The No North Brooklyn Pipeline Alliance held a community town hall at the Brooklyn Public Library on Thursday to raise awareness regarding their mission to shut down a nearby National Grid center.  

Activists, elected officials and community members chimed in and voiced their concerns about the National Grid’s site in Greenpoint.  

Representatives from the alliance say that proposed rate hikes would cost taxpayers nearly $200 million to connect customers to new gas pipelines, meters, and regulating stations.  

The Greenpoint Energy Center, often referred to as 287 Maspeth, is a spot that activists say would be better used to create clean and affordable solutions.  

“Greenpoint is no stranger to this type of infrastructure,” said Kevin Lacherra, a community leader in the neighborhood. “National Grid sits on land that is some of the most polluted in North America, the home of Brooklyn Union Gas.”  

Community members say rather than having the National Grid’s current system replaced, they want it retired entirely.  

National Grid provided the following statement to News 12:

“National Grid is committed to meeting New York's clean energy goals while ensuring safe, reliable, affordable service for all New Yorkers. The Greenpoint Energy Center is a crucial part of our operations and indispensable to provide heat to nearly 2 million New York households. Investing in proactive maintenance of the site is critical to providing fair and just energy to our customers.  

National Grid is working to build a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy system. We are investing billions in infrastructure improvements to enable clean energy interconnection and transmission. We will continue to work closely with partners in Albany, City Hall, and communities across New York to execute a clean energy transition that achieves the State's goals without leaving anyone behind.”