The Democrat energy agenda just delivered another blow to hardworking Long Islanders. In a decision that puts ideology ahead of practicality, a court ruling has cleared the way for the state to impose a sweeping mandate that nearly all new buildings seven stories or less must rely solely on electric, zero-emission appliances and heating systems.
This is just the latest example of how out of touch the Democrats have become with the needs of real New Yorkers. In Suffolk County and across Long Island, families are already struggling with high taxes and utility bills, housing shortages, and inflation. Forcing new homes to go fully electric adds another layer of cost and complication, without any guarantee that the power grid can actually handle it.
Cornell Professor Lindsay Anderson and her team ran the numbers. Their energy projection model, based on the state’s energy usage and transmission infrastructure, showed that we simply won’t have enough reliable power to meet the demands imposed by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the law behind the Democrats’ Green New Scam.
And it’s not just about power supply. It’s about affordability. Take the CLCPA’s school bus mandate: all buses must be electric by 2035, with a projected cost of up to $15.25 billion. Mandates for the trucks will be billions more. Now the construction industry faces a similar fate. Homebuilders, remodelers, and contractors—many of them local small businesses—are being pushed to comply with unworkable, expensive rules that taxpayers don’t want. And yes, those costs will be passed down to homebuyers.
As Donna Ciancio of the Homebuilders and Remodelers Association pointed out, this mandate is likely to chill new home construction, especially in areas plagued by a lack of affordable housing. Phil Nanula, President of Essex Homes, put it plainly: the cost to build a single home could jump by $20,000. On Long Island, where housing is already unaffordable for many young families and first-time buyers, that kind of increase will be the final signal for them to pack up and leave.
We hear a lot in Albany about the need to solve New York’s housing crisis, yet policies like this do the opposite. They make it harder to build, harder to buy, and much more expensive. No wonder New York continues to lead the nation in outmigration.
I’ve said it before: we need clean, reliable, and diverse energy sources. There is nothing smart—or fair—about pushing through an energy plan with no real price tag, no infrastructure in place, and no regard for everyday New Yorkers just trying to make ends meet.
The court ruling may have upheld the Democrat mandate, but it’s just another reminder that they are out of step with the people they’re supposed to serve. It’s time we restore some balance, common sense, and accountability to our energy policies—before there is no one left to turn off the lights.