The New York City Council Committee on Environmental Protection, Resiliency and Waterfronts heard testimony on Intro. 12‑71, a bill that would require the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) to provide drafts and proposed revisions of the long‑term sustainability plan (PlanYC) to the Environmental Justice Advisory Board (EJAB) and require EJAB to review and make recommendations prior to finalization.

Elijah Hutchinson, executive director of MOCEJ, said his office supports the bill’s intent but urged a process change: “early consultation allows for more opportunities to incorporate suggestions instead of waiting to modify existing recommendations at the end of the process.” MOCEJ recommended statutory language that would require the agency to collect EJAB input as part of the analytic foundation that informs PlanYC’s recommendations.

Nut graf: The debate centered on how and when to fold environmental‑justice perspectives into citywide climate planning. MOCEJ argued that engaging EJAB earlier — during analysis and option formation — will improve procedural justice and increase the likelihood that EJAB recommendations are meaningfully incorporated.

Hutchinson used the hearing to summarize MOCEJ’s recent work, including the 2023 Power Up NYC long‑term energy plan, an Environmental Justice NYC report and an interactive mapping tool, and a multi‑agency effort to develop a citywide environmental justice plan. He described the office’s “blue sky” housing mobility program design to acquire properties in areas with pronounced flood risk on a voluntary basis and said the office is exploring federal, state and other financing options for voluntary buyouts.

Council members asked how EJAB appointments are made; MOCEJ responded that seats include mayoral and council appointees and that the advisory board is in its early years of operations. MOCEJ said it would be receptive to technical language edits that require earlier, front‑end engagement.

Ending: The committee heard no final action. MOCEJ and the council signaled willingness to work on bill language to ensure earlier procedural integration of EJAB recommendations.