Events & Activities

For decades, the biggest dangers with toys were choking hazards and lead. In the 40th Trouble in Toyland report, we show that while these problems still exist, technological “advances” since the 1980s have created new, often more alarming issues: Toys that are powered by artificial intelligence that say inappropriate things to children, and toys shipped from overseas that too often contain toxic substances.

Students in New York City, Purchase, and New Paltz hosted news conferences to get the word out about dangerous toys before the winter holidays.

Check out the report and our news release.

Over 100 student leaders came together on November 15 for NYPIRG’s Fall Statewide Student Empowerment Conference in Purchase, NY. Students participated in skills workshops, discussed critical issues, attended a plenary session panel on the campaign for universal healthcare in New York State, and networked with students and NYPIRG staff from across the state!

NYPIRG students got into the Halloween spirit at our annual Trick-or-Eat Community food drives in neighborhoods across the state. Students collected over twelve thousand non-perishable food items that were donated to school and community food pantries!

NYPIRG partnered with the NYC Civic Engagement Commission to host Idea Generation Sessions for The People’s Money, NYC’s citywide participatory budgeting process. 

Through this process, New Yorkers age 11 and up, regardless of immigration status, decide how to spend $4M of city funds on projects in their community.  The expense project ideas students submitted at our Idea Generation Sessions will be developed by community borough assemblies, and will be voted on in the spring.

Last year, in the third People’s Money process, New Yorkers voted to fund 20 expense projects for a total of $4M. The projects address a wide range of community needs, including mental health, food safety, youth programming, skills building and arts. To learn more about the process, visit participate.nyc.gov.

To kickoff the start of our 2025 voter registration drive, NYPIRG chapters at campuses across New York State hosted voter registration tables all day to engage students in civic action and register new voters.  All in all, we registered more than one thousand student voters in a single day.

New York State officials have agreed to consider reviving long-dead fracked gas pipelines, including Williams’ Constitution and NESE pipelines. NYPIRG joined our coalition partners for a march to protect our state from the oil and gas industry's polluting practices. Their pipelines would pollute our air and water, harm our health, and worsen the climate crisis. Moreover, everyday New Yorkers must not be left paying more for dirty pipelines while fossil fuel comanies reap the profits!