About Us

 

 

350NYC is an all- volunteer local affiliate of 350.org, a global grassroots network working in over 188 countries to prevent climate catastrophe.350NYC focuses on campaigns in New York City and New York State, and also participates in global climate actions. We host and participate in events, meetings, rallies, and protests in coalition with allied organizations working to create a sustainable and just future for everyone.

 

Why the name 350?  

350 is the number of parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere that is safe for our future. The atmosphere now has over 420 ppm of carbon largely due to the burning of coal, oil, and gas. This is rapidly heating our planet past safe levels for a livable planet. (More on the science of 350).   

History

350NYC was founded in 2011 by singer-songwriter and filmmaker Lyna Hinkel. After attending a 350.org leadership training in D.C., she and other activists from around the country returned to their home cities and started some of the first local 350 chapters. In our first ten years, we’ve had many victories with our coalition partners including the commitment by NYC to fossil fuel divestment of its 4 billion dollar pension funds by 2022 and the passage of an historic bill mandating Building Energy Efficiency by the NY City Council.

Learn more about the history of 350NYC here.

Coalitions

350NYC is part of a vibrant and active climate movement in New York City and NY State.  Some of the coalitions we belong to include Stop the Money Pipeline, Divest NY, NY Renews, Climate Can’t Wait, and The People’s Climate Movement, NY  (PCMNY).

 

Contact Us

Drop us a line at 350nyc@gmail.com

 

Steering Committee


 

Lyna Hinkel founded 350NYC in 2011, served as group leader until 2016, and currently sits on the Steering Committee. She was a founding member and intermittent chair of the Fossil Free NYC Divestment Campaign from 2012-2018, and has orchestrated many 350NYC events, protests and forums.

Professionally, her background is in film production and international children’s television including work for WNET Thirteen, Nickelodeon, and Children’s Television Workshop. She is also a singer-songwriter.


Monica Weiss has a B.A. and M.S. in Environmental Education from Queens College, CUNY, she was an NYC Early Childhood Teacher for 20 years.  Since 2013, she has been a climate activist with 350NYC focusing on education, community outreach and sustainable solutions, including leading the partnership with Pachamama’s Drawdown 100.

She is a member of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, chairing their Environmental Stewardship Committee and Sunday Program Committee, a member of NYC Grassroots Alliance, and a Leader with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.

John Ingram is devoting his retirement to making art and climate activism with 350NYC, where he focuses on Divest NYC Coalition and Divest NY State Coalition, along with an international effort, Health in Harmony (ASRI Kalimantan, Indonesia).

Previously, his career involved Art Education and Administration at the United Nations International School, Lincoln Center Institute (Moma), Cooper Union, Studio in a School, Pratt School of Art, McBurney School, and the Educational Center for the Arts (New Haven). He holds a MFA in Sculpture from Yale, and a BA from Trinity in Studio Art and Art History, and has three children, Tamar, Mattan, and Miles.

Leslie Stevens has been active with 350NYC.org for two years, and on climate change for over 4 years. She is lead for 350NYC on the annual March for Science and Teach-in, and is starting a group to look at the 2nd leading GHG cause in NYC: transportation. She is an active participant in Climate Action Mondays since the beginning, and has Adopted the NJ07 District. Professionally, Leslie teaches Systems Engineering (Complex Systems) to graduate students at Stevens Institute of Technology. She believes climate change is a large, complex system, and applies systems thinking to solving CC problems. Prior to teaching, she was an executive at AT&T in information technology. She trained as a Climate Reality Leader in 2018, and is a member of the NYC chapter.

Margaret Perkins has been active with 350NYC.org since 2014, being involved in the group’s efforts to advocate for the passage of climate legislation in the New York City Council. This has included implementation of Local Law 97, the landmark bill to limit the carbon emissions from large buildings, and closing dirty local power plants. In addition, she has been part of a group at 350NYC that is currently active in strengthening state and city legislation on the management of hydrocarbon refrigerants. Professionally, Margaret has a PhD in biochemistry from Monash University in Australia, and was a malaria researcher at Rockefeller University, a public health epidemiologist at UNICEF and other health organizations, and an adjunct faculty member at CUNY, teaching Medical Parasitology and Evaluation of Health Care Policy.

