EDWARD CULLEN RESPONSES
1) What are your top environmental and climate-related priorities?
New York City can become the global capital of sustainability innovation with 21st century green energy investment, engineering, and renewable revenue policy. We can create a thriving business environment for investors to receive high returns on renewable energy investments while cornering specific markets for the New York City economy. In encouraging a greener, healthier urban environment with big investment returns and job opportunities for the underserved, our leadership can be an inclusive platform for the global economy.
2) How would you prioritize the creation of climate jobs in New York City and investment in communities of color, if at all?
I have a history of working with the community and working in the startup environment. I am the Co-Founder of the Harlem Tech Summit which launched in 2017. Our most recent Harlem Tech Summit on August 12th, 2020 included 2,000+ virtual guests with 28 speakers and 12 media moderators.
One part of our plan is to turn Industry City into the global capital of renewable energy education with a Campus 2.0, which would provide Bachelor’s degrees and exclusive work opportunities for local community residents. Our hope is students in Sunset Park can take the ferry to Rockaway to participate in hands-on research and development. We would look to build a foundation of Bachelor Degrees with blended-learning mechanisms to ensure the continued longitudinal progress of our students.
3) How would you advance the City’s goal of implementing 100% clean, affordable energy and maximizing greenhouse gas and co-pollutant reductions, if at all?
Research and Development would be the core of my solution. In leveraging my relationships with 250+ universities, I am implementing 25+ “Renewable Revenue Policies”.
We can establish research and development centers with mechanisms to enrich the local economy without being intrusive to lifestyle areas of New York City. Our hope would be to develop an economic development area to create substantial access to short and long-term research and development. Our sectors of R&D would include – but not be limited to – environmental protection, resource management, and environmental sustainability. We could build sustainability startups with sponsored research models to catalyze economic growth in our New York City communities.
4) How would you support the affordable and low-income housing sector in improving energy efficiency, enhancing residents’ comfort and living conditions, and meeting the City’s emissions reductions goals, if at all?
Through R&D, we would implement renewable energy technologies to drive down the price per square foot for tenants while saving costs for landlords.
I feel my experience as first employee at company.co helping to accelerate over 832 startups along with $1 billion in funds raised for those startups provide me with a base on how to engage with new technologies. In improving energy efficiency through my relationships with 250+ universities, we can cut costs for landlords while making our environment healthier and more sustainable.
5) How would you support the expansion of clean public transportation in the City, if at all?
I would sit down all stakeholders including passengers, MTA officials, and borough appointees to craft a clean public transportation plan. Here is an example on one of “Renewable Revenue Policies”
We are opening a facility for electric automobile manufacturing, with a heavy focused on RVs, to place New York City as the global leader in the electric automobile industry. The facility would be built in an opportunity zone to increase the return on investment for capital stack investors. We would create a significant amount of community jobs and license R&D to the MTA in order to make our public transportation system more efficient.
6) How would you upgrade local industrial port infrastructure in a way that is both sustainable and equitable, if at all?
I would collaborate with key technology leaders and port leaders to craft a plan to improve port infrastructure. I think it is critically valuable to focus on leveraging new R&D opportunities. I believe Flexport does a great job innovating with port infrastructure.
I would set a “local port infrastructure” consortium to collaborate and build ideas together to achieve our goals as a community. As part of this collaboration, I would look to build a racially equitable algorithm to promote equitable integration of new port infrastructure.
7A) How would you develop climate resiliency infrastructure on public lands to protect New York City’s most vulnerable communities, if at all?
I would leverage my experience working on the United-States Mexico energy corridor, which is building a 1,989 mile economic development zone along the border. We would install alternative energy infrastructure on public lands to ensure we are protecting the most vulnerable communities.
I would implement a similar model to the “California Environmental Quality Act” or CEQA for in-depth studies of potential impacts, measures to reduce of avoid impacts, and analysis of alternatives to the project.
7B) How would you support the Renewable Rikers proposal, if at all?
Before any new development or new remake of the island occurs, I would support the Renewable Rikers energy proposal with an army of sustainability and renewable energy engineers. We would create a comprehensive plan focused on hitting the crucial and ambitious zero-waste environment goals by removing waste from water sources and reducing landfill usage during a serious time of economic disparity.
8A) How would you support the City in meeting its target of becoming zero waste by 2030, if at all?
In the first six months of my administration, I would look to bring together approximately 100 stakeholders to finalize and implement my renewable revenue policy plan. We will hit zero waste by 2030 and become the leader of global sustainability innovation.
8B) Commercial Waste Zones and Local Law 199 is an example of the sort of comprehensive and transformative climate justice policy that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emission while also raising labor standards, and its implementation will likely happen under the next mayoral administration. How will you ensure that the ambitious goals of the policy are prioritized and accomplished in its implementation?
We can prioritize and accomplish our goals through infrastructure innovation with R&D around greenhouse gas emission. The policy will be prioritized through our 25+ renewable revenue policies and implementation plan.
9A) How would you invest in the New York City workforce for a future of climate jobs, if at all?
I would open a “Climate Service Corps” to provide any student willing to work on climate projects in the New York City community with access to web development, branding, marketing, and other practical digital toolkit learning for the workforce to have opportunities over time.
I have a history of working with students. Here are a few links to a few of those projects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i18dyz92Z18
9B) How would you implement measures to ensure the creation of high road jobs, if at all?
We feel our 25+ renewable revenue policies will deliver numerous social, economic, and environmental opportunities for New York City residents. In implementing our policy plans, we can have a significant impact on mobility on climate resiliency through economic growth.
Our administration plans to open a recruitment arm for anyone who would like to have jobs across all sectors. It will be as simple as submitting your resume and we can reach out to you with potential jobs opportunities.
10) Is there an innovative idea, policy or otherwise, that you believe would allow NYC to be a leader in our quest for Climate Justice?
I think there are multiple ideas through our renewable revenue policy. I will leave you with one of my favorite renewable revenue policies:
We plan to construct renewable energy data centers—taking advantage of the low temperature in upstate New York to reduce water needs for cooling, but using wind & solar to operate these data centers for high computing and for cryptocurrency creating unique opportunities. I believe we can use alternative energy sources for high-computing to ensure our environment is not getting completely damaged.
Bitcoin is the currency of the future. I would like to use alternative energy sources to power these cryptocurrencies.