NYPIRG 45th Anniversary Celebration

Honoring the Rockefeller Family Fund and its Director Lee Wasserman
45th logo Dear Friends,
Our November 15, 2018 NYPIRG 45th Anniversary Celebration was a great success, and we all had a wonderful time proudly honoring the Rockefeller Family Fund and its Director Lee Wasserman for their vital efforts to fight climate change. Despite the weather, it was a fantastic evening and a testament to the crucial work that NYPIRG has accomplished since 1973 — and the dedicated staff, volunteers, friends, coalition partners, and supporters who have made that work possible.
NYPIRG will continue to tackle the big issues and take on the powerful on behalf of the public. As your watchdog in New York, we are proud of our decades of tireless work to strengthen democracy, fight for the rights of consumers and voters, and protect the environment and public health. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Blair Horner
Executive Director

Event Photos

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Co-chairs

Jay R. Halfon
Rachel Leon
Chris Meyer
Neysa Pranger
Camille Rivera
Donald K. Ross
Rebecca J. Weber

Host Committee

Melinda Baglio
Sabrica Barnett
Tarika Barrett & Michael O’Loughlin
Geoff Boehm
Michele Bonan & Steve Hamill
Diana Breen
Samara Daly
Judith Enck
Dave Fields
Jay Hershenson
Li Howard & Tom Wathen
Joel Kelsey
Steve Kleinberg
Arthur Malkin
Catherine McVay & Tom Hughes
Mike Pratt
Joseph Rappaport
Lauri Rosmarin-Plattner & Rob Plattner
Larry Shapiro
Pete Sikora
Susan Stamler
Evan Stavisky
Michelle Stern

