$100K To Study Social Justice Impact Of Climate Change In Yonkers

YONKERS, NY — A Hudson Valley group's efforts to document the ways in which environmental justice issues affect specific communities received a big boost from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Groundwork Hudson Valley's "Southwest Yonkers Air Quality Education Campaign and Planning Project" will get $100,000 in new funding.

The project will expand efforts to study and inform the community that is in the environmental justice area about the critical relationship between climate change, air pollutants and the health risks posed. The program will also create a community-based air quality monitoring plan.

The windfall is a part of state awards to nine organizations that support environmental justice community air monitoring programs.

Nearly $900,000 was awarded to community-based organizations across New York.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said the grants will help build heathier communities, particularly in areas with a disproportionate air pollution burden. The grants support projects proposed by nine community-based organizations to develop new or strengthen existing air monitoring programs focused on reducing exposure to harmful emissions and improving public health in disadvantaged communities.

"These capacity building grants will bolster the ongoing work of the State's Community Air Monitoring Initiative, underway now in 10 disadvantaged communities across New York State," Seggos said. "DEC will continue to address climate change under our nation-leading Climate Act by providing support and resources for community-led initiatives to develop solutions, working hand-in-hand with our partners in communities to reduce pollution and improve quality of life for New Yorkers."

This grant opportunity, first announced by Governor Kathy Hochul in July, is supported by the State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) with resources designated to Environmental Justice communities. Funding for eligible organizations in the identified communities of Buffalo/Tonawanda/Niagara Falls, Capital Region (Albany/Rensselaer/Cohoes/Watervliet), Bronx, Manhattan, Rochester, Syracuse, the Mount Vernon/Yonkers area, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Hempstead area were eligible for grants from $50,000 to $100,000 to be used for, but not limited to, developing or strengthening existing programs focused on reducing exposure and improving public health in communities most impacted by air pollution, or supporting community engagement in the state's air monitoring program.

Grants were also awarded to eight other projects across the state:

Capital District

Media Alliance, Inc., $100,000 for "Capital Region Air Justice Lab"
Air Justice Lab creates access and education to a dispersed network of PurpleAir sensors in the Capital District Study Area, building capacity for a public data calibrated network and community-wide competency and education through air testing.

Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, $100,000 for "Atmojustice: Youth-Engaged Air Quality Monitoring in Environmental Justice Communities"
Atmojustice will deploy air quality monitors in the South End of Albany and collect and report data back to local residents. Radix's Ecojustice Associates youth employment program will participate in all aspects of the program.

New York City

Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, $100,000 for "Breathe North Brooklyn"
Breathe North Brooklyn will expand Neighbors' capacity to measure air quality in North Brooklyn, integrate air quality monitoring efforts undertaken by organizations and community members, and expand its existing air quality awareness efforts.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Inc., $100,000 for "Climate Justice and Air Quality Capacity Building and Community Education Project"
The project will build organizations' air monitoring capacity and develop and deliver a bilingual (English-Spanish) curriculum to educate and develop local resident leaders on air quality issues in partnership with an affiliate of the organization.

West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. fiscal sponsor for South Bronx Unite, $100,000 for "South Bronx Unite Seeking Breathable Air in Asthma Alley: Data Mapping and Community Education"
South Bronx Unite will install air monitors at 40 strategic locations at breathing level to collect ongoing air quality data in Mott Haven - Port Morris, inviting public participation and building knowledge and solutions for a breathable community.

Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Inc. (YPMJ), $100,000 for "YMPJ Cross Bronx Expressway Air Quality Monitoring"
YMPJ will partner with four other South Bronx community-based organizations to train residents to collect particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, and PM10) air quality data in the vicinity of the Cross Bronx Expressway.

Western New York

BRRAlliance, Inc., $99,200 for "Black Rock and Riverside Citizen Scientist Education and Air Quality Monitoring for the Home and Community"
This project will focus on educating, training, and equipping residents in designated disadvantaged community areas on how to monitor the quality of the air in their homes, how they can improve that quality, and why it is important to do so to improve their health.

Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, $99,165 for "Breathing Free: A People's Project for Clean Air"
Clean Air Coalition of Western New York will work with the residents of Buffalo and Tonawanda in disadvantaged community areas and be technical advisors to educate the community about air quality and build a resident-controlled air monitoring program.