remove population cap company of heroes 2

Everyone statewide deserves high-quality water infrastructure - and to be absolutely clear, we aren’t advocating that every cent of water infrastructure funding goes to New York City, far from it. When we’ve asked the state to remove these caps on New York City’s funding eligibility, they’ve responded with the argument that their goal is to distribute available funds to as many municipalities as possible. Our majority-minority population - and disadvantaged neighborhoods that have borne the brunt of climate change and environmental injustice - deserve equitable investment in critical infrastructure. These arbitrary caps do not exist in the federal laws that created the funding they’ve been created at the state level and can be revised at the state level at any time. This is a choice New York State, and New York State alone, is making.

We’re calling on our partners in Albany to right this wrong with the stroke of a pen. On a per-person basis, communities outside of NYC received 33 times more funding for this critical infrastructure. But because of unfair funding rules, last year, we only received 2% of available water infrastructure grant funds.

If you took New York City out of New York State, the state would be more than 90% white. New York City contains 44% of the state’s population and 59% of our state’s disadvantaged communities, and we pay 62% of the state’s taxes.

But because of arbitrary rules at the state level, our city isn’t receiving anywhere near our fair share of the funds. Recent legislation - like the state Clean Water Infrastructure Act, the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and other federal funding packages - should give our city the resources we need to upgrade our sewer system, manage higher-intensity rainstorms, protect our world-famous drinking water supply, and so much more. New York City’s water infrastructure is some of the most sophisticated in the world, and right now, there’s once-in-a-generation funding available to invest in that infrastructure.

Remove population cap company of heroes 2