New York state is taking legal action against the Trump administration for halting construction of five offshore wind farms.

Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul joined hundreds of workers whose livelihoods depend on projects already under construction.

Hochul on administration's explanation for pause: "It is BS"

After years of celebrating New York's green future, Long Islanders are now protesting the directive from the United States Department of Interior. Environmental and labor leaders say the pause is costing thousands of jobs and undermining energy independence.

"We need a sustainable energy future. Those are needs, whether you're Republican or Democrat," said Adrienne Esposito, with Citizen's Campaign for the Environment. 

The administration says the second pause in a year is due to "emerging national security risks" and claims the movement of turbine blades creates radar interference.

The governor calls that a pretext to shut down green energy.

"It is BS. It is made up because we've had wind in other parts of our country, places in Europe have had this," Hochul said. "There is an issue with radar, and there's a way to solve it."

"They're not worried about you. They're worried about their friends in Big Oil," said John Durso, with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Critics of offshore wind, including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, say the federal halt is a victory.

"A bad idea. It's expensive. It's a boondoggle," he said. "It's a green energy scam by the governor."

Developers of 2 Long Island projects suing administration

The landing site at Smith Point Park in Suffolk County is already built, and offshore, crews were well into construction of the Sunrise Wind project, but it stopped mid-build in December when Washington pulled the plug on five Atlantic Wind Farms, including two off of Long Island.

Workers like John Blanchfield were sent home.

"The bills don't stop. If the money's not coming in, the money disappears. I've got three kids," he said.

Both fully permitted project developers are now suing the administration.

Empire Wind, off of Brooklyn, is 60% complete, and Sunrise Wind is nearly 50% complete.

"If we're serious about unleashing America's Golden Age with an all-of-the-above energy approach, it doesn't happen by stopping work. It happens when we build, baby, build," said Billy Haugland, CEO of the Haugland Group.

The developer of Empire Wind says their project faces likely termination if the federal work stoppage continues past next week. Both projects were supposed to begin generating energy later this year.