OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Oversight Hearing on Green Economy Action Plan - June 26, 2026

City Council — Friday, June 26, 2026
BodyNew York City, New York
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, June 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:22:27
Transcript — Verbatim
0:26

Good afternoon.

0:27

Welcome to today's New York City Council hearing for the Committee on Economic Development joint with the Committee on Workforce Development.

0:35

Please science all cell phone electronic devices.

0:38

If you wish to testify, please fill out an appearance card with Sergeant at arms.

0:41

Moving forward, no one is to approach the days.

0:45

Chair, we are ready to begin.

0:50

All right.

0:51

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the joint hearing of the committees on economic development and workforce development.

0:59

Today is Friday, June 26th.

1:01

I'm Virginia Maloney and I chair the Economic Development Committee.

1:05

Joining me is Councilmember Julie Juan, Chair of the Committee on Workforce Development.

1:11

Today we are here to ask about the state of the Green Economy Action Plan and if it remains the city's strategy to generate green jobs.

1:21

The plan was drafted together by EDC and NYC Talent and was released in February 2024 under the last administration.

1:30

It identified 133,000 jobs that exist in the city and set a target for creating nearly 400,000 green jobs by 2040.

1:44

Since no permanent EDC leader has been appointed since then, we're unclear about what the progress is, if any has been made regarding the plan.

2:20

Beginning with jobs, the city projected 400,000 green jobs by 2040, and that means we would have to create 267,000 green jobs over the next 14 years.

2:32

However, the Center for an Urban Future found that the city added roughly 2,000 jobs since 2023.

2:39

At that rate, we would not hit the target until well into the next century.

2:44

So today we want to understand how the administration reconciles these numbers and whether or not the goal still remains and how it's publicly tracking against progress.

2:55

Second, we want to dig into the offshare offshore wind project, which is the most visible component of this plan.

3:02

The city made significant investments in South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to serve as the assembly hub for Empire Wind, projecting the creation of 13,000 jobs across the city by 2035.

3:15

Empire Wind was intended to demonstrate the core premise of the Green Economy Action Plan, proving that climate investments can create good paying local jobs.

3:25

But the project faces uncertainty with the federal government issuing a stop order on Empire Wind in December, and construction has only continued because the court intervened.

3:37

So the committees are seeking a clear answer on what the city's oversight is at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and how EDC is preparing for the possibility that construction there might be halted again.

3:51

Unfortunately, the federal government's actions undercut much of the intentions of the plan.

3:56

Last summer, Congress rolled back the clean energy tax credits that much of this plan relied on.

4:02

So when EDC says certain commitments are still on track, we're thrilled to hear that, but want to understand a bit more about where the funding is coming from.

4:11

And lastly, building decarbonization or lowering a building's carbon footprint accounts for more than half of the green jobs that are projected in this plan and depends on the successful implementation of local law 97.

4:24

By setting carbon emissions for large buildings, local law 97 creates the demand for retrofits and the workforce needed to complete them.

4:33

Meeting the employment targets outlined in the plant assumes that local law 97 is being enforced and implemented on schedule, and we want to discuss the progress of those building retrofits to date, how many jobs are currently in the pipeline, and uh how we are supporting decarbonization across the city.

4:51

Before we hear from the administration, I want to thank the committee staff for their hard work, starting with senior counsel Alex Polinov, senior policy analyst William Hong Nank, and financial analyst Spencer Kuhn.

5:04

And with that, I will turn to Chair Juan for her opening remarks.

4:59

Thank you so much, Chair Maloney.

5:09

I want to acknowledge that we've been joined by Councilmember Amanda Farias as well as Councilmember Chanel Thomas Henry.

5:15

My name is Julie One, and I have the privilege of chairing committee on workforce development.

5:18

Chair Maloney has laid out the economic development side of this plan.

5:22

I want to talk about the parts that matter the most to the work themselves, which is whether the city is actually building a path for New Yorkers into these jobs.

5:31

A plan that promises 400,000 green jobs by 2040 means very little if the people who need these jobs cannot get trained for them.

5:38

The plan made three major workforce promises.

5:40

First, a green collar training center in every single borough.

5:44

Second, for more than 12,000 New Yorkers trained in green jobs through apprenticeships and pre-apprentipograms by 2040.

5:53

And third, what the plan calls are 600 million dollar investment in green career pathways for young people.

5:59

I want to know how many of these promises have been kept and the numbers behind them broken down by fiscal year.

