New York City is cracking down on cruise ship pollution.
A new bill is mandating large cruise ships use shore power when docked in the city.
NYC has two cruise terminals – in Manhattan and Brooklyn, however only the latter has shore power capability.
Brooklyn has had shore power for years but is rarely used and has never been mandated.
New bill Intro 1050 would limit access to ports to ships which plug into shore power.
The bill was authored by assemblymen Alexa Avilés (D-Brooklyn) and Erik Bottcher (D-Manhattan).
“No cruise company should be allowed in our city unless they respect the communities and quality of life of our residents,” Avilés said.
“Our residents are suffocating, and the city must act.”
The problem in part is that many cruise ships cannot plug into Brooklyn’s shore power grid as they are not compatible.
The shore power setup was specifically designed for Cunard’s Queen Mary 2.
