Tomorrow's Membership Meeting Now Virtual

Due to the air pollution emergency, our June Membership Meeting will now be held virtually – via Zoom – on Saturday, June 10 from 10 am to 1 pm. And instead of talking about how to prepare for a climate emergency, Dr. Micaela Martinez will be talking about the climate-driven emergency we are currently experiencing with the Canadian wildfires. Then, Pamela Stewart-Martinez, our Director of Civic Engagement & Organizing, will provide an overview of the upcoming primary election and the role of the Campaign Finance Board. We look forward to seeing you virtually tomorrow!

Clearing the Air on Air Pollution

Our staff has blanketed the media this week with insight on how these wildfires are exacerbated by climate change and contributing to the disproportionate amounts of air pollution our community is already exposed to.

• Dr. Micaela Martinez was on NY1's Inside City Hall and also spoke with Crain's NY Business.
• Annie Carforo was quoted by CNN.com.
• Jaron Burke spoke with the New York Daily News, and the article also appeared in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

Peggy Shepard Voices Support for Mayor's Initiative to Tackle the Climate Crisis

Peggy Shepard co-authored an Op-Ed in the New York Daily News with New York City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick and New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe that makes the case for the Mayor's City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality proposed initiative, which would update regulations enabling the city to better tackle the climate crisis in an equitable way.

NYC Council Passes the Zero Waste Package!

We're happy to report that the New York City Council passed the Zero Waste bills package that we have long been advocating for! This will do a huge amount to push the city to a zero waste future and will, among other things, require the city to create citywide curbside composting in every residential building. Thanks to all of our members who helped support this! We're now eagerly awaiting Mayor Adams to sign this into law. 

We're Calling Out False Solutions to Climate Change 

Peggy Shepard and Dana Johnson attended the National Symposium on Climate Justice and Carbon Management last weekend. Following the symposium, they released a joint statement with many of our climate justice colleagues expressing deep concern about some of the discussions on carbon capture and storage, direct air capture, and hydrogen fuels. If you are unfamiliar with these or are wondering why we consider them to be false solutions, we encourage you to read this statement.

New York State Lead Pipe Right to Know Act Passes State Legislature

We're happy to report that the New York State Legislature passed the Lead Pipe Right to Know Act, which we have been advocating for as part of the statewide Lead Free Kids New York coalition. It requires water utilities to identify which of their lines are made of lead, and it requires the New York State Department of Health to make an inventory of these lines publicly available, including interactive maps, to aid with replacement efforts. We're now working to get the Governor to sign it into law. You can learn more here.

Art Action to Stop Gas Infrastructure Rescheduled

The Too Hot! Too High! art action and teach-in has been rescheduled to Wednesday, June 14 at 5:30 pm. Annie Carforo will be speaking at this event to stop National Grid & Con Ed from expanding gas pipelines – which they are making us pay for! Come learn about what we are doing to stop the expansion of natural gas infrastructure and how you get involved. Join us for the teach-in in front of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall (209 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn). Afterward, we’ll head over to National Grid’s office to demonstrate what we learned with a non-violent direct art action.

Charles Callaway on Expanding Equitable Access to Solar Paneling

On June 20, Charles Callaway will be on a panel at the New York Solar Energy Industries Association’s 2023 New York City Solar & Storage Summit discussing how to ensure equitable access to solar energy, jobs, and cost savings.

Join Our NYCHA Working Group

Join WE ACT for our next NYCHA Working Group meeting on June 27 at 6 pm. This will be an in-person meeting, and we encourage you to join us at the WE ACT Office (1854 Amsterdam Ave, at 152nd Street) to learn about our NYCHA Healthy Homes Platform, what our NYCHA Working Group will be working on for the rest of the year, and how to prepare your family for extreme heat and flooding in Northern Manhattan.

• Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding Peggy Shepard was featured in an Albany Times-Union article on how municipalities are struggling to access IRA funding.
• NY HEAT Act: Annie Carforo was quoted in Harlem World as our coalitions continued to fight to pass the NY HEAT Act before the New York State legislative session ended today (unfortunately the Assembly failed to act).

Student Advocacy Hackathon

Many thanks to all the students who joined us for our advocacy hackathon with EarthHacks including Lena Ma, Payoshni Immadi, Carly Sanchez, Ewuraba Annan, Sam Lavine, Reuben Jacob, Jama Joseph, Danielle Dookie, Maisha Ikra, Mattia Colon, Michelle Ren, Lin Lin Jin, and Dejania Cotton-Samuel. These students learned about policy communication and digital advocacy and helped us advocate for several of our state bills!

Listen to Uptown Chats Podcast on Environmental Justice

Looking for that new hot, informative, and interesting podcast to add to your docket? Look no further than Uptown Chats, WE ACT's new podcast! Join Lonnie and Jaron and their expert guests for an enlivening conversation on all things environmental justice. New episodes are released each month!