UFT Vice President Richard Mantell (left) and Council Member Sandy Nurse (center), one of the bill's sponsors, attended a Sept. 26 press conference on the steps of City Hall to celebrate the bill's passage.
All public schools will have solar panels installed on their roofs in the years to come, thanks to new legislation passed by the New York City Council requiring solar panels on all city-owned buildings. The UFT lobbied hard for the bill, which the mayor is expected to sign, as part of the Carbon-Free and Healthy Schools Initiative, a coalition of unions in New York City that are working together to win federal funds for rooftop solar panels and other energy-efficient upgrades for city schools. “Solar panels will make our school buildings healthier for our students and our members,” said UFT Vice President Richard Mantell, who represents the UFT in the coalition. “Hopefully, this is just the beginning of ways in which we can make our city cleaner and greener.” The UFT is pushing the city to prioritize schools with the most antiquated heating and cooling systems in historically underserved neighborhoods.