The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) is a New York statewide student-directed, non-partisan, not for profit political organization. It has existed since 1973. Its current executive director is Blair Horner and its founding director was Donald K. Ross. NYPIRG is directed by a student-run and student-elected Board of Directors. Any issue that NYPIRG works on, or stance it takes, must be approved by its student board of directors. Smitha Varghese, student of Queens College, is the current chairperson of NYPIRG's Board of Directors. NYPIRG is one of the largest of the

Public Interest Research Group Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are a federation of U.S. and Canadian non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing and direct advocacy on issues such as consumer protection, public health and transportation. The PIRGs are cl ...

s, which were inspired by

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...

in the 1970s, and operate at the state level. After leaving

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, former

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

worked at NYPIRG at its City College Chapter. NYPIRG works on a variety of

socioeconomic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their l ...

issues such as college affordability, consumer protection, sustainable energy, government accountability, hunger & homelessness, public transportation in New York City, and voter rights.

Infrastructure

NYPIRG has an office in lower

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and a legislative office located in Albany. NYPIRG also operates in dozens of campus and regional offices statewide.

Campus program

The focus of NYPIRG's program is the campus chapters. Campus chapters exist at schools in the State University of New York (SUNY) City University of New York (CUNY), and two private colleges ( Pratt Institute and Syracuse University). The chapters are funded by activity fees which are voted on by students, and/or determined by student governments.

Chapter locations

* Binghamton University * Borough of Manhattan Community College * Bronx Community College * Brooklyn College * Buffalo State College * City College of New York * SUNY Cortland * Hunter College * Nassau Community College * SUNY New Paltz * New York City College of Technology * Pratt Institute * SUNY Purchase * Queens College * Queensborough Community College * College of Staten Island * Syracuse University - SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

References

External links

* * {{authority control Public Interest Research Groups Government watchdog groups in the United States Political advocacy groups in the United States Organizations established in 1973 Non-profit organizations based in New York City New York Public Interest Research Group 1973 establishments in New York (state)