6:07

I also want to be precise about the 600 million dollars since it doesn't come from the Green Economy Action Plan.

6:13

It's our understanding that it comes from the city's 2023 pathways to an inclusive economy plan, and it is spread across public schools, CUNY, DYCD, to serve about 250,000 young people across the entire economy, not just green jobs.

6:26

So, how much of that $600 million actually funds the green trading?

6:31

And is there any green specific money in this plan at all, or are we just relabeling spending that was already happening for PR purposes?

6:40

Federal funding is another problem.

6:43

The workforce innovation and opportunity act has been reauthorized, and the federal budget for next year would fold workforce uh programs into a block grant and cut more than 1.2 billion from existing programs.

6:56

A lot of the city's trainings run on those federal dollars, so we want to know how much of the green training is in this plan and depend on federal dollars that now it's at risk, and what is the administration's will for prioritizing to keep this money if it disappears?

7:11

Separately, the Mamdani administration just launched its own 4.5 million dollar green workforce program as a pilot with the DOE with the DOE fund.

7:20

We don't object to the pilot, but we want to know how the pilot is going to be impacting the green economy action plan because it sends a signal when a new administration launches its own green jobs program instead of funding the one already on the books.

7:34

We want to know whether the plan is being quietly shelved, and if not, we want to know who's making sure that these programs aren't tripping over each other and how do they work in tandem with each other, and how are the responsibilities or portfolios divided up?

7:46

What we will be looking for today is evidence from EDC and New York City talent that the New Yorkers this plan was written for are actually getting trained and hired into good paying jobs, stable green jobs.

7:57

Before we turn over to the administration, I'd like to thank and acknowledge the workforce development committee staff, senior council Alex Polanoff, senior policy analyst William Hogneck, and financial analyst Spencer Kuhn.

8:09

With that, I'll turn over to the committee council to administer to the oath.

8:12

And I also want to acknowledge that we've been joined by Councilmember Caban and Councilmember Hani.

8:18

Thank you, Chair Wan.

8:19

Alex Polanoff, Committee Council.

8:21

Will all members of the administration testifying today?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Workforce Development███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Miscellaneous█████████████████████21%
Economic Development██████████████14%
Environmental Protection██████████████14%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Personnel Matters██2%
Procedural█1%
Youth Programs█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Oversight Hearing on Green Economy Action Plan - June 26, 2026

On June 26, 2026, the New York City Council Committees on Economic Development and Workforce Development held a joint oversight hearing on the implementation of the Green Economy Action Plan (GEAP). The plan, released in February 2024, aimed to create 400,000 green jobs by 2040, up from 133,000 at release. Chairs Virginia Maloney and Julie Won pressed city agencies on stagnant job growth, unclear funding, and unmet workforce targets, particularly in light of federal rollbacks and a changing administration. Testimony was heard from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and NYC Talent, followed by public testimony from workforce development organizations.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Greg Morris (NYC Employment & Training Coalition) – Called for a permanent EDC president and emphasized the complexity of workforce development, urging patience and continued investment.
  • Carrie Fall Haber (JobsFirst NYC) – Recommended establishing a workforce authority within City Hall, strengthening school-industry coordination, and making industry a full partner in implementation. Noted that the Green Economy Network has trained over 7,000 New Yorkers since 2023.
  • Angela Sun (The Green Launchpad) – Urged the city to treat workforce development as a business competitiveness issue, investing in sustained employer-provider partnerships and measuring success by retention and advancement.
  • Dr. Christopher Malone (Consortium for Worker Education) – Proposed a 10-point green workforce acceleration strategy including scaling pre-apprenticeships, aligning with Local Law 97, creating a public green workforce dashboard, and expanding support services.
  • Jonathan Spooner (Stax and Jewels) – Advocated for a city-funded building automation program for nonprofits to reduce energy costs and create skilled jobs, linking workforce training to community impact.
  • Sindri Manzanares (Green City Force) – Recommended funding holistic green pathways for NYCHA residents, including paid service and mental health support, and using public sites as training grounds.
  • Jacob Douglas Bourne (The Hope Program) – Stressed that green jobs are accessible and pay well, and called for requiring city-subsidized developers to hire from community-based training programs.
  • Sophia Oliveira Ritchie (Andromeda Community Initiative) – Emphasized the need for stronger employer connections and dedicated funding for green construction training, noting its program has trained over 1,200 individuals.
  • Travis Prolox (Fordham University) – Described the Bronx Green Job Center (funded by $3 million from EDC and $1.1 million from Councilmember Feliz) and urged a citywide investment strategy and centralized workforce authority.
  • Michaela Crater (SBIDC) – Called for leveraging existing industrial infrastructure and expanding green economy investments, noting that 70% of participating businesses in their programs are MWBEs.
  • Stephen Levin (Solar One) – Praised projects like BatWorks and the Blue Highway Action Plan, and urged sustained engagement with building management firms and unions to ensure training meets employer needs. Solar One graduates about 800 individuals annually.
  • Vinny Dong (Student, Green School for the Sciences) – Represented youth, emphasizing the need for sustainability initiatives in public schools and expanding Future Ready programs.

