New Yorkers call on Governor Hochul to protect families from higher bills, climate dangers, and coastal risks as state nears decision
New York, NY (October 31, 2025) — More than 100 New Yorkers rallied at Verdi Square on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to call on Governor Hochul to reject the Williams/Transco NESE fracked gas pipeline, a $3.2 billion project that would raise utility bills, threaten New York Harbor, and worsen the climate crisis.
The event featured State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Assemblymember Micah Lasher, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, and Councilmember Gale Brewer, along with community leaders and grassroots organizations from across the city and state. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who recently led a congressional letter urging Hochul to reject the pipeline and was an outspoken critic when New Yorkers defeated this same proposal five years ago, provided a statement that was read at the rally.
Congressman Jerry Nadler said: “I was proud to lead 11 Members of the New York Delegation in calling on the state to reject the dangerous and unnecessary Williams pipeline. This 17-mile fracked gas project would carve through the ocean floor and put our health, marine ecosystems, and climate goals at risk, all to extend the life of fossil fuels we should be leaving behind. New York must continue to lead the nation in protecting public health, advancing environmental justice, and building a clean-energy future. It’s time to tell Big Oil once and for all: there is no future for fossil fuels in New York.”
“This project is dangerous, costly, and unnecessary. Governor Hochul must stand with New Yorkers, not with Donald Trump and the fossil fuel industry,” said Eric Weltman, Senior Organizer at Food & Water Watch. “NESE would hike utility bills, pollute our waters, and lock us into decades more dependence on dirty gas. New Yorkers have defeated this pipeline before, and now it’s up to Governor Hochul to stop it once and for all.”
“The NESE Pipeline poses a serious threat to New York’s waterways, the health of our marine ecosystems, and the quality of the air we breathe,” said Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. “It represents the wrong answer to our state’s energy affordability crisis. As a proud cosponsor of the first-in-the-nation Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, I support all efforts by city, state, and federal stakeholders working to uphold New York’s commitments.”
“The Trump-backed Williams NESE pipeline will raise costs for New York families and set back our climate goals,” said Assemblymember Micah Lasher. “We’re standing with our community today to reject this project and the fossil fuel agenda that Donald Trump is pushing on New York.”
“Having fought so hard to ban fracking in New York State, Three Parks would be horrified by Governor Hochul’s approval of the Williams Pipeline,” said Daniele Gerard, President of Three Parks Independent Democrats. “It risks wreaking wholesale havoc on our city, the quality of our water, and the quality of our air.”
Jewish Climate Action Network NYC Co-Directors Jeff Levy-Lyons and Wendy Seligson said: “New York committed to transition from fossil fuels to renewables when we adopted the CLCPA in 2019. JCAN NYC members strongly supported this, compelled by the moral imperative to protect all life – today’s and future generations. We cannot go backwards now. NY needs to reject the Williams NESE pipeline as an outdated, outmoded way to address our energy needs, one that burdens future generations.”
The Williams NESE pipeline has been rejected three times in the past on environmental grounds, but the company has re-applied and the state is expected to issue a decision soon. Advocates say the project is unnecessary given New York’s climate laws and clean energy goals, and that it poses unacceptable risks to both families and the environment.
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