Billboard on 787 roasts Hochul over BPRA

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Renewable energy advocates unveiled a billboard meant to hold Gov. Kathy Hochul accountable to New Yorkers. According to their billboard—and a December survey from Data for Progress—“More New Yorkers want to build public renewables than voted for Kathy Hochul."

The billboard will be up through April 1, when the budget is due. It's visible from Interstate 787 about 1.25 miles south of the Dunn Memorial Bridge connecting Albany and Rensselaer. They're also holding a rally for BPRA—featuring State Sens. Michael Gianaris and Julia Salazar, Assemblymembers Robert Carroll and Sarahana Shresthain—in the War Room of the State Capitol on Thursday at 11 a.m.

The survey gauged support for the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA), legislation that failed in 2022, but would become the nation's biggest climate bill. Data for Progress asked 1,210 about BPRA, ultimately finding that 63% supported it, with another 27% strongly supporting it. (Even so, 71% said that they had never heard of the bill before.) With that 90% threshold, supporters reason that the bill is more popular than Gov. Hochul, who won in 2022 by a much slimmer margin.

Public Power NY is the environmental group behind this and another billboard aimed at Hochul, and their goal is to highlight the popularity of the full bill. The organization says that only a watered-down version of the bill is in her executive budget. The billboard announcement reads in part:

“If Governor Hochul wants to be able to look at the next generation with anything other than shame, she will include the full BPRA—with its mandate to build, ironclad union labor language, accountability for leadership, and real timeline for shutting down the most polluting plants—in the state budget.”