Photo by Ken Schles
The pledge quickly garnered supporters as Hochul considers approving a thrice rejected fracked gas pipeline that would raise utility bills and add pollution to New York
Over 1,000 New Yorkers have signed a pledge that they will not vote for Governor Hochul in the upcoming primary if she sides with President Trump by approving permits for the massive Williams NESE fracked gas pipeline project. The pledge was quickly created and released as the Governor attempted to fast-track approval of the pipeline, which would raise utility bills and super-pollute.
“If Governor Hochul decides to hand over New York state policy to Trump, she’s going to lose a lot of votes,” said Santosh Nandabalan, Senior Climate Campaigner at New York Communities for Change, a community organization. “It took less than a week to gather over 1,000 pledges because New Yorkers are alarmed. Hochul should stand up to Trump, not raise our bills and pollute the air and water by approving the Williams NESE fracked gas pipeline project for him.”
Hochul has been fast-tracking the permitting process for the pipeline, including by limiting the public comment period to just 45 days and holding no public hearings, in a seeming attempt to quickly and quietly approve the pipeline before New Yorkers mobilize to stop her. Yet the attempt appears to be backfiring, with widespread opposition rapidly growing, including:
Over 13,000 New Yorkers filing comments against the pipeline
Over 500 New Yorkers marching over the Brooklyn Bridge in protest
Over 130 elected officials opposing it, including Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, Republican Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, Congressmembers Hakeem Jeffries and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Adams Administration all voicing opposition to the potential deal to approve the pipeline, which Trump claims to have secured with Hochul.
Now, New Yorkers are telling Hochul she can forget their votes in the primary if she approves the pipeline. Pledges were gathered by NYCC online and in person last week.
The decision rests with Governor Hochul, who controls the critical state permits to enable the project. New York state has previously rejected this exact proposal 3 times, and no meaningful details have changed since state regulators concluded after extensive previous reviews that the project would pollute excessively. Trump is also pushing other massive pipeline projects, including the Williams Constitution and the expansion of Enbridge’s Algonquin pipeline (formerly known as “Project Maple”) and the voter pledge released today applies to those projects as well, which have not formally applied for state permits as those companies presumably track Hochul’s posture on Williams NESE.
