Mayor De Blasio 'Takes A Stand' Against Gowanus Power Plant

BROOKLYN, NY — A push to stop a new power plant in Gowanus got a boost on Monday from Mayor Bill de Blasio, who officially came out against the project as part of his push to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.

The mayor "took a stand" against the Gowanus plan and a similar power plant proposal in Astoria during an Earth Week segment during his daily press briefing, contending the city should be scaling back, not setting up, fracked gas facilities.

"These are plants...that would take us backwards, not forwards," de Blasio said. "They are plants that would unfortunately place us in that past of fossil fuels dependency and hold us back. They should not be allowed to go forward."

The Gowanus project proposes renovating and replacing one of two power plants run by The Astoria Generating Company on the Gowanus Canal. The second plant would close once the new unit is put in, reducing the overall electricity needed to run the facility, according to the company.

"AGC believes the Project will provide more efficient and cleaner electric generation for the Gowanus/Sunset Park neighborhoods and will support expanded renewable energy production, transmission and distribution over time," AGC writes.

But activists have contended the renovations would extend the life of the plant at a time when the New York is supposed to be moving away from fossil fuels, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Under a 2019 Climate Act, the state has set up a goal to be 100 percent emissions-free by 2040.

De Blasio joins a group of lawmakers and environmental groups who have organized against the proposal for months.