Groups Rally Against Port Ambrose Natural Gas Facility Off Jones Beach

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Environmental groups rallied outside a fundraiser for Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wednesday night, protesting against a planned ocean gas terminal.

As WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reported, the coalition of protesters – some of them clad in Revolutionary War-era costumes – chanted their own environmental versions of songs from the musical about the Founding Fathers.

They were seeking trying to stop a company called Liberty Natural Gas from building the Port Ambrose Natural Gas Terminal, 17 nautical miles off the coast of Jones Beach.

"We don't have time for fossil fuels anymore they are going to destroy us," said Jessica Roff of the coalition.

Roff said it is the governor's turn to be a climate leader.

"We need the political will to promote renewable energy," she said.

The federal government recently approved the project. But Cuomo said he will need some answers before the state makes a decision.

"It does bring up a number of obvious security and safety issues," the governor said.
Lawmakers from Long Island have also spoken against the Port Ambrose project.

U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) said back in January that the risk of a liquefied natural gas terminal off the coast would be too much a burden for Long Beach which still hasn't finished recovering from Superstorm Sandy.

If Port Ambrose were built, it would provide natural gas for New York City and Long Island.