Relates to the electrification of the Manhattan Cruise Terminal

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why the sponsor says this is needed

A single cruise ship docked at port and burning heavy fuel oil can emit as much pollution as 34,400 idling long-haul trucks. When burned, this toxic oil described by the NOAA as "the most significant threat from ships to the Arctic Marine environment." Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, another by product of heavy fuel oil combustion, damage the respiratory system and are known to cause and worsen asthma, especially in children and elderly adults. Both can interact with chemicals in the atmosphere to form acid rain. In response to the public health and environmental threats cruise ships pose to the coastal ports at which they dock, many jurisdictions are shifting to shore power, allowing cruise ships to plug into the power grid on shore instead of burning fuel while idling. California, for example, has required 70% of all visiting ships, not just cruise ships, to plug in to shore power since 2007, and China adopted a measure in 2018 requiring all cruises to use shore power by 2021. Thirty percent of the global fleet of cruise ships are already capable of using shore power, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, and another 30% are being retrofitted, paving the way for global electrifi- cation. Brooklyn Cruise Terminal began the process of electrification in 2011, and finished the process in 2016. Though technical, compatibility, and enforcement issues have delayed the full use of electric power, a third of cruises docking at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal each year use available shore power, and funding has been allocated by the city to raise the number of electric calls. Manhattan Cruise Terminal received more than double the cruise ships that Brooklyn Terminal received in 2023. This legislation directs the relevant agencies and authorities to begin the process of electrifica- tion of the Manhattan terminal immediately, and commands that the proc- ess is completed by 2029. This will ensure that as New York's major cruise terminals grow to accommodate a flouring tourism industry, its environment, air quality, and health remain protected.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.