March Forum – Patty Noonan Memorial Policy Forum – Beware The Ides of March: Outlook for Our Sustainable Future

With the recent changes in Washington, many have decried how the future of a good sustainable agenda is threatened.  Many have faced these threats in the past, and hope to give a positive message, and a series of solutions, to continue the fight.  This annual policy forum is dedicated to the late Patty Noonan, a gifted policy professional who helped push sustainability in affordable housing for the first time in NYS; Patty may have died prematurely but left a legacy of strong fellow advocates.  Tonight, we hope to encourage new advocates to follow in her footsteps.   Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2017 Time: 6:30-8:00pm Place: Knoll Showroom, 1330 Avenue of the Americas., New York, NY 10018   RSVP here! Our speakers will include: Marcia Bystryn, President, NY League of Conservation Voters Marcia Bystryn joined the League as Executive Director in 1999 and was named President in 2008.  A statewide organization, the League works to elect strong environmental candidates to office and to hold them accountable.  Previously, she served as Senior Corporate Policy Manager for the Environment and then Senior Business Manager for Economic Development at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  In the first capacity she oversaw the development and implementation of  corporate environmental policy and in the later the development of new business opportunities in the areas of regional solid waste management, deregulation of the electrical industry and port expansion. Charles Komanoff, Director of the consulting firm Komanoff Energy Associates Charles Komanoff is widely known for his work as an energy-policy analyst, transport economist and environmental activist in New York City. He “re-founded” NYC’s bike-advocacy group Transportation Alternatives in the 1980s, co-founded the pedestrian-rights group Right Of Way in the 1990s, and wrote or edited the landmark reports Subsidies for Traffic, The Bicycle Blueprint, and Killed By Automobile. Earlier, Komanoff gained prominence for deconstructing the disastrous economics of nuclear power in the United States as author-researcher and expert witness for states and municipalities across the U.S. He wrote his visionary oil-saving report, Ending The Oil Age, after witnessing at close range the traumatic events of 9/11. Komanoff’s current work includes modeling and advocacy for rational traffic pricing and expanded public transit investment in New York City, in tune with the practical vision of the late renowned civic activist Ted Kheel. He also directs the Carbon Tax Center, a clearinghouse for information, research and advocacy on behalf of revenue-neutral carbon taxes to address the climate crisis.