A Democratic New York City Public Advocate posted on Tuesday demanding that the Mets should stop doing business with CitiBank and void the bank’s naming rights to the stadium over his inordinate fears of climate change.
Chillin’ at a baseball game at Citi Field on a cool summer night. Photo Credit: Chris6d, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Jumaane Williams, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, ran for governor of the state in 2022. He lost the party’s nomination by over 48% to incumbent governor Katie Holchul. But that hasn’t stopped the Big Apple politician from sticking to his guns when it comes to his personal causes.
Williams claims that Citibank is the second-largest fossil fuel investor in the U.S., and he’s been pushing the organization and Mets owner Steve Cohen to end their ongoing business arrangements. Williams has also planned on holding a rally at City Hall to voice his and his supposed constituents’ concerns.
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“The Public Advocate and fans will cite the bank’s role in financing polluters and profiting from climate chaos,” Williams’ office said in a statement. “New Yorkers know I’m bleeding blue and orange — the Mets represent an incredible spirit, history and institution and are of tremendous value to New Yorkers.”
“However, Citibank’s practices do not represent the values of the Mets or our city, and we must make better demands. If Citi refuses to end their toxic relationship with the fossil fuel industry, the Mets should end their partnership with Citi.”
Citi Field during the first regular season game at the ballpark. 4/13/09. Photo Credit: Metsfan84 at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Williams also wrote on Twitter, “Citi doesn’t represent the values of Mets fans or NYC. If they refuse to end their toxic relationship with fossil fuels, the Mets should end their partnership with Citi.”
He added, “We can aim to both win the World Series and protect the world’s climate at the same time.”
Office of the Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams Twitter
The Mets struck their 20-year stadium naming rights deal with Citigroup in 2006. They played their first regular season game at the new structure three years later on April 13, 2009. Prior to that, they had played their home games at Shea Stadium since 1964.
Citibank says it recognizes the importance of transitioning to a low-carbon economy and is making every effort to maintain an environmentally-friendly business model.
“Mitigating the environmental and social risks associated with client transactions is an important component of how we do business,” the corporation states on its official website. “Citi has a long history of co-founding and adopting industry-leading initiatives that have fundamentally changed the way financial institutions approach environmental and social risk, and we adhere to internationally-recognized environmental and social principles and frameworks.”
What do you make of Williams’ call to have the Mets end their relationship with Citigroup?