Discussion Items

  • Opening Remarks – Chairs Maloney and Won outlined concerns: slow job growth (only ~2,000 net new green jobs in 2023 per Center for an Urban Future), uncertainty around Empire Wind after federal stop orders, reliance on Local Law 97, and lack of transparency on the $600 million youth pathways investment and green-specific funding.
  • EDC Testimony (Sam Jung) – Described progress: $7 million investment in CUNY green training, $3 million for Bronx Green Job Center, Solar One education center, BatWorks temporary space (opened May 2026), and the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) at 98% completion with 2,500 union workers. Stated that the 400,000 job projection is not a commitment but a forecast dependent on federal policies, public and private investment, and consumer preferences. Noted that 70% of those jobs are transitioning (existing roles adapting to green practices).
  • NYC Talent Testimony (Doug Perry) – Highlighted programs: Pink program (1,500 placements into union/prevailing wage jobs), community hiring (275 procurements valued at $14 billion), 17 youth apprentices at city agencies, and 13 industrial tours for 350 students. Reported about 2,300 adults and 750 young people served through green economy programs since GEAP release. Acknowledged federal headwinds but affirmed commitment.
  • Councilmember Q&A – Key exchanges:
    • Chair Won repeatedly asked for current job counts, funding breakdowns, and updated projections. EDC could not provide year-by-year job numbers or a revised forecast, stating the methodology is not suited for annual tracking and that it is too early to assess trends. Chair Maloney pressed for annual public updates; EDC and Talent did not commit, citing data complexity.
    • The $600 million youth pathways (from the 2023 Pathways to an Inclusive Economy Plan) was clarified as not exclusively green; Talent could not specify the green portion. The $4.5 million GROW pilot (DEP) is separate and new.
    • Chair Maloney questioned the economic case for SBMT after Empire Wind 2’s cancellation and Beacon Wind’s inactivity. EDC confirmed the site is fully used for Empire Wind 1 (810 MW) and that lease guarantees protect the city, but acknowledged the future offshore wind pipeline is challenged.
    • Councilmember Thomas-Henry asked about tracking community hiring, MWBE participation, and the five green training facilities. EDC reported only one facility (Solar One in Manhattan) is open; others (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) are in development with completion dates ranging from late 2028 to unknown.
    • Councilmember Hanif inquired about inclusion of people with disabilities. NYC Talent had no specific benchmarks or data for green economy job placements for people with disabilities but noted working with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.
    • Councilmember Hanif also noted that only about 1,500 Pink placements and 350 pre-apprenticeships are far from the 12,000 apprenticeship target. EDC and Talent argued that timelines extend to 2040 and pointed to new PLAs and community hiring as future drivers.

