SENATOR HOYLMAN RECEIVES SPECIAL SERVICE AWARD FROM NYS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION FOR ORGANIZING LAST YEAR'S ELEPHANT "IVORY CRUSH"

NEW YORK – During its annual ceremony at Albany’s Empire State Plaza today, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Division of Law Enforcement awarded State Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), Ranking Member on the NYS Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, with its prestigious Special Service Award in recognition of his successful organization of the U.S. Ivory Crush in Time Square held on June 19, 2015.

In response to a joint investigation by the DEC, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and United State Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) that led to the seizure of more than $2 million in illegal ivory, Senator Hoylman sent a letter to FWS in October of 2014 calling for an ivory crush in Times Square to raise awareness about the illegal ivory trade that is responsible for more than 60% of elephant deaths worldwide. The resulting event, held on June 19, 2015, led to the crushing of more than a ton of confiscated ivory.

State Senator Brad Hoylman said: “I’m grateful to the Department of Environmental Conservation for presenting me with the Special Service Award in recognition of my efforts in helping organize the U.S. Ivory Crush in Times Square last June. New York City is the epicenter of the illegal ivory trade in United States, accounting for nearly half of all ivory products sold nationwide each year, so it made sense for us to have the Ivory Crush in the middle of Times Square. Thanks to Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature, New York has one of the strictest ivory bans in the nation, but we need to do more at every level of government to ensure the protection of the African Elephant, which is disappearing at the rate of almost one every 15 minutes. I accept this award on behalf of my colleagues in federal, state and city government who helped make the Ivory Crush possible, along with the conservation advocates who work to save this majestic animal. The Times Square Alliance deserves special thanks for their efforts in helping us organize the logistics in one of the busiest places on earth."

As Ranking Member on the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Hoylman has been a leader on a wide range of critical environmental issues including efforts to push for the continued remediation of PCBs in the Hudson River, sponsoring legislation to remove toxic chemicals from children's toys, fighting a $30 million raid on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) clean energy funds, and most recently, working to secure an unprecedented $300 million in funding for the Environmental Protection Fund in the 2016-2017 state budget.