Parks Fleet Gets Greener With Nine New Electric Cars

Photo Vinny DuPre Shown (l. to r.) are: City Councilmember John Liu, New York Power Authority (NYPA) Senior Vice President of Energy Services and Technology Angelo Esposito, Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr., Clean Air Communities Director Debbi Edelstein, Borough President Helen Marshall and (at wheel) Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

City Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe celebrated the addition of nine new electric cars to the Astoria Park fleet with Borough President Helen Marshall, City Councilmembers John Liu and Peter Vallone Jr., New York Power Authority (NYPA) senior vice president of energy services and technology Angelo Esposito and Clean Air Communities Director Debbi Edelstein at Astoria Park on April 9.

"The Parks Department is proud to be a leader in experimenting with alternative fuel technology. After all, we are 'New York's Greenest'," Benepe said. "We appreciate the generosity of the New York Power Authority and the Clean Air Communities group for giving us the opportunity to add nine new electric vehicles to the Parks fleet and reduce our carbon footprint on New York City."

Thanks to a $90,000 grant from Clean Air Communities in partnership with NYPA, seven diesel or gasoline vehicles will be replaced by nine electric-powered ones that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 tons per year. The new vehicles- two passenger and seven utility - will be used in Astoria Park.

"Introducing electric service vehicles to beautiful Astoria Park is the culmination of a multiyear effort by the Power Authority and its community partners, under the Queens Clean Air Project, to bring cleaner air to the borough," Roger B. Kelley, NYPA president and CEO, said. "Each of the five clean air projects initiated will have a lasting legacy of improving air quality and contributing to Governor [David] Paterson's efforts to combat global warming in New York state."

The funding from Clean Air Communities and NYPA was part of the $2 million Queens Clean Air Project that began in 2005. The initiative, established in an agreement with Marshall, included adding solar-powered trash compactors, pollution controls on sanitation trucks, the installation of a green roof on Silvercup Studios and electric ground support at LaGuardia Airport.

"The Queens Clean Air Project is an important component in the combined effort to reduce pollution and improve health in this county. Like the trash compactors and green roof that the Queens Clean Air Project also installed in our neighborhoods, these clean vehicles help address the staggering statistics linking air pollution and diseases like asthma and cancer," Marshall said. "I thank Clean Air Communities, the New York Power Authority and the Parks Department for their commitment to improving our environment for today's residents and future generations."

The Parks Department is the first New York City agency to use biodiesel (B20) for all diesel vehicles. Parks operates more than 1,300 parks vehicles using alternative fuels. Currently, 800 of Parks' 2,500 vehicles use biodiesel and more than 500 others operate on energy that ranges from electricity to solar power.

The New York Power Authority is the nation's largest state-owned electric utility and a leader in promoting energy efficiency, new energy technologies and electric transportation initiatives. It uses no tax money and no state debt, as it finances operations through bonds and revenues earned by the sale and transmission of electricity. NYPA helps retain and create jobs and saves taxpayers' money by providing low-cost power to government agencies; municipal electric and rural electric cooperative systems; job-producing companies and non-profit organizations; private utilities for resale without profit to their customers, and out-of-state customers under federal requirements. It owns and operates 18 generating plants and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of high-voltage transmission lines throughout the state. For more information, visit www.nypa.gov.