SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE $20 MILLION FOR CAPITAL REGION TO BOOST COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCY FOR DISASTERS & EXTREME WEATHER

Funding From Inflation Reduction Act Schumer Championed As Majority Leader Will Help Bolster Extreme Weather And Climate Resiliency Hubs In Albany's Most Vulnerable Neighborhoods

Trinity Alliance Of The Capital Region And Other Local Environmental Justice Groups Will Also Work Together To Strengthen Local Workforce Training And Other Projects To Help Families Lower Energy Costs & Fight Climate Change Locally

Schumer, Gillibrand: Our Inflation Reduction Act Is Delivering To Help Keep Albany Safe During Emergencies And Reduce Energy Costs!

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced $20 million via the Inflation Reduction Act for the ALL(bany) Together - Climate and Health Resilience Equity Project spearheaded by Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region to support emergency response and extreme weather hubs to keep Albany neighborhoods safe. The senators said the project will also support local workforce training energy efficiency upgrades, and energy-related trades to help families lower costs and other environmental justice projects to fight climate change locally.

"I championed the Inflation Reduction Act, the single largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history, because we need to invest in communities like Albany to give them both the resources and the skills to combat climate change locally-not to mention new tools to hold down energy costs. I am proud to deliver this major up to $20 million federal investment to make Albany neighborhoods more resilient and prepared in emergencies like snowstorms, flooding, heatwaves, and give people the hands on training they need to enter clean energy careers," said Senator Schumer. "This is a win-win: making Albany stronger in the face of emergencies and boosting workforce training for good paying clean energy jobs. This will help build a cleaner, greener, and more resilient future for the Capital Region."

"All New Yorkers should have access to life-saving resources during emergencies," said Senator Gillibrand. "I'm proud to announce this $20 million in federal funding, made available through the Inflation Reduction Act, which will help keep Albany residents safe, train local workers for good-paying jobs, and boost the Capitol Region's climate resiliency. I will continue fighting to ensure that communities across New York have the services they need to combat climate-related emergencies and pave the way for a greener future."

Schumer and Gillibrand explained that Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region will use its $10 million share of the award to construct the Southern Community Resilience Hub, and $3.5 million will go to the Underground Railroad Education Center to construct the Northern Community Resilience Hub. $6.5 million will help increase opportunities for accessible workforce training, invest in green infrastructure, increase community composting, and work with local building trades professional and general contractors to conduct home energy audits, home inspections, and remediate indoor pollution. This project will increase resilience to extreme weather events among Albany's most vulnerable neighborhoods for generations thanks to improved infrastructure, disaster preparedness training, and reduced chronic exposure to indoor pollutants.

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, "When the City of Albany awarded Trinity Alliance $1.7 million of our American Rescue Plan Funding allocation, we knew the much-needed investment was a significant first step to help improve their facilities and expand the scope and reach of their services. Since then Trinity Alliance, under the leadership of Harris Oberlander, has been working hard to secure even more funding to make their entire strategic plan a reality. Thanks to the leadership and advocacy of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, this $20 million grant for Trinity Alliance is a transformational investment in one of the South End's most important community organizations - all in an effort to better serve the residents of the City of Albany. We are proud the City of Albany's ARPA grant to Trinity Alliance helped leverage an additional investment that increased the impact ten-fold - a domino effect of investment in our community that we all aimed for when the American Rescue Plan Act was first passed. Trinity Alliance is a prime example of how President Biden's and Vice President Harris' American Rescue Plan, coupled by the advocacy of Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Congressman Tonko, and a comprehensive partnership at every level of government is making a historic impact on our city, and will continue to do so far into the future."

Schumer fought to secure $2 billion to create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program in the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The program helps disadvantaged communities tackle environmental and climate justice challenges through projects that reduce pollution, build climate resilience, and help achieve climate justice. These place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input. They are designed to deliver on the transformative potential of the IRA for communities most adversely and disproportionately impacted by climate change, legacy pollution, and historical disinvestments. To learn more, click here.

Schumer has long been a supporter of the ALL(bany) Together project, writing a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan earlier this year and personally calling the Administrator supporting this project. Schumer's letter can be found here.

"This grant money will go far toward transforming downtown Albany, strengthening and supporting a marginalized community that for far too long has been overlooked," said Harris Oberlander, CEO of the nonprofit Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region. "Trinity and its partners are grateful to Sen. Schumer for creating an initiative that will build neighborhood assets and pay dividends immediately and far into the future.''

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