Hundreds of New Yorkers rallied against new natural gas pipelines in their state as a deadline loomed for the public to comment on a revived proposal to expand the gas pipeline that supplies downstate New York.
Oklahoma-based natural gas company the Williams Cos. had shelved that pipeline and another New York project years ago over repeated denials of the necessary state permits. It resuscitated both in May after being thrown a lifeline: The White House, which had moved to block a large-scale wind farm off the coast of New York, said it would drop that opposition in exchange for state Gov. Kathy Hochul agreeing to greenlight Williams’ proposals.
Hochul has said she didn’t make any promises about the pipelines, and only indicated a willingness to approve them if state and federal requirements were met.
But the situation has alarmed community groups, environmental activists and New York politicians pressing for the state to meet its ambitious clean-energy goals. They noted that Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement, or NESE, has a comment period of 45 days that will close Aug. 16 without any public hearings.
“It looks like Kathy Hochul is doing a dirty deal with Donald Trump. She’s fast-tracked the permitting process, not allowed public hearings and is limiting public participation in what looks to be a setup,” said Pete Sikora, climate and inequality campaigns director at the advocacy group New York Communities for Change. “She should stop moving to do Trump’s bidding while torching our future.”
New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement that its review process for natural gas pipeline proposals is “thorough, transparent, and guided by stringent state and federal environmental laws and regulations,” adding that the process “encourages public input at every step and ensures the protection of public health and the environment.”
On Saturday, more than 500 rallygoers marched across the Brooklyn Bridge, chanting, “Which side are you on, Hochul, which side are you on?” They were joined by New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who is challenging her in the 2026 gubernatorial primary.
“This is New York, the Empire State. If we don’t set the bar, who the hell else is going to do it?” asked Delgado, in his address to rallygoers before the march.
In a subsequent interview with Inside Climate News, he added, “The fossil fuel industry is posing a direct threat to our communities. We have a responsibility to hold the line here in New York and make sure that that doesn’t happen.”
Ken Lovett, a senior advisor on energy and environment for Hochul, said in a statement: “The only commitment the Governor has made is to work with everyone, including the Trump Administration, on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law. She believes an all-of-the-above approach will improve reliability, reduce costs for New Yorkers, and result in lower emissions.”
The NESE project would extend Williams’ existing Transco system by 37 miles at a cost of around $1 billion. Most of it would be built off the coasts of New Jersey and Staten Island before connecting into existing underwater pipelines just south of the Rockaways. The project’s website says: “As demand continues to grow, especially in densely populated areas like Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island, so too must the capacity to deliver reliable energy.”
The other pipeline, named Constitution, would span roughly 125 miles from the Marcellus shale fields of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, to Schoharie County, New York, delivering fracked gas into systems that currently supply parts of the Northeast.
Williams, which did not respond to requests for comment, aims to have both up and running in two years.
States in the Northeast, “despite being located next to one of the world’s most prolific gas basins, continue to grapple with constrained gas supplies and higher electricity prices,” Amy Andryszak, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, said in a statement. The trade group, representing over two dozen North American gas pipeline companies, also argues that natural gas can complement the growth of intermittent renewables.
Between 2016 and 2020, both of Williams’ pipeline projects hit roadblocks when the state, under then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, refused to issue water permits needed to begin construction. New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation previously concluded that both projects would threaten water quality in the state. The NESE pipeline, which would also run through New Jersey, received a similar determination from that state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Williams decided to move on from the projects. That was before President Donald Trump kicked off his second term this year with a flurry of measures to boost fossil fuels and block clean energy.
In April, Trump’s Department of the Interior issued a stop-work order for Equinor’s Empire Wind project that was already approved and underway, putting at risk more than 1,500 jobs and clean power for half a million New York City homes. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the federal government to get that project resumed. But Equinor chief executive Anders Opedal, in an interview with FT, said Hochul told him she had “an angle to talk to the administration.”
