PEAKER + THE PRICE OF POWER: Doc Screenings + Panel/Q&A on NYC's "Peaker" Plant Problem
Join us for a screening and panel discussion of Ashley Dawson's new short documentaries PEAKER (2024) and THE PRICE OF POWER (2025) about the lingering deadly impacts of NYC's fossil fuel infrastructure.
PEAKER (8 min) explores the city's easily-overlooked (and yet-to-be phased-out) “peaker” power plants whose poisonous fumes are exempt from local environmental regulations – despite operating near residential buildings and public parks.
THE PRICE OF POWER (20 min) chronicles the struggle of people living in the South Bronx – one of the most polluted places in America – against the many toxic infrastructures that have been dumped on their community (including 4 of NYC's 16 peaker plants).
The screenings will be followed by a discussion between Dawson, Andrea Johnson, and Ankit Bhardwaj about environmental justice, the ripple effects of Trump’s recent “drill, baby, drill” mandates, and Public Power NY's ongoing campaign to build state-owned renewable energy.
An audience Q&A will follow.
Ashley Dawson is a Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York, where he teaches postcolonial ecocriticism and environmental humanities. Recently published books of his include Environmentalism from Below (Haymarket, 2024) and Decolonize Conservation! (Common Notions, 2024). Dawson is the Climate Justice Fellow for 2024-25 at the arts organization Culture Push, and is also currently a faculty fellow at Social Practice CUNY. He is currently creating a series of short documentary films about the impact of energy infrastructure in NYC.
Andrea Johnson is a researcher, designer, and educator whose work explores the intersection of urban landscape infrastructure, socio-environmental flux, and participatory design practices. She is currently developing the Atlas of Public Power that maps New York's energy transition.
Ankit Bhardwaj is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at New York University (NYU), who researches how democracies respond to climate change. His latest project explores the trials and tribulations of the energy transition in New York.