Mamaroneck Town & Village Earn 'Climate Safe Community' Certifications

MAMARONECK, NY — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul chose Earth Week to announce the latest round of communities to achieve certification as part of New York State’s Climate Smart Communities program and both the Village of Mamaroneck and the Town of Mamaroneck made the cut, bringing home the bronze.

"The Village of Mamaroneck is proud to have met the requirements to be a Bronze Certified Climate Smart Community," Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Sharon Torres said of the recognition. "Thank you to the DEC for running this vital program which has been an important roadmap for our Village to implement climate action. Thank you to our Climate Smart Communities Task Force for their leadership and hard work in navigating this program and together with the Committee for the Environment and our Village staff for making our community more climate resilient. We plan to continue our efforts and strive to become a Silver Certified Community."

The Climate Smart Communities program was conceived to support local efforts to meet the economic, social and environmental challenges posed by climate change. This most recent round of certification awards marks the 10-year anniversary of the program and includes 15 local governments taking action to mitigate and adapt to climate change, including four that have achieved the highest level of certification as part of the program.

"New York State cannot tackle the climate crisis on its own, and we applaud these local communities for standing with us and taking action to reduce emissions, protect local residents, and create the green jobs of the future," Hochul said, announcing this year's certifications. "We must leave the earth better than it was when we inherited it, and programs like this ensure we continue to build a safe and healthy New York for future generations."

To achieve Climate Smart Community certification, local governments accumulate points for planning and implementing actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience in the face of worsening impacts of climate change, according to the governor's office.

"New York’s newest Climate Smart Communities are demonstrating a commitment to climate action that will help achieve the State’s ambitious climate goals," NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said. "By achieving certification as a Climate Smart Community, municipalities are saving energy, promoting sustainability, increasing zero-emission transportation, and reducing pollution."

As part of the Earth Week announcement, four municipalities were certified or re-certified at the silver level, the highest level of achievement available under the program. Eleven communities met the criteria to be newly recognized or re-certified at the bronze level.
The Village of Dobbs Ferry in Westchester County, and Schenectady County all reached silver certification this round. Tompkins County was re-certified silver after initially achieving silver status last year.

In the Hudson Valley alone, seven communities earned bronze certification.

• Village of Bronxville, Westchester County
• Town of Mamaroneck, Westchester County (recertified)
• Village of Mamaroneck, Westchester County (recertified)
• Village of Nyack, Rockland County (recertified)
• Town of Ossining, Westchester County
• City of Rye, Westchester County
• Town of Saugerties, Ulster County (recertified)

Some of those municipalities also received funding through various grants, including the DEC Climate Smart Communities grant program. Established in 2016, the grant program supports local governments in completing certification actions and implementing projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

In 2017, silver-certified Dobbs Ferry received nearly $307,000 from DEC to renovate the village-owned Embassy Center facility to serve as a cooling and heating station and charging center. The center has emergency backup power to provide air conditioning or heat as well as charging stations during an extended power outage.

In 2016, silver-certified Tompkins County was awarded $355,000 for its solid waste department to establish a centralized transfer station to accept food scraps at its existing recycling and solid waste center.

"NYSERDA [New York State Energy Research and Development Authority] is proud to work with the Department of Environmental Conservation to support Climate Smart Communities that shine a light on how local action can reduce emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change," NYSERDA CEO Doreen M. Harris said. "Many of these municipalities have also embraced clean energy and energy efficiency measures to become Clean Energy Communities, demonstrating that they are at the forefront of harnessing the latest technologies to build a healthier, more sustainable future for residents."