As Senate Republicans gear up to introduce permitting legislation that will weaken community input in the siting of energy infrastructure projects, Dana Johnson testified at the US Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on permitting reform, where she defended the importance of NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act) and gave examples of how early community engagement can be beneficial to all parties. You can watch her full testimony here (at the 52:05 mark) or download (PDF) and read it here. If we lose our voice in the permitting process, polluters will have free reign in our communities.
TAKE ACTION: Share Your Concern About Indoor Air Pollution
Our Out of Gas, In with Justice pilot found that gas stoves cause significant, harmful indoor air pollution - putting the health of you and your family at risk! The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is seeking public input on the health hazards of gas stove emissions and potential solutions to remediate them. This is your chance to speak up! Let the CPSC know that we want more information on the dangers of gas stove emissions and that we want our health to be protected. Please sign and send this pre-drafted letter linked here in response to the CPSC Request for Information and please share this opportunity with your networks, friends, and family!
Join Us Friday at Our Block Party!
Spring has sprung in Northern Manhattan and WE ACT's Beauty Inside Out campaign is celebrating with eating, art making, dancing to the music of DJ Roman Martinez, spring planting, and, of course, environmental justice. Join us this afternoon, Friday, April 28th at Frank White Memorial Garden at 506 West 143rd Street to groove into the season in style with our neighbors, friends, and family!
As Budget Negotiations Continue, Critical Environmental Justice Bills are at Stake
As our state leaders continue to negotiate the terms of New York's budget far past the usual timeline, WE ACT members and staff came out in force on Tuesday for an Earth Day advocacy day to make sure that environmental justice bills make it in this year's budget. We're championing multiple bills, including the NY HEAT Act, the Build Public Renewables Act, and the Safe Products and Cosmetics Act, to push forward New York's transition off fossil fuels, bring down utility bills, get toxins out of our products, strengthen laws to prevent childhood lead poisoning, and expand housing and transportation justice.
You can help advocate too! Write to the governor and state leaders to tell them to support these bills:
➡️ URGENT: Make calls to three key assemblymembers asking them to include NY HEAT in the budget.
➡️ Send a letter to Governor Hochul telling her to fix the MTA by freezing fares, increasing service and adding free buses to the five boroughs.
➡️ Call the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Majority Leader and tell them to fund climate justice in this year's budget via NY RENEWS.
➡️ Call the Governor and the Speaker and tell them to support the full Build Public Renewables Act.
New Uptown Chats: Energy Justice and Equitable Solutions for a Greener Future
We need renewable (and affordable) energy now! In this month's episode of Uptown Chats, WE ACT's new podcast, Jaron and Lonnie are joined by two experts to discuss solutions for addressing the disproportionate burden that low-income communities and communities of color experience when it comes to their energy bill: Vote Solar Deputy Program Director, Northeast (and WE ACT alum) Stephan Roundtree and WE ACT's State Legislative Manager Briana Carbajal.
Micaela Martinez will be speaking at the 2023 New Horizons in Conservation, hosted by the Yale School of the Environment in New Haven, which will be a discussion of the status of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the conservation field. The conference runs May 10 - 13 with both in-person and virtual options to attend.
May Membership Meeting: City Council District 9 Candidates Forum
The New York Primary Election is June 27 and one of the most hotly contested seats this year is in Harlem. The District 9 race for New York City Council is heating up, and for our May Membership Meeting, we are hosting a forum to hear from three of the candidates in this race (Inez Dickens, Yusef Salaam, and Al Taylor) on what they plan to do for Harlem and for environmental justice. Join us at Twenty-first Century Academy for Community Leadership at 501 West 152nd Street on Saturday, May 13 from 10 am - 1 pm.
WE ACT's Green Institute is holding a free two-week course to become solar installation and green construction certified. The course is designed to funnel people from our community into solar and green jobs to push our city and state to a cleaner, greener future. The course will run Tuesday, May 9 - Friday, May 12 and Monday, May 15 - Friday, May 19 at Solar One, 9-03 44th Rd, Suite 201 in Long Island City, Queens. The course is open to all but preference will be given to West Harlem residents. Join our orientation sessionto learn more about the course on May 2 at 3 pm.And be sure to sign up here if you want to apply to this free training!
NY Climate Exchange: Beau Morton was on-hand for Mayor Eric Adam's announcement of the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island, which WE ACT will be a part of. You can learn more from Stony Brook University, which is the lead organization on this project, and The City.
Ending Lead Poisoning: Our New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning's press conference ahead of the City Council hearing on the lead crisis received coverage from CBS New York and NY1 Noticias.
EPA EJ TACs: Nation of Change wrote about the EPA's announcement of its Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center program, noting that WE ACT has received funding to develop the EPA Region 2 center.
Increasing Climate Education: Beau Morton and the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force, which we co-lead, was featured in Harlem World after Mayor Adams tapped the task force with helping bring climate literacy to New York City Public schools as part of his PlaNYC.
NY HEAT Act: Sonal Jessel was quoted in HamletHub, making the case for the passage of the NY HEAT Act.
Mayor's PlaNYC: Sonal was quoted in a New York Amsterdam News article about the Mayor's PlaNYC, noting that it sounds positive but that the city is still failing New Yorkers in terms of air pollution. She also talked about how the state's Cumulative Impacts law will help address that - a sentiment echoed by State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
Indoor Air Quality: In a Gothamist article about the state of the city's air, Jaron Burke turned the focus to indoor air quality, highlighting our Out of Gas, In with Justice pilot.
Bringing Public Art to Harlem: WE ACT member Gwen Black was featured in the Harlem Patch, having been among the local artists who beautified the scaffolding sheds around NYCHA's Taft Houses in East Harlem.
Earth Week Sustainability Action Summit in West Harlem
Charles Callaway spoke to students at the Earth Week Sustainability Action Summit event on Thursday, hosted by the City College of New York and Columbia University. He also led one of the environmental justice walks through our community.
Volunteer for Food As Medicine
Interested in food justice? Our friends at the Corbin Hill Food Project are seeking volunteers for their Food As Medicine program. If you are available on Wednesdays and Fridays in Harlem and the Bronx to help with set up, distribution, clean up, and demos, then complete this volunteer form and they will follow up with you.
Join a Community Cleanup of Washington Heights
Volunteers will meet at 168th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue on Saturday, May 6th at 12 pm for the annual Riverkeeper Sweep community cleanup in Washington Heights. Bring your own gloves and a grabber if you own one!
