UPROSE’s solar co-op aims to harness this democratizing potential of solar radiation for the benefit of the community in Sunset Park. Net metering laws allow solar co-ops to feed power back into the grid, running utility electric meters backward and generating income for the community. In addition, the solar co-op will be linked to an UPROSE-initiated jobs program that will train half of the people installing the solar array. It is a concrete realization of the radical calls for climate reparations enshrined in New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which mandates 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040 with a third of all state investments and jobs in climate and clean energy going to communities most vulnerable to climate change or most threatened by the transition away from fossil fuels.
The New York City Left Could Get a Chance to Define the Post-COVID City
Over the past few years, UPROSE, a long-standing local Puerto Rican community organization, has been mapping out an alternative plan for the Sunset Park waterfront that it calls the Green Resilient Industrial District (GRID). In mapping out a future for the waterfront that emphasizes green manufacturing rather than retail, the GRID plan potentially will produce thousands of good-paying jobs.
The Streetcar Hustle
We need bold new transit projects. But Bill de Blasio’s streetcar plan shows we won’t get them by catering to private developers.