Dear Friends, 

I was much honored to be selected by Mayor Bloomberg to serve as Chair of the CENYC (Council on the Environment of New York City). It will be quite a challenge to live up to the very high standards set by its first Chair and now our Honorary Chair, the incomparable Marian S. Heiskell.

As a nonprofit, private organization serving the Office of the Mayor CENYC is well positioned to provide the citizens of New York City with a beacon for sound municipal environmental policies as well as a vehicle for operating programs that support and enhance such policies.

You can see for yourself on this website the types of activities in which we engage under the strong leadership of our Executive Director, Marcel Van Ooyen, and his dedicated staff. I hope you will be able to shop at our Greenmarkets, visit one of our many community gardens and other green spaces, use our recycling office to learn how to recycle better and reduce waste, and otherwise try to adjust your lifestyle to be respectful of the natural environment and the future generations to whom we will leave our Earth.

Robert J. Kafin
Chair