Even though we have not been able to go back to all in-person events and how things used to be before the pandemic, 2021 has been filled with victories and events for the New York City Chapter! It has been great to connect with many through virtual chapter meetings, campaign victories, actions alerts, and some in-person actions. To highlight just a few of our victories and actions:
We have officially passed the plastic straw upon request bill, which took effect on November 1st. In the end of December, the ban of tiny plastic shampoo bottles in hotels was officially passed and will take into effect early 2024.
We partnered with other community organizations and members in a coalition working on the Water Safety Bill to make sure water safety is part of public school education. We engaged 64 youth through our Surfing for the Environment Youth Program.
From August to November, we have hosted 11 park and beach cleanups, collecting over 2500 pounds of trash. Did you know that you can see all of that data here?
We also got the opportunity to celebrate our coalition work with JBRPC, Patagonia, and Swim Strong, with an event at Rockaway Brewing company mid-October. The event was a great success and many people stopped by and enjoyed the different activities and tables with different themes such as environmental stewardship, ecology, and water safety.
We even got the opportunity to attend Surfrider Foundation’s Mid-Atlantic conference mid-October and meet with other Surfrider chapters! We discussed different campaigns such as Rise Above Plastic, climate change, sea level rise, water safety, and so much more.
We are very grateful for all the support from our community of chapter members and volunteers who made it possible to work on all these issues and keep helping to protect our oceans and beaches. Happy new year and we hope to see you all in 2022!