and drought conditions.
          – Industrial & Commercial Abatement Program Extender (S. 9822 / A. 10530) to extend application deadlines for certain industrial and commercial properties’ tax abatements, making it easier to finance electrification and energy efficiency projects in compliance with Local Law 97.
          – Alternative Delivery Act (A. 10543 / S. 9849) to enable the city to cut red tape and deliver climate and other infrastructure projects faster and more efficiently for New Yorkers and protect them from the increasing and intensifying effects of climate change.
          – NYC Capital Process Reform (A. 8864A / S. 7383A) to allow New Yorkers to submit comments on procurements over $100,000 online as opposed to in person – saving an average of 20 days on every applicable project timeline; and the J-51 tax incentive, enabling approximately 1,300 low-cost co-ops and condos to cover up to 70 percent of their costs for energy efficient and low-carbon retrofits and save money with lower utility bills and avoided Local Law 97 penalties.
          – City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, which addresses the harms of historic redlining and decreases New Yorkers’ per capita carbon footprint by enabling the creation of 80,000 homes.
          – The zoning text amendment City of Yes for Economic Opportunity, which creates new opportunities for the food and urban agriculture sector while removing barriers to urban agriculture businesses and activities.

Increasing Agriculture Learning for Public School Students and Supporting Farmer/Producers

• Concluded the first school year of the Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture’s Reimagining Farm to School in NYC initiative, in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest New York (Cornell) and the New York City Public Schools Office of Food & Nutrition Services (OFNS). 100 students from five schools visited farms to learn about culturally relevant crops and taste a nutritious meal.
• Launched NYC School Food EATS (Enhancing Accessibility, Training, & Support), the city’s first-ever farmer/producer business procurement training, in cooperation with Cornell and OFNS. The program, which gives farmers an easier pathway to sell their products to the city’s public schools and increases healthy local food access, was made possible through New York State’s Department of Agriculture and Markets Farm-to-School Competitive Grants Program.

Cleaning Land for Affordable Housing Units, Schools and Community Space through the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER)

• Reached a milestone of 1,000 cleanups in OER’s 16 years overseeing cleanups – the most cleanups of any municipal program in the country. Since the start of the administration, and through OER’s efforts, the city has successfully cleaned 165 acres of contaminated land, which was redeveloped into new uses, including 28,000 units of housing, 12,000 of which are affordable, as well as 16 new schools, 2.9 million square feet of community space, and 6.1 million square feet of commercial space – creating a healthier, more vibrant, and socially resilient city.

Supporting Housing and Climate Infrastructure through the Office of Environmental Coordination (OEC)

• Adopted the Green Track for Housing rules to cut red tape and costs for small, sustainable housing and commercial developments and speed the city’s ability to address its housing crisis.