10/04/2025
Community members in Belfast NY have reached out looking for a voice, with numbers, to help protect them from losing their choice in what type of energy they're allowed to use in New York State. Other Legion posts in Allegany county and Cattaraugus County have heard their concern and are willing to ban together to serve and protect our community, state and nation. It is an oath we have all taken that has no expiration. With enough voices, we will be able to speak loud enough for our state government to hear.
As Commander of Belfast American Legion Post 1504, service to our country, our community, and our future is a way of life. That’s why I feel compelled to speak out about Governor Hochul’s recent move to ban natural gas.
This policy may be well-intentioned, but in practice it is misguided, costly, and harmful to the very people it claims to protect.
Natural gas has long been a reliable, affordable, and efficient energy source for countless New Yorkers. Many of our veterans, seniors, and working families depend on it to heat their homes and cook their meals. To take away that choice — and to force communities into a one-size-fits-all model of electrification — is not progress. It’s overreach.
Let’s be clear: we all want cleaner air and a healthier environment. But the state’s approach fails to recognize economic realities. The cost of transitioning entirely to electric systems is staggering. For homeowners, it means replacing furnaces, appliances, and often upgrading electrical panels — costs that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. For local posts like ours, which operate on modest budgets, these expenses are not just inconvenient. They are unsustainable.
This ban also raises serious questions about energy security. Natural gas has provided stable, on-demand energy for decades. Our electric grid, on the other hand, is already under immense strain. What happens when demand spikes in the dead of winter or during a summer heat wave? Without natural gas as a backup, outages could become more frequent — and more dangerous.
For veterans, many of whom know what it means to sacrifice for freedom, the issue also touches on personal choice. Energy independence isn’t just about national policy. It’s about allowing families and communities to decide what works best for them, instead of being forced into costly mandates dictated from Albany.
I urge our state leaders to rethink this ban. Innovation, not prohibition, should guide our energy future. By investing in cleaner technologies and infrastructure while still respecting the role natural gas plays today, we can strike a balance between environmental responsibility and economic practicality.
Veterans know that lasting solutions come from listening, adapting, and working together — not from top-down decrees. On behalf of my fellow Legionnaires and community members, I ask New York State to reconsider this policy and stand with the people who will bear its cost.
New York residents need to stand up together to let our state government know this is not what we want.
Commander
Thomas Yackeren
Belfast American Legion, Robert W. Howden, Post 1504
