Zooming Out

At a moment when the federal government has gutted climate and environmental spending, the Waterfront Alliance has called on local and state governments to step up and answer the call of climate action. Unfortunately, in 2026, our state leaders sent that call straight to voicemail in what will be remembered as one of the weakest climate and environmental legislative sessions in recent memory.  

To zoom out a little, it wasn’t just climate and environmental policies and plans that were held up and rolled back by the state. According to Reinvest Albany, which advocates for transparent and accountable New York government, only 759 bills passed in the 2026 legislative session—the lowest in eight years (excluding the shortened 2020 session during the COVID-19 pandemic).  

Part of the reason for such a slow legislative session can be chalked up to the extremely slow state budget negotiations. In the last 10 years, the state budget has generally been agreed upon in early April of each calendar year. In the last three years, negotiations have gone through late April and sometimes through to early May. This year, the state budget wasn’t passed until May 27—the latest in recent memory.  

There is no doubt that the compressed schedule at the end of the session this year significantly slowed momentum for legislation to pass. It’s a shame that both the state budget negotiations and legislative sessions featured weak positions on the climate and environment.   

Zooming In

Starting with the legislative session, Waterfront Alliance’s top legislative priorities in the 2026 session included bills that would expand funding for flood resilience and promote better governance of climate resilience and adaptation across the state.  

The former, which would be achieved through the Rain Ready NY Act, would provide much needed support to stormwater and sewer authorities across the state, like New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Buffalo Sewer Authority. The bill would help allow these agencies to create green infrastructure and stormwater management grant programs, like the Philadelphia Water Department Rain Check or the Washington D.C. Department of Energy and Environment RiverSmart programs. The Rain Ready NY Act passed in the State Senate but continues to be stalled in the State Assembly.  

The second Waterfront Alliance legislative priority is the Climate Resilient NY Act, which would require New York to create an Office of Resilience that would be tasked with conducting a statewide climate adaptation plan. Perhaps most importantly, the bill would also establish and codify a Chief Resilience Officer in New York—a role that has been extremely successful in New Jersey, Florida, Louisiana, Rhode Island, and 10+ states across the country. In a similar story to the Rain Ready NY Act, this bill also passed the State Senate but was held up in the Assembly.  

Another bill we supported, which focused on clean and green ferries across the state, was also sidelined by the legislature. The bill, known as the Clean Ferries Act, would require all ferries purchased after April 1, 2028, by or for the state or public authority, to produce zero emissions.  

Fortunately, the state legislature passed one of Waterfront Alliance’s legislative priorities. A bill that will expand financing options for climate resilience retrofits via the state’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, or C-PACE, passed in the Senate and Assembly. Waterfront Alliance strongly supported this legislation, in partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ). We expect Governor Hochul to sign the bill into law, especially as most climate legislation did not have a real chance of passing.

There is a strong foundation for climate and environmental projects, planning, and policies. But it’s long overdue to build meaningfully on that foundation.  

Not All Bad

It’s not all bad.  

In fact, at the 2026 Waterfront Conference, leaders at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Department of State (DOS) spoke about some of the great work that agencies are doing to advance climate resilience across communities around the state. The state is also kicking off its first permanent voluntary buyout program, called Blue Buffers, which is being led by the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).  

There is a strong foundation for climate and environmental projects, planning, and policies. But it’s long overdue to build meaningfully on that foundation. 

Strong Leadership Needed

Earlier this year, we wrote about the undoing of major climate funding programs at the federal level. It’s simply not enough to hope and wait for changes at the federal level. New York’s state legislature must step up and show that we take climate action seriously—not just that it’s the responsibility of D.C.  

The state’s rollback of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) is a dangerous and deeply disappointing signal. Now that the 2026 legislative session is over, it’s time for some deep reflection. Cutting back the state’s signature climate law and failing to pass major climate legislation will have consequences.  

Support for climate and environmental policy cannot continue to be a performative position. It also cannot be a scapegoat for affordability or regulatory reform. The climate crisis will impact nearly every issue the state legislature has been focused on—affordability, housing, transportation, jobs and workforce development, etc. It’s not a separate issue that should be solved in a vacuum.  

New Yorkers (literally) can’t afford another year of weak climate leadership. The roadmap for a more resilient state is already drafted in the CLCPA and the aforementioned bills that did not pass. As we reflect on the 2026 legislative session and gear up for the 2027 session in January, we encourage our state leaders to start the next session by passing a package of climate bills that includes those bills. The Waterfront Alliance will continue working with our advocacy partners and elected leaders to build back up the political will to fight for climate action in New York.