Past Events

June 26, 2012

CUER Workshop: Regulating the Urban Environment The Workshop  was held at CUNY School of Law’s brand-new, LEED Gold facility in Long Island  City. The event was intended to generate a day-long dialogue on the special  problems associated with regulating the urban environment. It brought together  scholars, activists and regulators for a comprehensive and inclusive examination  of the very challenging legal and regulatory questions implicated by urban  environmental law, and environmental justice. Our morning discussions focused on  the social construction of the urban environment, and on the unique regulatory  challenges posed by a multi-cultural, densely populated urban environment. The  afternoon session was dedicated to issues of environmental democracy and  participatory decisionmaking. Through all three sessions, the participants  grappled with how regulatory structures contribute to the unequal distribution  of environmental bads like pollution, traffic and noise, as well as to the  unequal availability of environmental amenities like parks and green  spaces.

November 28, 2011
Hydrofracking Roundtable Discussion

On Monday, Nov. 28^th the CUNY Center for Urban Environmental Reform (CUER) will hold its first-ever event—a Roundtable Discussion on Hydrofracking in New York.  As you may know from the extensive news coverage, hydrofracking is a technique for extracting natural gas from shale rock.  In states where the technique has been used, the environmental consequences have been devastating.  New York is currently in the midst of a regulatory process considering whether to authorize hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale region (upstate.)   A decision to move forward with hydrofracking would not only affect local communities upstate but might also jeopardize the integrity of New York City’s water supply.  As part of that process, the New York Department of Conservation (DEC)will be holding a public meeting in NYC on November 30, 2011.  The CUNY Roundtable is a public event designed to raise awareness in preparation of that meeting. The Roundtable will be held in the CUNY Law Auditorium from 6:30-8:30.

Please join us for a roundtable conversation on these questions with experts from the New York State Attorney Generals Office, Catskill Citizens for Clean Energy, Food and Water Watch and ProPublica. There will be a reception afterwards. The event is open to the public, and CLE credit will be available for a $15 processing fee