New York Daily News
Carlo Scissura, 5.14.21
New York’s list of essential infrastructure projects is as jammed as rush hour on the Gowanus Expressway — just one of the many Big Apple highways, roads and bridges that could be reimagined under President Biden’s American Jobs Plan. There is no doubt the proposed $2 trillion spending package can benefit New York City. We have pined for years to get this kind of investment to build new schools, reinvigorate the subway system and overhaul parks.
The proposal has been so well received because it delivers on exactly the things you should invest in during times of crisis. It’s why the Building Congress has relentlessly advocated for the Gateway Program, the reimagining of the BQE, a renovation of Penn Station, the Second Avenue Subway and the LaGuardia AirTrain. These are essential to the plan’s mission to rethink our built environment in an equitable way — all things we here in New York have prioritized for years.
Not to be lost in the American Jobs Plan, however, is its forward-thinking investments in green energy, resilient infrastructure and telecommunications. The social equity these proposals will provide in New York and around the nation are as impactful as the number of megawatts or jobs they will create.
New York State can set the tone for a clean energy future. We already made history when the state mandated a grid that’s 70% renewable by 2030. With our share of the $100 billion that the White House wants to spend to overhaul the power grid, New York can become the model for what a job-creating renewable energy sector looks like.
We can and must do this work immediately. Earlier this month, 1,000 megawatts disappeared from our grid when the last reactor at Indian Point shut down. The recently approved wind farms off our coast, expected to generate enough combined energy to power 1.3 million homes, are a good example of the type of projects the American Jobs Plan should support. We also need to get shovels in the ground and advance projects like the proposed wind turbine facility at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to create jobs, service those offshore wind farms and commit to clean power across the State.
The American Jobs Plan can also deliver the resilient infrastructure New Yorkers have pined for since Sandy rolled through our region almost a decade ago. Over the last decade alone, 31 extreme weather events caused $100 billion in combined damages for New York State. Communities across New York’s more than 500 miles of coast are on the front lines of this crisis. We especially need to bulk up anti-flooding measures around places like Hunts Point — a distribution artery that moves an average of 4.5 billion pounds of food annually and sits in the 100-year floodplain. While Sandy narrowly missed this low-lying section of the Bronx, experts warn another storm could wipe out New York City’s food supply for days without a major investment.
The federal government is a necessary partner in making our shorelines, water pipes and other grey infrastructure resilient against the effects of climate change.
Finally, the COVID crisis underscored how difficult it is for many New Yorkers to access the internet. What is literally at the fingertips of most people might as well be on the moon for the 18 percent of residents who don’t have mobile or home internet access. New York has sought to address this issue, like the City’s initiative to bring broadband to 600,000 underserved residents, and now the American Jobs Plan seeks to invest $100 billion to make the internet accessible to everyone.
Focusing on information roadways are as vital as our physical ones.
The task ahead is inarguably difficult, but one the building industry has confronted many times before. We built the schools, bridges and subways that moved our region out of crisis. Those needs have grown for the modern age – something we cannot ignore.
One thing that remains the same, however, is our resolve to get this work done and build the future of New York.
Scissura is the president and CEO of the New York Building Congress.
The proposal has been so well received because it delivers on exactly the things you should invest in during times of crisis. It’s why the Building Congress has relentlessly advocated for the Gateway Program, the reimagining of the BQE, a renovation of Penn Station, the Second Avenue Subway and the LaGuardia AirTrain. These are essential to the plan’s mission to rethink our built environment in an equitable way — all things we here in New York have prioritized for years.
Not to be lost in the American Jobs Plan, however, is its forward-thinking investments in green energy, resilient infrastructure and telecommunications. The social equity these proposals will provide in New York and around the nation are as impactful as the number of megawatts or jobs they will create.
New York State can set the tone for a clean energy future. We already made history when the state mandated a grid that’s 70% renewable by 2030. With our share of the $100 billion that the White House wants to spend to overhaul the power grid, New York can become the model for what a job-creating renewable energy sector looks like.
We can and must do this work immediately. Earlier this month, 1,000 megawatts disappeared from our grid when the last reactor at Indian Point shut down. The recently approved wind farms off our coast, expected to generate enough combined energy to power 1.3 million homes, are a good example of the type of projects the American Jobs Plan should support. We also need to get shovels in the ground and advance projects like the proposed wind turbine facility at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to create jobs, service those offshore wind farms and commit to clean power across the State.
The American Jobs Plan can also deliver the resilient infrastructure New Yorkers have pined for since Sandy rolled through our region almost a decade ago. Over the last decade alone, 31 extreme weather events caused $100 billion in combined damages for New York State. Communities across New York’s more than 500 miles of coast are on the front lines of this crisis. We especially need to bulk up anti-flooding measures around places like Hunts Point — a distribution artery that moves an average of 4.5 billion pounds of food annually and sits in the 100-year floodplain. While Sandy narrowly missed this low-lying section of the Bronx, experts warn another storm could wipe out New York City’s food supply for days without a major investment.
The federal government is a necessary partner in making our shorelines, water pipes and other grey infrastructure resilient against the effects of climate change.
Finally, the COVID crisis underscored how difficult it is for many New Yorkers to access the internet. What is literally at the fingertips of most people might as well be on the moon for the 18 percent of residents who don’t have mobile or home internet access. New York has sought to address this issue, like the City’s initiative to bring broadband to 600,000 underserved residents, and now the American Jobs Plan seeks to invest $100 billion to make the internet accessible to everyone.
Focusing on information roadways are as vital as our physical ones.
The task ahead is inarguably difficult, but one the building industry has confronted many times before. We built the schools, bridges and subways that moved our region out of crisis. Those needs have grown for the modern age – something we cannot ignore.
One thing that remains the same, however, is our resolve to get this work done and build the future of New York.
Scissura is the president and CEO of the New York Building Congress.
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-how-the-american-jobs-plan-can-reinvigorate-new-york-20210514-q4orfk227na23ki4wykgaeolma-story.html
