Flip the Ballot on November 8 and Vote YES
for New York’s Safe and Healthy Future
A Message From the Sustainable Westchester Board
Sustainable Westchester stands with our Westchester neighbors—and all New Yorkers—in protecting this beautiful State. That is why we call on all voters to flip the ballot on November 8 and vote YES for New York’s safe and healthy future.
The $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act will propel New York forward as a climate leader while upgrading critical infrastructure and equipping New Yorkers with essential tools to live and work in this new world created by our changing climate.
The list of investments embodied in the Act is unprecedented in scope and breadth and is projected to result in $8.7 billion in total project spending, spurring economic activity throughout the State. It touches all New Yorkers and regions and includes funds for the following improvements:
- Supporting job creation. Per a recent analysis of its direct and leveraged benefits, the Act is poised to support upwards of as many as 84,000 new jobs in numerous sectors and across all geographic regions of NY State.
- Updating aging and unsafe infrastructure, including the repair of roads, sewer systems, and drinking water pipes, along with retrofitting buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Protecting public health through clean water and air improvements. The Act will provide roughly $200 million in funding for wastewater infrastructure repairs and upgrades, and up to $200 million more to reduce water pollution. Up to $500 million will be allocated for the expansion of a fleet of zero-emissions school buses.
- Advancing environmental justice by requiring at least 35 percent of total funding be spent in disadvantaged communities to improve air and water quality, reduce urban heat, decarbonize buildings, and expand open spaces in urban centers.
- Creating safe and clean outdoor spaces for all to enjoy by increasing urban tree plantings, access to parks, nature centers, campgrounds, and public waterfronts. The Act will also provide much-needed funds for open space land and farmland conservation.
- Restoration and flood mitigation projects. The Act envisions $1.1 billion in funding to support coastal and shoreline rehabilitation projects, along with flood mitigation and resiliency upgrades for coastal and inland communities.
If passed, the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act’s social, economic, and environmental benefits will provide long-term, sustainable protections against the growing threats of climate change for future generations of New Yorkers while providing critical benefits to all New Yorkers now.
