S6218A

The New York State Senate passed legislation establishing the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) role in overseeing offshore wind project interconnections, including provisions allowing parkland alienation in Long Beach for the Empire Wind 2 project. The bill passed 42-21 along largely party lines, with all 21 nays coming from Republican and some Democratic senators. The contentious debate centered on process and local control rather than climate policy. Sen. Parker, the bill's sponsor, argued the legislation is essential to meet the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy. However, Sen. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, whose district includes Long Beach, objected strenuously that her own parkland alienation bill (S5364) was incorporated into Parker's bill without her consultation or consent. She raised concerns about environmental impacts, including whale deaths, transmission line health risks, and inadequate community input. An amendment she proposed to remove the alienation language and require earlier NYSERDA involvement was ruled nongermane by the presiding officer; an appeal of that ruling failed 21-32. Opponents argued the bill prioritizes developer interests over community protection and violates the Senate's historical practice of consulting with local senators on projects affecting their districts. Sen. Martins questioned whether the bill's monetary compensation for parkland alienation complied with the traditional practice of parkland-for-parkland substitution. Sen. Borrello criticized offshore wind as economically inefficient and environmentally destructive. Supporters, including Sen. Gianaris, countered that local senators do not have veto power over projects with statewide implications and that the bill only permits the project to continue, not mandates it.