Two protesters crashed a Thursday forum on climate policy that featured six mayoral candidates, calling for greater action against federal rollbacks on environmental efforts. One of the agitators stormed on stage and remained in the spotlight for nearly five minutes, while the other interrupted the discussion to call for divestment from oil, gas and coal companies. 

At the event, held at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, Jose Gonzalez — senior director at New York Communities for Change — walked in front of the stage, demanding that New York City Comptroller Brad Lander divest $60 million from BlackRock, an investment firm that has heavily supported fossil fuels. Gonzalez yelled at the panelists, calling for Lander to reinvest the funds into “clean money managers” who avoid carbon-heavy projects. 

Lander told Gonzalez to sit down, however the disruption escalated when a social media personality known as Crackhead Barney — who allegedly charges $500 per appearance — stormed on stage. She sauntered around the candidates, demanding they address President Donald Trump’s executive orders relating to environmentalism. 

“I think she’s an icon,” Dache King, a substitute teacher who attended the forum, said in an interview with WSN. “They need to be prepared for things happening on stage because they were floundering, answering questions.”

After around two minutes of shouting, Crackhead Barney sat on the stage next to former New York City comptroller Scott Stringer — who jokingly told her to apply for mayor. Michael Blake, former New York State assemblymember, confronted Crackhead Barney and said the candidates can address her questions if she gets off the stage. Panelists continued to answer lightning-round questions, and Crackhead Barney was eventually dragged off stage by three Campus Safety officers.  

In an interview with WSN, Gonzalez said Crackhead Barney has no affiliation with the NYCC and that his focus was on urging Lander to divest pensions from publicly traded oil and gas companies. In 2018, Stringer led New York to become the first major city in the country to commit to divesting its major pensions from fossil fuels.

“During the period in which Brad Lander has been in office, there’s been very little movement in terms of climate,” Gonzalez said. “Lander is getting a bit of a free ride from the previous work that has been done by the previous comptroller Scott Stringer.” 

Shortly after the disruption, Lander excused himself off the stage without specifying the reason. 

Six other members from the NYCC also stood outside of Skirball before the forum and handed out leaflets about Lander’s affiliations with gas and oil companies to attendees. In an interview with WSN, Climate & Inequality Campaigns Director at NYCC Pete Sikora said Lander walked into the entrance and engaged with the attendees in the line, but ignored protesters’ requests. 

“It’s very disappointing, because with Trump in office shredding anti-pollution requirements, we really need local officials to step up and stand up to fight,” Sikora said. “Otherwise we’re going backwards even faster.”

In the discussion, Blake proposed increasing the number of recycling containers throughout the city and in buildings where people struggle to recycle their waste properly. He also said that if Trump proceeds with cuts to funding for electric vehicles and energy-saving technologies, he would consider withholding federal taxes as a form of resistance. 

Blake told WSN that leaders should be held accountable and be transparent about the allocation of funds. He also called for greater youth involvement in climate change prevention moving forward. 

“Our future is only truly impacted by having young leaders be a part of it,” Blake said. “In order for us to truly have true cost of living, affordable housing, climate change, education, we need younger minds to be at the table and not only through your policy ideas but actually hiring you to implement them.”

The forum also featured Queens assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and state Senators Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, all of whom are also running in the 2025 New York City mayoral election.

Contact Amanda Chen at [email protected].