Albany, NY – Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) was joined in Albany by a class of environmental science students from the West End Secondary School (WESS), a public middle school in her Assembly district, and advocates from the Billion Oyster Project, at a news conference in support of her bill, A.585, to establish an oyster shell recycling tax credit, incentivizing restaurant owners to save shells and help reintroduce them into local waterways.

The sixth and seventh graders approached Assemblymember Rosenthal with the idea for the legislation after conducting research into the ecology of the Hudson River, which is a stone’s throw from their school’s front steps. Through months of preparation and hard work, and a partnership with their Assemblymember, the students are now lobbying for passage of the oyster shell bill that they helped inspire and author.

“In a year where our national politics are so fraught with chaos, it’s incredible to see these students engage so deeply in processes of local government. The initiative and dedication of these students should serve as a model of civic engagement for public school students statewide,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “I look forward to continuing this partnership, and fighting alongside these students until we’ve passed this critical legislation into law.”

"Being part of a group that has the ability to make a change is empowering," said Layla Shaffer, a 7th grader at WESS.

Oysters play a critical role in the ecology of many waterways, and oyster regeneration occurs most effectively within empty oyster shells. The Hudson River estuary, which served as the inspiration for this bill, has been decimated in recent years by sewage and other pollutants, and a thriving oyster population would help to better filter the Hudson and other waterways statewide.

This bill will provide a tax credit of $0.10 for each pound of oyster shells recycled during the tax year up to $1,000 per tax year. Already, nearly 60 restaurants within New York City participate in oyster shell recycling programs, and the goal of this legislation is to add increased incentive to restaurant owners statewide. Maryland and North Carolina already have legislation in place to incentivize oyster shell recycling.

“The waters of the Hudson River used to teem with vibrant underwater life. For many years, a lynchpin of this submerged world was a thriving oyster population,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “Through decades of unchecked pollution, we lost tens of thousands of oysters, and the river lost its most dependable water filtration team. With the incredible work of the WESS students, whose school is just a block from the Hudson, we are working to revitalize the oyster population and chart a new course for our great river.”

“This is an important bill because it is part of the stepping stones for making New York Harbor clean again," said WESS 7th grader, Sam Leschins.

"I've grown up in the city, and I want to make sure future generations get to experience everything I'm experiencing,” said Jacqueline Lovci, a 7th grader at WESS. “We can't do this if our harbor is a huge sea of waste that discourages life."

Many decades ago, oysters covered as much as 220,000 acres of the Hudson River estuary. At full strength, a single oyster can filter nearly 50 gallons of water per day. High rates of sewage, dredging and pollutants put a stranglehold on this population though, and without the filtration capacity of these oysters, the river’s algae population has exploded. The algae blooms shield many underwater plants from the sunlight that they would need to survive, which in turn cuts the dissolved oxygen supply that fish need to breathe.

“At Billion Oyster Project we engage students and the general public in the hands-on work of harbor restoration - both in the water and out,” said Madeline Wachtel, a spokesperson for the Billion Oyster Project. We believe in the transformative impact of environmental restoration as a narrative that can support and enhance teaching and learning. This work produced by these West End Secondary School students is exactly in line with that sentiment. We are thrilled to see the work of West End Secondary Students elevated to this level.”