Support Environmental Justice in our Communities

We all deserve to breathe clean air, to be able to afford a comfortable, healthy place to live, and to have a say in what gets built in our communities. But for too many Black and Brown New Yorkers, these basic benefits are out of reach.

I’m writing to tell you about two steps you can take that would have a big impact on the lives of Black and Brown New Yorkers who live in environmental justice communities – neighborhoods that experience more than their fair share of environmental hazards like polluted air, water, and soil.

SUPPORT CLEAN AIR IN SCHOOLS

Late last year, Gov. Hochul signed the Schools Impacted by Gross Highways (SIGH) Act, which requires New York to protect students from air pollution by prohibiting the future construction of schools within 500 feet of major roadways. This was an enormous step towards dismantling the unjust system of environmental racism that has forced mostly Black and Brown students to breathe toxic air every day at school.

But the SIGH Act only impacts future schools. Right now, more than 200,000 New York students – 80 percent of whom are children of color, and 66 percent of whom are economically disadvantaged – attend schools that are within 500 feet of a major roadway. Every day, these mostly Black and Latine students breathe in the toxins emitted by vehicles, leading to respiratory illness, increased absenteeism, and academic challenges.

You should support including a measure in this year’s state budget that provides funding to retrofit, upgrade, or install critical air ventilation systems in these schools. You can do this by using funds from the previously passed Environmental Bond Act. Specifically, a minimum of $200 million of the Bond Act is allocated to reducing air and water pollution in disadvantaged communities. To date, just $100 million of that money has been appropriated, primarily for clean energy transition rather than air quality mitigation.

OPPOSE THE SUSTAINABLE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SPRAWL PREVENTION ACT

The Sustainable Affordable Housing and Sprawl Prevention Act (S.925(A)/A4933) has a noble aim of creating more affordable housing, but it would actually take away the rights of some of New Yorks most vulnerable people to have a say in what gets built in their neighborhoods.

The bill would weaken environmental protections in our state laws that are some of the only tools Black and Brown communities have to help prevent even more environmental toxins from entering their neighborhoods. It would also increase the chances that big developers could come in and make a quick buck by fueling gentrification that displaces working-class people of color.

I am counting on you to avoid weakening environmental protections for vulnerable communities while supporting cleaner air for students.