Long Island is at the forefront of electric vehicle usage in New York, but environmental advocates say the region has room for improvement in sustainability efforts.
The New York League of Conservation Voters has released its annual policy agenda for Long Island, highlighting key priorities such as offshore wind, solar power, water quality and EV charging infrastructure.
The group’s president, Julie Tighe, said Long Islanders have embraced electric vehicles, but "range anxiety" remains a concern.
"You can go from New York City to Montauk on a single charge on most electric vehicles, and there's a lot of charging infrastructure along the way, Tighe said. "But there is certainly more that is coming, and that is something that we are encouraging people to do. That's one of the tools that local governments can do."
Beyond EVs, Tighe emphasizes the need for wastewater infrastructure upgrades in Suffolk County to improve water quality.
"Making sure that we're connecting homes to sewer systems where we can, getting septics to be upgraded when they are transferred or when there's a system failure, so that we are really reducing that nitrogen pollution that is putting Long Island's drinking water at risk and also making our bays and our wetlands less resilient to coastal storm surge and flooding."
Tighe played a key role in passing a major ballot initiative in Suffolk County last year, which raises sales tax to fund sewer projects.
With the Brookhaven Landfill set to close, environmental advocates say revamping Long Island’s waste management system will be critical to ensuring a more sustainable future.
