September 24, 2025

Media Contact: John Lindsay |john@moxiestrategies.com | Phone: 518-368-9086

STATEMENT FROM THE UPGRADENY COLLABORATION

New York, NY - The UpgradeNY collaboration made the following statement in response to Governor Hochul’s Sustainable Future Fund announcement this Climate Week: 

“To celebrate Climate Week, we’re thrilled to see Governor Hochul allocate $200 million from the Sustainable Futures Fund for Thermal Energy Networks. This investment will supercharge our efforts to decarbonize public buildings and improve air quality in our communities while providing thousands of family-sustaining union jobs.

Governor Hochul’s historic $1 billion Sustainable Future Fund allows New York to pioneer the use of Thermal Energy Networks (TENs), starting on SUNY and CUNY campuses. With project funding for Buffalo, Purchase, and Stony Brook, these projects will deliver effective models for neighborhood-scale building decarbonization while ensuring that our workforce benefits from critical training on union clean energy jobs of the future. 

Thank you, Governor Hochul, for cementing New York’s status as a national leader in union-led building decarbonization. We look forward to continued partnership in bringing these projects to fruition and additional investments in TENs for our state campuses and in our communities.” 

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About Us

The UpgradeNY collaboration works together to advocate for affordable solutions to decarbonize New York’s buildings while creating a strong foundation for good-paying union jobs. Members include Building Decarbonization Coalition, New York League of Conservation Voters, The New York State AFL-CIO, ALIGN, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, New York State Building and Construction Trades Council, Sierra Club’s Atlantic Chapter and Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE). Learn more at upgradeny.org