Bill de Blasio on Environment

	Bill de Blasio on Environment NYC Mayor; Democratic Presidential Challenger

Get rid of all lead in housing & schools, once and for all

Q: Hundreds of children living in NYC public housing tested positive for elevated levels of lead. How can you assure the people of Flint Michigan--where lead poisoned the water--and across the nation that you can handle such a problem?

DE BLASIO: We have a huge problem, and it's decades old in New York. But here's what we've done about it. We've declared the eradication of all lead, as the goal of our administration. Lead poisoning has gone down 90% since 2005, and we're going to literally bring it down to zero, because we're going to go into every place--buildings, schools, public housing--and remediate that lead once and for all.

Now, the federal government for decades have been disinvesting in the public housing that was supposed to be a federal responsibility. That's part of why we have this lead crisis to begin with. In NYC, we are going to eradicate lead. And there should be a federal mandate to do the same for Flint, and for every place in this country.

Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit) , Jul 31, 2019

Ban Styrofoam in NYC; plastic straws are next

Every single day we're becoming a more sustainable city because we have to protect the future of our children and our grandchildren. We had to do something that demanded a fight. We had to fight to ban Styrofoam in this city.

Some people said to me it's going to be a fight. It's going mean taking on big business. Well, we took on big business. They sued us. And we won in court. And now Styrofoam is banned in New York City. And let's ban plastic bags and plastic straws while we're at it.

Source: 2019 State of the City address , Jan 10, 2019

Increase bicycling to 6% of all NYC trips by 2020

Bicycling has become a mainstream way for many New Yorkers to commute to work and travel around the city. It's inexpensive, it promotes public health, and it's a key part of helping the city respond to climate change. Right now, the city's goal is to increase bicycling to 3 percent of all trips by 2020.

Bill de Blasio will double that goal--using education, promotion and safer streets to grow bicycling to 6 percent by 2020. De Blasio will continue expanding bike lanes around the city so that bicyclists have a safe, dedicated space to ride. He will expand the public Bike Share program to outer-borough neighborhoods and increase education outreach to promote safe riding. With these tools, de Blasio will set a goal of cutting serious cycling injuries and fatalities in half--even as the number of cyclist continues to grow. By better communicating on the frontend, de Blasio will reduce friction and bolster public support for expanding cycling in the city

Source: 2013 Mayoral campaign website, www.billdeblasio.com , Oct 22, 2013

SPARE pledge: Stop Polystyrene & Revitalize the Environment

Promoting Green Buildings: One of the best ways to bolster sustainability is to use green standards in the renovation and construction of buildings. Bill de Blasio supported mandates for LEED Silver certification.
Improving Air Quality: Bill de Blasio has worked to reduce toxic emissions and improve air quality. He introduced legislation to crack down on emissions from idling vehicles and sanitation trucks
Ending Government Use of Styrofoam: Bill de Blasio initiated the SPARE pledge- Stop Polystyrene and Revitalize the Environment--to ban government use of Styrofoam, and he backed separate legislation to end school use of Styrofoam in food packaging
Creating a Culture of Recycling in Our Schools: Recycling should be a way of life for all New Yorkers, and Bill de Blasio knows the best way to nurture that culture is by teaching our children to be good environmental stewards. That's why he has pushed for better waste management and recycling in New York City schools.