Keith Powers
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Let me find my remarks here.
0:04:43
Thank you, council member Schulman.
0:04:46
I'm city council member Keith Powers, who oh, here we go.
0:04:51
You know, I gotta get organized over here.
0:04:53
I wanna thank councilmember chair Schulman and committee staff for holding this hearing.
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I wanna thank 43 colleagues in the city council who signed on to support a tremendous amount of support for this bill.
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I also wanna recognize councilmember Kalman Yeager who carried this bill in the past.
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As we know as New Yorkers, extreme heat is a serious public health threat.
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It's a leading cause of weather related deaths in The United States and the cause of approximately five hundred eighty deaths in New York City last year according to the city's annual heat related mortality report.
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As we know, climate change will not only make summertime heat waves hotter and more common.
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While New York City has been proactive in taking measures to reduce the impact of climate change, we also must be prepared for these worst events.
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Studies have indicated by the end of the century, thousands of New Yorkers may be at risk of losing their lives each year due to extreme heat, so we must be doing more to protect our neighbors.
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During the week long heat wave in July of twenty twenty two, some communities were severely underserved by cooling centers.
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For example, one especially heat vulnerable neighborhood in Brooklyn only had two cooling centers to serve over 160,000 residents.
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Even when cooling centers are open, they're not always accessible to everyone.
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They can be closed on weekends or in the evenings.
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And senior centers which serve one portion of the population counted for almost half of the city's cooling centers in July of twenty twenty two or at least advertised as serving one portion of the population.
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My bill brings much needed improvements to the city's approach to cooling centers and codifies the program that is ensure that is here to stay.
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Legislation makes sure there's a reasonable baseline for the number of cooling centers during heat related emergencies and prioritizes an equitable distribution of these services.
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It also ensures information about cooling centers, including locations and hours operations, is available to New Yorkers year round.
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It also mandates a public education campaign and focused data gathering efforts, two important steps in further preparing the city for future emergencies.
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In the face of budget cuts or instability, it's important we enshrine this program into law so New Yorkers can rest assured that no matter how hot our summers get, there will be a permanent, reliable cooling center program available to reduce risk and save lives.
0:07:01
By passing this bill, we can expand access to these cooling centers and save lives in the most vulnerable communities.
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It's just that simple.
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So thanks again to chair Shillman for holding this hearing and to my fellow sponsors, committee staff, and advocates for their support.
0:07:13
I look forward to hearing the testimony today and moving this legislation forward.