 

Dorian Fulvio has served on the 350NYC steering committee since 2015. She holds a B.S  and MBA in Finance and worked in information technology for many years, retiring as Deputy Chief Information Officer of the NYC Comptroller’s Office. As a pensioner herself, she championed the successful Divestment campaign for New York City and New York State with the Divest NY Coalition, and is currently a relentless advocate in the continued effort in Albany to divest the NYS Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) from fossil fuels. Among many other roles, she represents 350NYC in the NYC Stop the Money Pipeline Coalition, and weather permitting, is in the water volunteering for NY/NJ Baykeeper’s Oyster Restoration Program, because, as she says, “oysters clean our waters, create biodiversity and provide shoreline protection.”

 

 

Evelyn Reilly has published three books of poetry that address our environmental crisis — Styrofoam, Apocalypso, and Echolocation. She started out as a scientist, getting a degree in zoology at U.C. Berkeley and then working in research labs while becoming a writer. She has been a writer and exhibit developer for numerous museums, including the American Museum of Natural History (New York), the Museum of Jewish History and Tolerance Center (Moscow), the United States Peace Institute (Washington, D.C.), and the Museum of New Zealand/Te Papa Tongerewa (Wellington). Her most recent museum work was for the Obama Presidential Center. She first became active in 350NYC in 2015.

 

Emma Matarasso has a BA from Brown University in environmental studies. She has been a member of 350NYC since 2019, working on volunteer efforts, the media task force and the 350nyc Instagram (@350nyc). She is also a member of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. Professionally, Emma works in energy and sustainability within the real estate industry, aiming to reduce existing building’s energy consumption within her employer’s portfolio by 40%, with a specific focus on making affordable housing more efficient.

 

Advisors

Mark Dunlea (Advisor) is chair of the Green Education and Legal Fund. He was a member of the 350NYC Steering Committee while living in NYC and helped coordinate work on divestment from the City and State public pension funds. He co-coordinates the statewide campaign for 100% clean energy by 2030 and off fossil fuels now, and is one of the original authors of the Green New Deal. He is active with PAUSE (People of Albany United for Safe Energy), the 350 affiliate in the Capital District. A graduate of RPI and Albany Law School, he was also a long-time Executive Director of Hunger Action Network of NYS, and Co-founder of NYPIRG.

 

Pat Almonrode (Advisor) has been affiliated with 350NYC since 2009. He was instrumental in organizing in NYC to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline and to support divestment efforts. Pat was also one of the key organizers of the faith community’s participation in the 2014 People’s Climate March, and has continued to educate and mobilize a faith response to the threat of climate change. He is Secretary of the Board of Directors of Lutherans Restoring Creation, and a member of the Environmental Stewardship Committee of the Metro NY Synod of the Lutheran Church, having successfully worked to get the national Lutheran Church to divest. Professionally, he’s an attorney in Jersey City, concentrating on whistleblower matters under the federal False Claims Act.

R.I.P. Deidre Aherne – Climate Champion 

 (B.A., MPA., PhD.) Dee was a beloved member of the 350NYC Steering Committee since 2014 and a cornerstone of 350NYC. She was a higher education administrator for over 20 years in student affairs at NYU and CUNY and a teacher of ESL for 12 years before that. Since retirement, Deirdre focused on climate activism and advocacy, building on a lifetime as an activist in feminist, gay rights and environmental causes. In addition to 350NYC, Deirdre served in a volunteer in the People’s Climate Movement NY, and in a volunteer leadership capacity in WEACT for Environmental Justice & NYC Grassroots Alliance. In 350NYC Deirdre concentrated on Climate Education and Communications. Dee died on Nov 7, 2020, after a heroic battle with ALS. We miss her dearly but continue to be guided by her inspiring leadership.

 

PROJECT LEADS

 

    •   WasteNot: Jane Selden & Eileen Leonard
    •   Buildings and Transportation: Margaret Perkins & Leslie Stevens
    •   NY State Divestment: Dorian Fulvio & John Ingram
    •   Media Task Force: Drew Solomon & Emma Matarasso
    •   NYS 100% Renewables Legislation: Mark Dunlea
    •   Drawdown 100: Monica Weiss
    •   Website Design: Rebecca Allibone 
    •   Research, Presentations, Coalition Rep: Eric Arnum
    •   Arts Team: Ro SantiEsteban, Janet Mostrom, Jonathan Sainthilaire, & Marcia Annenberg 
    •   Education and Community Outreach: Monica Weiss, Leslie Stevens,
    •   Communications: Lyna Hinkel,  Evelyn Reilly, Dorian Fulvio,
    •   Volunteer Coordinator: Emma Matarasso
    •   Internship Supervisor: Lyna Hinkel