How Green Is The New York City Council?

NEW YORK - Jan. 29, 2014 - PRLog -- Most elected officials say they are for the environment, but who is making sure what they say is what they do? The New York League of Conservation Voters (http://www.nylcv.org/) is holding members of the New York City Council accountable for their track records through our Environmental Scorecard, which was released today.

NYLCV’s 2012-2013 New York City Council Scorecard examines voting and sponsorship records on 17 bills covering recycling, composting, clean energy, biodiversity, transportation, air quality, energy efficiency, resiliency and more. The Scorecard also offers an in-depth, qualitative assessment of City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn’s approach to sustainability policies.

NYLCV is the only organization that produces an Environmental Scorecard to give an independent assessment of the City Council’s performance.

“The City Council’s environmental performance for the last two years was very strong, as reflected by the high scores for the individual members as well as by the broad range of issues that the Council addressed,” said NYLCV President Marcia Bystryn. “We are especially heartened that many members of the new leadership team – including the new City Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito – scored very highly. This bodes well for the environmental movement in this new era of city leadership.”

Eleven City Council Members achieved perfect scores: Council Members Barron, Chin, Crowley, Dickens, Dromm, Koo, Lander, Levin, Mark-Viverito, Mendez and Van Bramer. High scores were posted among members of both political parties and across all five boroughs.

The average individual score was 92. The Manhattan delegation scored highest, with a 98 average. Brooklyn ranked second, with 93, followed by Queens and the Bronx with 91, and Staten Island with 88.

NYLCV selected the legislation in this Scorecard after extensive consultation with many of the city’s leading environmental, transportation, public health, parks and environmental justice organizations. From an initial universe of more than three dozen bills, the final Scorecard is based on 17 bills that indicate the highest collective priorities.

View the full New York City Council Environmental Scorecard at www.nylcv.org.