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Ten members of Congress wrote in a letter to the governor that a gas pipeline proposed for New York Harbor runs counter to the state’s emissions reductions goals.
Oct. 15, 2025, 8:08 p.m. ET
As Gov. Kathy Hochul weighs reviving a thrice-rejected plan to build an underwater gas pipeline off New York City in an effort to meet rising energy demands, a growing number of high-ranking Democrats from New York are urging her not to.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, and nine other congressional representatives from New York, including Jerrold Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman, sent a letter to the governor on Wednesday voicing their concerns about the pipeline.
“This project, which would bury 17 miles of fracked gas pipeline under the ocean floor in ecologically sensitive waters near Staten Island and the Rockaway Peninsula, poses significant and far-reaching implications for public health, environmental justice communities, climate goals and marine ecosystems,” they wrote.
The letter represents an unusually public reproach of New York’s Democratic governor from her own party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. A centrist from Buffalo, Ms. Hochul has placed affordability at the center of her pitch for a second term, recognizing New Yorkers’ growing concern amid a shaky economy and rising prices.
But delivering on that promise will be easier said than done. Facing aging infrastructure, increased energy demands and a federal government that is hostile to the state’s renewable energy goals, Ms. Hochul has sought to thread the needle in part by reconsidering fossil fuel projects the state had previously rejected.
In a statement, a spokesman for the governor pointed to these concerns, including a recent projection showing New York City could face energy shortages as soon as next year.