On May 19, Interior lifted the stop-work order, and Hochul said in a statement, “New York will work with the Administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was less circumspect, writing on the social-media platform X that he was encouraged by Hochul’s “willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity.” A week later, the White House told POLITICO’s E&E News that Hochul “caved” and will allow “two natural gas pipelines to advance” through New York.
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Delgado criticized the compromise struck by Hochul, his boss and political rival, calling her “performative” on climate action. In response, the governor’s office pointed to the state’s plans to invest more than $1 billion in climate efforts, progress on renewables and transmission projects, a proposal for a new nuclear plant and over 178,000 clean-energy jobs.
A 2019 New York state law mandates a 40 percent reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels, and at least 85 percent by 2050. Deploying offshore wind, like the 2-gigawatt Empire Wind farm, forms a key part of the strategy to deliver on those climate goals.
“The Trump administration’s decision to not permit new offshore wind projects and to successfully push Congress to cut tax incentives on electric vehicles and solar energy is having an impact on all states’ abilities to meet short-term climate goals,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “Even with the roadblocks, New York remains a national leader on solar energy and offshore wind power.”
However, approving new gas pipelines with multi-decade lifespans keeps the state hooked on planet-warming fossil fuels for longer and, critics say, jeopardizes the very climate targets that offshore wind is meant to serve. As of 2022, the most recent data in New York’s progress tracker, the state had lowered emissions by 9 percent.
“We need to make sure we’re enforcing our law, and New York is treacherously off from it,” said Keanu Arpels-Josiah, a 20-year-old Swarthmore freshman and lead organizer with Fridays For Future NYC.
A 2018 analysis by PSE Healthy Energy found that over a two-decade period, the annual greenhouse gas emissions from the two pipelines’ operations and the use of the transported gas would equate to more than 14.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s like putting roughly 3.4 million more gasoline-powered cars on the streets each year.
“We know that investment in fossil fuels only exacerbates the climate crisis and drives up utility costs,” Delgado said. “Why do we keep moving in this direction?”
According to National Grid, whose gas-utility territory includes Staten Island, Long Island and parts of Brooklyn and Queens, the cost to construct NESE would be borne by ratepayers, increasing monthly heating bills by about $7.50. But it also estimates that over 15 years, the pipeline would save downstate residents around $2.75 billion on their bills. Sally Librera, president of National Grid New York, said in a statement that its assessment finds the NESE pipeline would “ensure our gas network continues to operate dependably and supports the region’s growing energy needs.”
New York City relies heavily on natural gas for power and heating. Shipping more gas into the city could provide some relief on energy costs in the near term, especially during winters, when demand peaks and supply shortages can cause price spikes.
The limitations of existing pipeline capacity puts “critical supply constraints on natural gas infrastructure during major winter storms,” Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the American Gas Association, said in a statement. A 2023 report from federal regulators found that during Winter Storm Elliott the previous December, utilities in New York City narrowly averted a system collapse. It would have taken “many months” to restore service, the report said.
At the same time, prolonged burning of fossil fuels also makes extreme weather events more intense and more frequent. Superstorm Sandy, which hit the city in 2012, caused over $13 billion in physical damage and resulted in some $6 billion in lost economic activity.
In Arpels-Josiah’s view, Hochul is siding with fossil-fuel donors and Trump over the future of younger generations because she thinks it’s politically expedient.
“We will defeat this pipeline—just like we defeated the Williams NESE pipeline in 2019, just like we defeated the Constitution pipeline in 2016, just like we won the fracking ban in 2014,” he said. “Our movements are strong, and this is just another fight.”
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Deep Vakil is a New York City-based investigative reporter and a recent graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, where he was a Toni Stabile Fellow. He is interested in stories about power and money unfolding in this era of climate change. He previously reported for Reuters, covering oil and gas markets, extreme weather, and energy policy across the U.S. and U.K. Originally from India, Deep majored in politics and society at Ashoka University, where he cut his journalistic teeth at the college newspaper.
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