How can we apply state and federal legislation to build a publicly-owned renewable energy hub at Brooklyn College? 350Brooklyn’s July 23 webinar will unpack the exciting possibilities. Register in advance here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtd-ipqDkjGNySA50im6rFCmTAuHVfOHJW#/registration

The 2023 Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) was an important victory for New York’s climate movement. It sets the stage for the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to develop publicly-owned renewable energy. Meanwhile, Brooklyn College is one of three CUNY campuses on NYPA’s list of institutions in greatest need of decarbonization.

Our webinar will explain how climate activists and concerned community members can help turn the promise of publicly-owned power into a project that can serve not only the college but its surrounding community. 350Brooklyn sees this event as a first step toward educating and mobilizing Brooklynites to take action for a major renewable energy project in our very own borough.

Here’s our panel:

Dr. Michael Menser is the Director of Brooklyn College’s Urban Sustainability Program , the Associate Director of Public Engagement for the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (SRIJB), and the co-director of the NYC Climate Justice Hub. He is the author of Democratizing Public Services co-authored with Anne Le Strat, a member of the PSC-CUNY’s Environmental Justice Working Group, a longtime supporter of Public Power NY, and helped to shape the Long Island Public Power Act (Assembly Bill A8894A 2023-2024) and other public power bills.

Patrick Robbins is coordinator of the New York Energy Democracy Alliance and a research fellow at the Climate and Community Project. He served as co-director of Sane Energy Project and a campaign coordinator for ProSocial in Los Angeles.

Rona Taylor is executive director of Central and South East Brooklyn Community Development Corporation (CxSE BK), which promotes and prioritizes the holistic health and well-being of the residents of Central and South East Brooklyn. She is a member of several coalitions, including Forest for All, NY Renews, and the WeAct Extreme Heat Coalition, and chairs the Brooklyn NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee. She was in the inaugural class of the Community Flood Fellows at the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay and was a member of Rainproof NYC, which recently released its recommendations for how to meet the challenges of increasing rainfall in our city.