The Coalition, 100 strong, met at the Liberty Park in downtown Schenectady NY to hear welcoming speeches by Assemblymember Paul Tonko, Chair of the New York Assembly Energy Committee, and by Mayor Brian Stratton, who welcomed the rally and ?kicked it off?.

Walking up State St., the rally turned left onto Jay St., and met a large group of Union College students. Together, over 150 citizens of the city, and students at Union College, took over the steps of Schenectady?s historic City Hall for speeches and music.

It was a great day, and it was the first time in recent memory that such a large group from town and gown met and worked together on an issue.

I waited at Schenectady City Hall as participants who had organized separately marched in from opposite ends of Jay Street... It couldn't have been arranged any better! We had local residents come in from Liberty Park and another large group from Union College converge all at once. The students had made a HUGE banner that covered the steps of city hall. The energy was amazing!! Two of our city council members were there to show their support, and they are in the process of creating a "Green" advisory committee to help Schenectady truly become a "Cool City" like others mentioned in this year's Sierra Club report.