Energy infrastructure is an often-overlooked site of design, governance, and repair. The power plants, substations, transmission corridors, and industrial waterfronts that sustain life in New York City remain largely invisible to those who benefit from them, even as they profoundly shape neighborhoods, public health, and ecological futures. For decades, the burdens of energy production have been concentrated in the city's working-class communities of color, while decisions about energy investment, ownership, and governance have remained distant from public control. As the federal government has fully retreated from climate action and New York State has rolled back implementation of its landmark climate law, questions of power—both electrical and political—have become increasingly urgent.
But alongside these failures, New York also holds uncommon tools for transformation: the largest public power authority in the nation, municipal leadership positioned to advance public approaches to energy at scale, and robust grassroots organizing that has expanded in the void of government action.
As part of the Energies of Repair installation in the CFA Lab: Repair – Democracy and Urban Spaces exhibition, this symposium brings together these different actors and scales of agency and power into a single conversation, asking what it takes—across institutions, communities, and design fields—to transform energy systems from sites of extraction into instruments of repair.
Where should collective organizing power be directed in this moment? How can communities challenge narratives that frame renewable energy and environmental justice as “unaffordable,” while ignoring the social, economic, and environmental costs of the fossil fuel status quo? And what forms of public ownership, democratic governance, and community stewardship are needed to accelerate climate action while addressing long-standing inequities?
Speakers:
Daniel Chu, Senior Energy Planner, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance
Annel Hernandez, Public Utility Advocate, Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice (MOCEJ)
Dariella Rodriguez, Director of Community Development, The POINT CDC
Claire Valdez, Assembly Member, 37th Assembly District
About the Speakers:
Dariella Rodriguez is a mother and organizer from New York City who has spent the majority of her career working in the South Bronx. She has collaborated with the community on initiatives tackling environmental justice issues, frequently in relation to food justice, education reform, and other topics. Her current position at THE POINT CDC is Director of Community Development, where she oversees the Resiliency work through community organizing and infrastructure projects, all the while supporting youth leadership development and a shared understanding of the underlying causes of our issues.
Assemblymember Claire Valdez is a union organizer, artist and proud democratic socialist. As a worker at Columbia University, she joined UAW Local 2110, was elected to the bargaining committee, and organized to democratize her union. A longtime leader in NYC-DSA, Claire currently serves in the New York State Assembly, where she has fought to tax the rich, protect tenants, and empower working people. She is now the Democratic nominee for New York Congressional District 7, which spans North Brooklyn and Western Queens.
Center for Architecture; Energies of Repair
