MEDIA CONTACT: Saskia Randle, srandle@climatemuseum.org
New York City Council Committee Holds Hearing in Support of the Climate Museum, Receiving Testimony from 30 Witnesses Across Multiple Sectors
[New York, NY] – (October 23, 2025) Yesterday, the New York City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection, Resiliency and Waterfronts held a hearing on a resolution to support the mission and growth of the Climate Museum, the first museum in the United States dedicated to climate change.
Introduced in February by Committee Chair James F. Gennaro, the resolution recognizes the Museum’s leadership in advancing climate engagement. It states that the institution “will position the City as a leader and launchpad for state-of-the-art climate programs that welcome local, national, and global communities.”
During the hearing and in written statements, civic leaders, climate scientists, policy experts, environmental justice leaders, artists, and Climate Museum visitors testified in support of the Museum, emphasizing the transformational impact of addressing the climate crisis through interdisciplinary programming across the arts and humanities.
The hearing follows the announcement that the State of New York has designated a permanent home for the Museum—a 24,000-square-foot space within a new real estate development project in Hudson Yards. This milestone will allow the Museum to expand its exhibitions and educational programming, inviting even more New Yorkers and visitors to engage with climate arts and take action.
The full resolution can be found here.
“This is a proud moment for New York City,” said Committee Chair James F. Gennaro. “By supporting the Climate Museum, we are not only reaffirming our commitment to addressing the climate crisis, but also empowering New Yorkers and visitors to participate in conversations around climate change and take action that will drive real change.”
“We are deeply grateful to the City Council for recognizing the importance of our mission and the role of public engagement in climate action,” said Miranda Massie, Founder and Director of the Climate Museum. “This resolution emphasizes the vital role that museums and cultural institutions—and arts and culture more broadly—play in building a more sustainable and just future for all.”
Numerous witnesses weighed in with their support for the proposed resolution, which will be voted on later this year.
“As a climate scientist, I realized early on that action on climate change depends not just on people's heads, but also on people's hearts,” said Cynthia Rosenzweig, climate scientist who testified in a personal capacity due to the government shutdown; cowinner of the Nobel Peace Prize; and Vice Chair, Climate Museum Board of Trustees. “The Climate Museum—with its tripartite focus on art, community, as well as science, is essential for mobilizing hearts, not just heads.”
“This is not just a museum—the NYC Climate Museum is a civic institution for culture and the sense of hope we need to meet the challenges posed by the climate crisis,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. "The permanent opening of the NYC Climate Museum is an investment in the cultural infrastructure that makes strong climate policy possible."
Two prior New York City climate policy leaders, Mark Chambers and Dan Zarrilli, testified. “The Climate Museum has been a key player introducing culture alongside the policy, technology, and finance themes that dominate climate discourse. If we hope to make more progress here in New York City, we will need an even stronger focus on culture to activate the public, which of course supports clean energy and climate justice by very wide margins, but which has remained dramatically under-mobilized,” said Zarrilli, who held various climate leadership positions in the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations, most recently Chief Climate Advisor.
“We believe that the museum will be a genuine community benefit—a place where people can come together to learn, to create, and to connect—and as a result, to learn how climate change is affecting us and what we can do about it,” said Guy Geier, Senior Partner at FXC, the award-winning architecture firm designing the Museum’s permanent home.
“We at the Exchange know that climate solutions can only be unlocked at speed and scale if they're multidisciplinary. The arts are key to that equation. Art sparks conversation, evokes emotion, and most importantly, research shows that it leads to action. That is exactly what the Climate Museum does,” said Vicki Cerullo, Director of Urban Engagement, The New York Climate Exchange. “At this time when actionable engagement around climate is more important than ever, the mission and growth of the Climate Museum is critical.”
Environmental and climate justice leaders from New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA) and WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT) also testified. “NYC-EJA is excited by the prospect of the Climate Museum as a new cultural institution with a focus that extends beyond the arts–one with an interdisciplinary mission to continue to highlight social and environmental justice; one that will tie science and art, fact and feeling, together to inspire people and move them to positive action; and one that will symbolize our societal values and set a global precedent,” said Eddie Baustista, Executive Director, NYC-EJA.
