GREEN POL GIVES UP OIL CASH ‘New Deal’ backer hit for taking $5G from heating PAC
From the city’s version of the Green New Deal to solar panel installations, Councilman Costa Constantinides has championed numerous environmentalist causes during his nearly seven years so far in office.
The Democrat, who’s running for Queens borough president, has also taken $5,000 in campaign contributions from the Oil Heat PAC, which advocates for city heating oil companies, plus thousands of dollars from employees of those businesses.
After the Daily News inquired about the fund-raising, Constantinides said he would get rid of as much of the cash as possible under campaign finance laws.
“We’re giving the money back because this was never about the money,” he said.
Constantinides also contended that the Oil Heat PAC, backed by the New York Oil Heating Association, is actually one of the good guys in the fight against fossil fuel emissions.
He pointed to the 2016 battle over his bill to mandate greater use of biodiesels — which are made of food and plant products and viewed by some as environmentally friendly — in home heating oil. Big oil interests like the American Petroleum Institute fought against the legislation, which was aimed at reducing carbon emissions, while the heating association joined environmentalists in embracing it.
“We took those campaign donations because these guys were fighting against big oil,” Constantinides said of cash from the association, which first donated to his campaign in 2015, according to city filings.
Members of the oil heating group range from large companies like Approved Oil to small mom-and-pop operations.
While the association has embraced the use of biodiesel, environmental activists view the association’s members as part of the fossil fuel business.
Environmentalists were dismayed to learn Constantinides had accepted cash from the heating oil group and businesses including Approved Oil, especially since he signed a high-profile pledge not to take money from oil PACs and executives.
“It’s disappointing that he has accepted this money,” said Matthew Goodman, a Brooklyn-based organizer with the Sunrise Movement, which launched the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.
“I think that he should put his money where his mouth is and return those donations because they’re antithetical to the legislation that he himself is the champion of.”
Along with the heating oil association cash, Constantinides has taken $3,495 from heads and staff of heating oil businesses including Approved Oil, Atomic Fuel Oil and Metro Fuel Oil Corp. since 2011.
That brings heating oil cash in the councilman’s coffers to $8,495.
The councilman said he could only get rid of contributions made during the current election cycle. He plans to donate $5,850 to Solar One. The check was cut Friday.
“This is his decision to make. However, we are extremely proud of the monumental environmental legislation [the association] has helped to advance,” said New York Oil Heating Association President Rocco Lacertosa.
Environmental activists welcomed the move from Constantinides, who had $112,765 in his campaign coffers as of July 11, at the end of the latest filing period.
“It’s great he’s giving it back,” said Pete Sikora, campaign director for New York Communities for Change. “That’s an example for everyone. There is an appearance issue for a Green New Deal champion to receive money like that.”
Earlier this year, the City Council passed Constantinides’ legislation requiring large buildings to cut their greenhouse emissions 40% by 2030, one of six bills in the Climate Mobilization Act — the city’s version of the Green New Deal proposed to much fanfare in Washington.
Constantinides’ Clean Heating Oil Bill, passed in 2016, increased the percentage of biodiesels that must go into home heating oil. The standard went from 2% to 5% in 2017, and will reach 20% by 2034.