For generations, the waters surrounding Long Island have defined its identity — from the wide-open waterfronts of the South Shore to the shellfish beds of the North Shore. But beneath the surface, a quieter transformation is underway.
Environmental leaders join Rep. Tom Suozzi in legal fight against EPA’s greenhouse gas emissions rollback
U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi stood along the waterfront in Glen Cove on Tuesday, Feb. 17, warning that Long Islanders cannot afford to ignore what he described as a sweeping rollback of federal climate protections.
“Climate change is real,” Suozzi repeated several times during the news conference, held just days after President Donald Trump and the Environmental Protection Agency rescinded the 2009 “endangerment finding,” a policy that concluded greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.
Advocates see 2 Lee Zeldins: Friend on local issues, not on global ones
WASHINGTON — As a four-term congressman, Republican Lee Zeldin played a key role in the yearslong bipartisan push to save Plum Island, off Long Island’s North Fork, from potential commercial development. He helped secure funding for clean water projects in his Suffolk district. And he spoke out against a 2018 proposal to permit offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.
NYS environmental groups upset at federal climate policy reversal
New York climate advocates are disturbed by the Trump administration’s decision to revoke a key legal finding stating that climate change impacts public health.
The 2009 Endangerment Finding has served as the basis for national efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and build more clean energy. The administration claims revoking the finding will lower transportation and energy costs.
Wake up, Long Island! Wake up, New York! Climate Change is Real
Suozzi Calls Out Administration’s Disastrous Rollback of Bedrock Environmental Policy, Stands with Conservationists in calling for the reinstatement of 2009 ‘Endangerment Finding’
Glen Cove, NY— Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) held a press conference to call out the Administration’s revocation of the ‘Endangerment Finding’ that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare—a move widely seen as a major setback to U.S. efforts to combat the climate crisis.
How EPA repeal of Obama-era policy could impact Long Island
WASHINGTON — Environmentalists raised alarms Thursday after the Environmental Protection Agency — led by Long Island native Lee Zeldin — repealed an Obama-era legal finding that has been used for 17 years to regulate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Without the provision, known as the endangerment finding, environmental advocates contend Long Island’s 2.2 million gas-powered vehicles — the state’s largest source of greenhouse gases — could be contributing more carbon to the atmosphere. Some energy industry groups and conservative policy groups, however, celebrated Zeldin's announcement.
Environmentalists discuss the future of water quality in Stony Brook Harbor
Improved wastewater infrastructure and healthy shellfish populations are the keys to improving the water quality of Stony Brook Harbor. On Tuesday, Feb. 3, environmental activists and scientists gathered at the Stony Brook Yacht Club for a water quality forum, specifically focusing on Stony Brook Harbor.
Endowed Chair of Coastal Ecology and Conservation and Distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Christopher J. Gobler spent the last two years monitoring water quality and shellfish populations in locations throughout the Stony Brook Harbor watershed. “We wanted to understand, what is controlling the growth of algae in Stony Brook Harbor?” he said.
Conservation groups split over Hochul’s plan to roll back parts of environmental law
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to fast-track certain housing projects by peeling back some environmental regulations is dividing some of the state’s most prominent climate advocacy groups.
The State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, is intended to make sure projects don’t harm sensitive lands and waters, but developers have long criticized the process, saying it slows down construction times and drives up costs. Hochul said she’s trying to bring down housing costs amid New York state’s ongoing housing affordability crisis.
Long Island’s fragile drinking water system
Experts explain what lies beneath the surface, and detail the threats to our crucial aquifers
Long Island’s drinking water supply is solely dependent on aquifers. Sarah Meyland, a retired professor at the New York Institute of Technology, spoke about the impacts of chronic water depletion on the region’s water supply.
Newsday - NYS Budget: What's included for transportation, environment, economic development
'Let them build': New York governor vows to take 'hard look' at environmental review process
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed this week to take "a hard look" at the environmental review steps developers must follow to have state and local governments approve new home-building projects.
The current review process hasn't been updated "in literally half a century," and, in its current form, it holds up the construction of affordable housing New Yorkers desperately need now, the governor said Tuesday in a State of the State address in Albany. The governor hinted that changes could be underway that would get housing construction projects approved much faster and more easily.
Suffolk County Legislator Englebright honors CCE for 40 years of advocacy
Suffolk County Legislator Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) invited Citizens Campaign for the Environment co-founder Adrienne Esposito and CCE board and staff members to the Suffolk County Legislature’s Nov. 25th General Meeting to honor them for 40 years of advocacy. Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) joined Englebright at the podium, where the CCE team received a proclamation along with flowers and balloons.
Don’t be crabby, environmental groups tell Hochul
Environmentalists rally for Horseshoe Crab Protection Act at Northport Harbor
On Oct 7, representatives from 15 environmentalist groups gathered in Northport Harbor to rally for the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act (S.4289/A.4997), which would ban the harvesting of horseshoe crabs in New York for commercial and biomedical use. A study released last month, authored by Dr. Rebha Raviraj from Maritime Aquarime at Norwalk, showed a decrease of 2-9% in horseshoe crab populations in the Long Island Sound. At the event, Dr. Raviraj described the losses across the 46-year study as “very significant,” linking them to habitat loss, over-harvesting, insufficient management practices, and climate change.
Residents speak out at state energy plan hearing in Stony Brook
On Sept. 29, a mix of grassroots organizers, student activists, utility workers, elected officials, and environmental professionals voiced varying priorities at the New York State draft energy plan hearing at Stony Brook University. The university saw multiple outdoor rallies in addition to 2 ½ hours of public comments on the 15-year plan, with concerns covering jobs, affordability, environmental safety, and more.
Long Island's vulnerable South Shore Estuary Reserve gets a $2.4 million funding boost
The Long Island South Shore Estuary Reserve, a sprawling 70-mile-long network of waterways vulnerable to environmental pressures, will receive a $2.4 million infusion of state funding.
The New York State Department of State, at a press conference at Tobay Beach Wednesday afternoon, said eight municipalities, nonprofits and agencies earned the awards through the South Shore Estuary Reserve Local Assistance Grant Program.
New York State announces record investment in water infrastructure
In the most recent fiscal year, New York made more investments in water infrastructure than in any prior year.
Announcing the record spending Wednesday at Albany’s Corning Preserve, President and CEO of New York’s Environmental Facilities Corporation Maureen Coleman says nearly 330 projects were executed with financial assistance in the last fiscal year -- a 55 percent increase year-to-year.
DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton Helps Release Rescued Endangered Sea Turtle Back into Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island
Event highlights the ocean health benefits of the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.
Coney Island, NY, Aug. 6, 2025—New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton joined the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS), elected officials, and environmental leaders to release a rehabilitated Kemp’s ridley sea turtle back into the Atlantic Ocean outside the New York Aquarium. The event celebrated the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) that helps protect and restore the health of the state’s ocean and coasts.
EPA policy shift plan will have detrimental consequences for climate and public health, LI advocates say
The Trump administration's plan to rescind a rule used to enforce limits on greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles will jeopardize health and safety on Long Island while undermining billions of dollars New York has spent electrifying the transportation sector, local environmental advocates and scientific experts say.
The EPA’s Repeal of Core Greenhouse Gas Rules
“Trump’s EPA to repeal core of greenhouse gas rules,” was the Reuters headline this week as Lee Zeldin, chosen by Donald Trump to be administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced what Reuters said “will rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, as well as tailpipe emission standards for vehicles, removing the legal foundation of greenhouse gas regulations across industries.”