A little before 1:00 a.m. last night, by a vote of 94-44, the New York State Assembly passed the moratorium on hydraulic fracture drilling.
Go ahead: get up from your chair. Do a little dance, pump your fist, or do whatever you do to celebrate a victory of grassroots action over corporate power.
You deserve it. At the time the bill passed last night, more than 52,000 New Yorkers had signed the petition urging the Assembly to act. We joined an incredible alliance of Frack Action, Environmental Advocates, MoveOn.org, Mark Ruffalo, Pete Seeger, Assemblymembers Robert Sweeney and Steve Englebright, Borough President Scott Stringer, and so many others to pass a bill that everyone thought was dead - first through the New York State Senate, then the Assembly.
The bill now goes to the governor's desk for his signature. We still have to make sure he signs it, and then see to it that even stronger legislation is put in place next year.
But let's take a moment to celebrate, because this is a major step forward. As far as we know, this is the first time that any state legislature has said "no" to these drillers.
And it didn't come from the top-down. While we at the Working Families Party are proud to have played a small role in last night's victory, the real credit is due to the thousands of New Yorkers who spoke out, organized, put the dangers of "fracking" on the public agenda, and pushed us again and again to join the fight.
So thank you for leading this charge. Thank you for taking even stronger action at every step of the way.
And thank you in advance for your continued efforts to make sure that New York's water is clean and safe to drink, and that everyday New Yorkers have more of a say in how our lives are governed than corporations who think money can buy them whatever they want.
For news coverage of the petition and the fracking fight, check out these articles:
• New York Observer: WFP Teams Up With Mark Ruffalo For Last-Minute Fracking Ban Push "The Working Families Party is out with a last-minute push to pressure the Assembly to ban hydro-fracking during the special session, slated to get underway shortly in Albany. ...the WFP, Move-On and others have gathered 50,000 signatures calling on the lower house to follow suit."
• Albany Times-Union: Hydrofracking Moratorium Supporters Hopeful on Assembly Prospects "MoveOn and the Working Families Party are touting a 50,000-signature petition supporting the moratorium... If it comes to the floor, advocates are confident it will pass."
• Ithaca Journal: Assembly Approves Gas Drilling Moratorium "Actor Mark Ruffalo, a Sullivan County resident and an anti-drilling advocate, also released a statement through the Working Families Party, pushing for the Assembly to pass the bill and urging New Yorkers to sign a petition in favor of the moratorium." Thank you,
- Dan Cantor, WFP Executive Director
P.S. Just as we need your grassroots action to make progress in Albany, we depend on small grassroots contributions to keep campaigns like this going strong. Can you chip in just $5 a month to support our work?