Key Outcomes

  • No votes or formal actions were taken; the hearing was informational (filed by committee).
  • EDC and NYC Talent committed to providing follow-up data on specific requests: breakdown of $600 million youth pathways by green economy spending, list of schools with HVAC/decarbonization pathways, number of MWBEs qualified for green opportunities, updated figures for the NYCHA Clean Energy Academy, job placement rates from training programs, and vacancy rates for green jobs in city agencies. No firm deadlines were given, though Chair Won requested a response by end of July.
  • Chair Maloney reiterated the need for a permanent EDC president to ensure long-term vision; EDC stated interim president Jamie Pack has kept the organization focused.
  • The committees expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of updated job projections and transparent tracking, and urged the administration to produce annual progress reports. The administration did not commit to a specific timeline but noted a legislatively mandated climate plan due next year that will address these issues.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Welcome to today's New York City Council hearing for the Committee on Economic Development joint with the Committee on Workforce Development. Please science all cell phone electronic devices. If you wish to testify, please fill out an appearance card with Sergeant at arms. Moving forward, no one is to approach the days. Chair, we are ready to begin. All right. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the joint hearing of the committees on economic development and workforce development. Today is Friday, June 26th. I'm Virginia Maloney and I chair the Economic Development Committee. Joining me is Councilmember Julie Juan, Chair of the Committee on Workforce Development. Today we are here to ask about the state of the Green Economy Action Plan and if it remains the city's strategy to generate green jobs. The plan was drafted together by EDC and NYC Talent and was released in February 2024 under the last administration. It identified 133,000 jobs that exist in the city and set a target for creating nearly 400,000 green jobs by 2040. Since no permanent EDC leader has been appointed since then, we're unclear about what the progress is, if any has been made regarding the plan. Beginning with jobs, the city projected 400,000 green jobs by 2040, and that means we would have to create 267,000 green jobs over the next 14 years. However, the Center for an Urban Future found that the city added roughly 2,000 jobs since 2023. At that rate, we would not hit the target until well into the next century. So today we want to understand how the administration reconciles these numbers and whether or not the goal still remains and how it's publicly tracking against progress. Second, we want to dig into the offshare offshore wind project, which is the most visible component of this plan. The city made significant investments in South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to serve as the assembly hub for Empire Wind, projecting the creation of 13,000 jobs across the city by 2035. Empire Wind was intended to demonstrate the core premise of the Green Economy Action Plan, proving that climate investments can create good paying local jobs. But the project faces uncertainty with the federal government issuing a stop order on Empire Wind in December, and construction has only continued because the court intervened. So the committees are seeking a clear answer on what the city's oversight is at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and how EDC is preparing for the possibility that construction there might be halted again. Unfortunately, the federal government's actions undercut much of the intentions of the plan. Last summer, Congress rolled back the clean energy tax credits that much of this plan relied on. So when EDC says certain commitments are still on track, we're thrilled to hear that, but want to understand a bit more about where the funding is coming from. And lastly, building decarbonization or lowering a building's carbon footprint accounts for more than half of the green jobs that are projected in this plan and depends on the successful implementation of local law 97. By setting carbon emissions for large buildings, local law 97 creates the demand for retrofits and the workforce needed to complete them. Meeting the employment targets outlined in the plant assumes that local law 97 is being enforced and implemented on schedule, and we want to discuss the progress of those building retrofits to date, how many jobs are currently in the pipeline, and uh how we are supporting decarbonization across the city. Before we hear from the administration, I want to thank the committee staff for their hard work, starting with senior counsel Alex Polinov, senior policy analyst William Hong Nank, and financial analyst Spencer Kuhn. And with that, I will turn to Chair Juan for her opening remarks. Thank you so much, Chair Maloney. I want to acknowledge that we've been joined by Councilmember Amanda Farias as well as Councilmember Chanel Thomas Henry. My name is Julie One, and I have the privilege of chairing committee on workforce development. Chair Maloney has laid out the economic development side of this plan. I want to talk about the parts that matter the most to the work themselves, which is whether the city is actually building a path for New Yorkers into these jobs. A plan that promises 400,000 green jobs by 2040 means very little if the people who need these jobs cannot get trained for them. The plan made three major workforce promises. First, a green collar training center in every single borough. Second, for more than 12,000 New Yorkers trained in green jobs through apprenticeships and pre-apprentipograms by 2040. And third, what the plan calls are 600 million dollar investment in green career pathways for young people. I want to know how many of these promises have been kept and the numbers behind them broken down by fiscal year. I also want to be precise about the 600 million dollars since it doesn't come from the Green Economy Action Plan. It's our understanding that it comes from the city's 2023 pathways to an inclusive economy plan, and it is spread across public schools, CUNY, DYCD, to serve about 250,000 young people across the entire economy, not just green jobs. So, how much of that $600 million actually funds the green trading? And is there any green specific money in this plan at all, or are we just relabeling spending that was already happening for PR purposes? Federal funding is another problem. The workforce innovation and opportunity act has been reauthorized, and the federal budget for next year would fold workforce uh programs into a block grant and cut more than 1.2 billion from existing programs. A lot of the city's trainings run on those federal dollars, so we want to know how much of the green training is in this plan and depend on federal dollars that now it's at risk, and what is the administration's will for prioritizing to keep this money if it disappears?

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com