Special Thanks

Rockefeller Family Fund
Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore
Susan Stamler & Chris Meyer
Barak Berkowitz
Jeff Bloom
Lawrence & Dana Linden
Shoshana Bookson
Arthur Malkin & Donald K. Ross
Michelle Stern
Larry Rockefeller
AARP New York
Professional Staff Congress/CUNY
John Gilroy
Geoff Boehm
Virginia & Sarah Knox
Diana Breen
Jay Halfon
David Kaiser
Michael Porte
TransitCenter
Tarika Barrett & Michael O'Loughlin
Li Howard & Tom Wathen
Catherine McVay & Tom Hughes
Neysa Pranger & Michael Ward
From absentee ballots to free rides, local colleges break down barriers to get students voting  (WHEC, October 12, 2024)
Put Big Oil on the hook for climate damages instead of NY taxpayers (Guest Opinion by Blair Horner)  (Syracuse.com, October 9, 2024)
Report: 20 New York Colleges Don’t Have Polling Places, Violating State Law  (Democracy Docket, October 8, 2024)
Groups say Niagara, St. Bonaventure lack voting sites for students  (The Buffalo News, October 8, 2024)
Coalition FOILs BOE over on-campus voting  (ABC News 27, October 8, 2024)
Albany's first steps in New York's budget dance  (WAMC, October 7, 2024)
Coalition FOILs BOE over on-campus voting  (WBRL, October 7, 2024)
Knocking on Doors Ahead of Election Day  (WNYC, October 4, 2024)
NYPIRG Spearheads Voter Registration Efforts  (The New Paltz Oracle, October 2, 2024)
A New York scandal, again  (WAMC, September 30, 2024)
Is Hochul a climate hero or a villain?  (City & State, September 23, 2024)
Funding to bolster clean energy workforce  (ABC News 10, September 23, 2024)
Restricting smoking – one of the great public health successes  (WAMC, September 23, 2024)
Governor Hochul’s mass transit “pause” casts shadow on state budget  (WAMC, September 16, 2024)
New York hit by record number of large-scale climate disasters this year  (WAMC, September 15, 2024)
Gianaris: Law change amid $25M Cuomo legal fees 'the right thing to do'  (Spectrum News, September 12, 2024)
A decision by New York’s highest court helps voters  (WAMC, September 9, 2024)
NYPIRG’s Blair Horner argues against further in­vestment in nuclear  (Spectrum News, September 5, 2024)
The Push for Public Banking in New York  (The American Prospect, September 4, 2024)
N.Y. fiscal watchdog researching risk, ethics of proposed Climate Superfund  (Spectrum News, September 4, 2024)
News Archive
A coalition of civic organizations released a letter to the State Board of Elections identifying possible failures in state law mandating that colleges with dorms have polling places. The groups urged action to ensure compliance or to strengthen the law.
A coalition of civic, environmental, social justice, and community-based charities joined with small business “redemption centers” to call on Governor Hochul and the state legislative leaders “to urge your attention and immediate action to prevent business closings and job losses by supporting legislation to boost the ‘handling fee’ that provides revenues for redemption centers, which are critical to the success of the state’s Bottle Deposit Law.”
VICTORY! On Monday, June 17, a six-year fight for clean air and public health came to an end when Danskammer Energy withdrew its application to build a new fracked gas plant on the Hudson River in Newburgh, NY.
As a dangerous heat wave grips New York, sending "feels like" temperatures soaring above 100 degrees, community leaders, local officials, and extreme weather survivors are demanding Governor Hochul take immediate action by signing the recently passed Climate Change Superfund Act (S.2129B/A.3351B) into law.
Tale of the Tape: NYPIRG's 2024 Legislative Review – The number of bills that passed in the Senate increased, while that number decreased in the Assembly. The Governor's use of emergency "messages of necessity" flattens.
NY State Assembly Passes Historic Climate Superfund Bill to Make Polluters Pay for Climate Damages
NYPIRG's Statement on Governor Hochul's Delay of Congestion Pricing
A coalition supporting improvements to the state’s Bottle Deposit Law today released a listing of over 1,000 local charities that benefit from the law. The coalition argued that these charities offer services for those in need and that modernization of the forty-year-old law would enhance the charities’ services.
A coalition supporting improving the state’s Bottle Deposit Law today released a review of recent redemption center closures. The review, conducted by redemption centers, identified 97 businesses that have closed or appear to be closed. Another 54 redemption centers had disconnected phones and no obvious social media presence. The coalition argued that many of these closures are the direct result of New York's 15 year "freeze" of the handling fee that redemption centers rely on for revenues.
NYPIRG Reacts to Speaker Heastie's Comments on Climate Change Superfund Act
A coalition of civic groups today called on the New York State Board of Elections to review the state’s polling locations to see if colleges have on-campus polls as required under the law. The letter is in reaction to the results of a survey conducted by NYPIRG. NYPIRG analyzed 199 colleges (217 campuses, some colleges have multiple campuses) in New York State, of which 147 have dorms located on their premises. This review of the locations of polling places for college students living on-campus identifies a wide gap between those campuses that have dorms and the number that have polling places.
A statewide coalition representing hundreds of community, environmental, labor, and religious groups today applauded state Senate approval of the Climate Change Superfund Act, which requires Big Oil to cover New York's climate damages – not taxpayers. The groups urged swift action in the state Assembly. The majority of Assemblymembers are sponsors of the legislation.
News Release on NYPIRG's Recent Victory Expanding Financial Aid for Low-Income Patients
Environmental, community, and business groups representing 300 New York organizations today held a press conference to urge state lawmakers to include the "Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill" (S.237B/A6353A) as a "must do" priority for the end of session
NYPIRG Statement on Start of Congestion Pricing
NYPIRG reacted to elements of the final state budget, highlighting the "good," the "bad," and the "ugly."
Release: County & Local Elected Officials Join 180+ Organizations to Urge Governor Hochul & Assembly Speaker Heastie to End $265M of Fossil Fuel Subsidies in the Final NYS Budget
Bill to Gut NYC’s Landmark Climate and Jobs Law Slammed as Real Estate Lobby Attack Begins. Proposed Linda Lee bill would eviscerate Local Law 97, which is creating thousands of local jobs, cutting utility bills, and reducing pollution.
Report and Release: Climate Change Superfund Environmental Justice. $1 Billion Potential Scenario of Annual Allocations by Region and County
Report from NYPIRG and NY Renews – On the Backs of New York State Households: The Extreme Costs of Climate Change Impacts Families in Every Region of the State
Reports & Features Archive