“The Museum is offering state-of-the-science and state-of-the-art climate education to NYC residents and visitors–which is an important service that reflects well on America’s leading city” said Ed Maibach, Founding Director, George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. “Indeed, a recently published peer-reviewed study led by a post-doctoral scholar at my center found strong evidence that TCM programming is both well-received by visitors and effective in advancing its educational goals.”
An artist who has collaborated with the Museum offered testimony. “Above and beyond any other institution, the Climate Museum has helped me to understand that through my devotion to art and its community, there is a way to make a difference,” said Gabriela Salazar. “It is a unique catalyst in this landscape, bringing the climate conversation to people where they are, showing them they too have a part to play, crossing boundaries between art and the environment, and reminding the cultural sector as a whole of their role and responsibility in furthering this essential work.”
A leading clean energy expert supplied a statement of support. “As someone who has worked for years to expand renewable energy, I can tell you that misinformation and fear—often amplified by partisan rhetoric—are among our greatest obstacles. You cannot counter fear with data alone. You counter it with belonging, with a sense of purpose, with art, and with stories that make people proud to be part of the solution. That’s exactly what the Climate Museum does,” said Nathanael Greene, Director, Renewable Energy Policy, Climate & Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council.
Visitors and program participants offered testimony. “What I expected to be another college volunteer role became one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. I learned that art, storytelling, and culture could be tools for justice, and that my own strengths could serve a purpose greater than myself,” said Drew Knotts, former Climate Museum volunteer. “The Climate Museum taught me how to turn my anxiety about the future into action, creativity, and hope.”
“The place where I am today is because of the Climate Museum,” said Manav Bansal, Climate Museum youth program alum. “It wasn’t until I encountered the Climate Museum that my outlook on life, as well as the impact I thought I could make, was altered. The Museum ignited a spark within me, fueling a desire to think differently and to explore how I might have a broader impact.”
“My general impression of the Climate Museum is that it’s an innovative and maverick space for urgent climate communications that inspire collective action as well as a safe pathway into the dark and overwhelming reality of the climate crisis,” said Emily Raboteau, Author, Essayist, and City College Professor. “Speaking for myself, it helped give me the tools to confront that reality instead of avoiding it.”
Funders offered statements. “At The Carmack Collective, we believe that culture is one of the most powerful drivers of change. The Climate Museum has been at the forefront of building public will and imagination around climate action, bringing art, science, and community together in ways that shift narratives and inspire solutions,” said Ricky Benavidez, Director, The Carmack Collective. “We are proud to support their vision and this historic recognition from the City Council, which underscores how essential cultural institutions are to advancing climate leadership and resilience.”
Museum leaders testified. “With its focus on the human side of the climate crisis through arts and cultural programming, the Climate Museum is an important and distinctive addition to our sector,” said Sean Decatur, President, American Museum of Natural History. “I have no doubt that the Climate Museum will continue to have an impact here in New York and globally.”
Speaking to the impact the Museum has had internationally, Jenny Newell, Curator and Manager, Climate Solutions Centre, Australian Museum, said, “Ten years ago, it was hard to get visibility in museums for the ‘difficult’ topic of climate change. Now, integrating climate content with culture is increasingly normative. More museums—large and small—are stepping up and exploring ways of engaging the public with the climate crisis. The Climate Museum has played an important leadership role in this urgently-needed change.”
Support also came from a key climate organization that did not provide testimony, Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality. “At The Climate Reality Project, we recruit, train, and mobilize people of all walks of life to work for just climate solutions that speed energy transition worldwide and open the door to a better tomorrow for us all,” said Phyllis Cuttino, President and CEO. “The Climate Museum is a key partner in this by providing a much-needed third space for climate engagement, dialogue, and action. Together, we are elevating the conversation around innovative ways to solve the climate crisis for a safe and just future. We are proud to celebrate today’s recognition from the New York City Council in support of The Climate Museum's vision and growth.”
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About the Climate Museum
The Climate Museum is the first museum in the United States dedicated to climate change. The Museum mobilizes the power of arts and cultural programming to invite visitors into climate engagement and agency and to transform our public culture for action at scale. The Museum offers free, interdisciplinary, participatory programs that connect constituents to a culture for climate action with a focus on justice, including exhibitions and installations, pop-ups, youth programs, interactive dialogue events, performances, workshops, and more.