Great News! NYC a “Nuclear-Free” Zone!
On December 9, 2021, the NYC City Council voted overwhelmingly (41 to 5) in favor of important Nuclear Disarmament legislation: Int. 1621 and Res 976. This legislation calls for the NYC pension funds to be divested from any exposure to nuclear weapons production and maintenance, reaffirms New York City as a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, and signs NYC on to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Cities Appeal, calling on the United States to support and join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It also creates a nuclear disarmament and nuclear weapons-free zone advisory committee to support the city in maintaining its commitment to being a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone.
This is great news! Thanks to the activists from NYCAN (New York Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons), Peace Action, and others who worked to make this happen.
Pease thank your Councilmember. If you’re not sure represents you in the City Council, find them HERE.
Photo credit: Anthony Donovan
Today, New York City joined hundreds of cities in the U.S. and around the world that have called on their national governments to join the TPNW. This commitment is especially meaningful in light of NYC’s legacy as the city where nuclear weapons began, and in light of the ongoing impact that the Manhattan Project and the nuclear weapons industry continues to have on communities throughout NYC’s boroughs.
But this powerful package of legislation couples the ICAN Cities Appeal with even more consequential legal obligations for New York, for example:
- Resolution 976 calls upon the NYC Comptroller to instruct the pension funds of public employees to divest from companies involved in the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons. This stands to impact approximately $475 million of the $266.7 billion fund.
- Resolution 976 further reaffirms NYC as a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone, supporting an earlier City Council resolution that prohibited the production, transport, storage, placement, and deployment of nuclear weapons within NYC.
- Introduction 1621 establishes an advisory committee to educate the public and recommend policy on issues relating to nuclear disarmament. READ MORE
