The new task force assembled by President Obama to look into climate change preparedness doesn’t include a single New Yorker – despite the fact that the Empire State was devastated by Hurricane Sandy.
The 26-member panel is made up of state and local officials, including California Governor Jerry Brown and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
President Obama created the panel as part of an executive order issued Friday. The task force is charged with advising the Federal Government on how it can help localities that are already feeling the impacts of climate change.
Both Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Cuomo have made dealing with extreme weather a top priority.
Bloomberg, of course, is out of office in eight weeks, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t be asked to participate.
As for Cuomo, we reached out to the governor’s office to see if he was approached or even interested in serving on the panel.
The White House tells me they assembled the group, in part, after reaching out to the National Governors Association.
“We asked NGA and additional organizations to seek nominations,” a White House official told me. “The task force was selected from those who were nominated or nominated themselves.”
