Adams says he’ll turn NYC into a wind energy manufacturing hub

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Mayoral candidate Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, unveiled a new plan to make New York City the east coast’s wind power manufacturing hub. Photo courtesy of Adams

Mayoral candidate Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, unveiled a new plan to make New York City the east coast’s wind power manufacturing hub. Photo courtesy of Adams

By Rachel Vick

Mayoral candidate Eric Adams is vowing to turn New York City into the east coast’s wind power manufacturing hub, as Democrats vying to lead the city stake out their plans for combating the climate crisis.

Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, said that companies based in New York City will manufacture wind farm infrastructure, fund training and connect residents with union jobs in the renewable energy industry.

"New York City has always been a hub for innovation, new ideas, and progressive thinking,” Adams said. “There is no reason New York City shouldn't be a leader in wind power. We have the resources and we can foster the talent — we just have not had the leadership to get it done." 

Adams said the city is missing an opportunity to use industrial zones like the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, the Red Hook Container Terminal, the Staten Island waterfront and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to manufacture the equipment needed to generate wind power. He touted his advocacy as borough president for the wind turbine plant in the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, or SBMT.

He said he would focus on  the SBMT, which is slated to provide materials for a planned wind farm off the coast of Long Island, and Arthur Kills, a proposed manufacturing facility in Staten Island.

Adams said he would fund city-sponsored training programs to engage students from Career and Technical Education high schools and CUNYs who could enter the growing renewable energy industry. 

“With forward thinking and smart planning, the wind power industry can be a tailwind for our new economy as we emerge stronger from COVID-19,” Adams said. “And, most importantly, since we are building this new industry from scratch in New York, we can ensure that the good union jobs and prosperity that come from it go to the lower-income communities and communities of color that are struggling the most.”