Plus a Toxins in Cosmetics Webinar, Cooling Assistance, and More!

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Meet the Candidates Running for Assembly District 71 & Assembly District 72

We will be hosting a virtual Candidate’s Forum for New York State Assembly District 71 and Assembly District 72. We’ve invited all the candidates for these primary races to attend, introduce themselves, and answer questions from our community members about key environmental justice and other issues impacting our community ahead of the 2024 New York State Primary Election ([link removed]) on June 25. The meeting will be held via Zoom on Thursday, May 16 from 6:30 - 8 pm.

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Meet the Candidates Running for Assembly District 70

WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Marcus Meets Malcom ([link removed]) are hosting a Candidates Forum for New York State Assembly District 70, along with Indivisible Harlem ([link removed]) , Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association ([link removed]) , and NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch ([link removed]) . We’ve invited all the candidates for this primary race to attend, introduce themselves, and answer questions from our community members about key environmental justice and other issues impacting our community ahead of the 2024 New York State Primary Election ([link removed]) on June 25. The meeting will be held on Friday, May 17 from 6 - 7:30 pm outdoors (so please dress appropriately) on West 120th Street between Malcolm X Boulevard (a.k.a. Lenox Avenue) & Fifth Avenue.
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May Membership Meeting: Meet the Candidates Running for Assembly District 69

At our May Membership Meeting on Saturday, May 18, we will host a Candidate’s Forum to introduce you to all the candidates running for New York State Assembly District 69. We’ve invited all the candidates for this primary race to attend, introduce themselves, and answer questions from our community members about key environmental justice and other issues impacting our community ahead of the 2024 New York State Primary Election ([link removed]) on June 25. The in-person meeting will begin at 10 am at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, located at 163 West 125th Street (at the corner of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard). Be sure to arrive early – and with a photo ID – as you will need to go through security to enter the building.
RSVP ([link removed])
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TAKE ACTION: Help Us Pass Key New York State Environmental Justice Legislation

The New York State legislature is in session for just a few more weeks, and in addition to the NY HEAT Act ([link removed]) , there are three other key bills that we need your urgent help convincing the State Legislature in Albany to pass!

* Lead Paint Right to Know Act: New York State leads the nation ([link removed]) in cases of children with elevated blood levels. That is why we need to pass the Lead Paint Right to Know Act (S.2353 ([link removed]) /A.4820 ([link removed]) ) by June 6, as it will require disclosure of lead paint test reports in all real estate transactions so families can know whether their new home has lead paint. Here are three ways you can help:
+ Send an Email to Albany ([link removed])
+ Join Our Call Relay ([link removed])
+ Attend Our Lobby Day on May 21 ([link removed])


* Beauty Justice Act: Personal care products – everything from cosmetics to soaps and shampoos to hair straighteners – are largely unregulated, with far too many containing toxic ingredients that have been linked to serious health issues like cancer. That is why we need to pass the Beauty Justice Act ([link removed]) (S.4265 ([link removed]) /A.6969 ([link removed]) ) by June 6, as it will ban most of these substances in New York State. Here are three ways you can help:
+ Send an Email to Albany ([link removed])
+ Join Our Call Relay ([link removed])
+ Attend Our Webinar on May 14 ([link removed])


* Enhanced Public Participation Act
New York State's Enhanced Public Participation Act ([link removed]) (S.2510A ([link removed]) /A.6584A ([link removed]) ) requires applicants for major polluting projects looking to site in or near a disadvantaged community to submit an enhanced public participation plan for community engagement, giving communities like ours a voice in whether polluting facilities are built in our neighborhood. That is why we need to pass it by June 6, and here is how you can help:
+ Send an Email to Albany ([link removed])
+ Watch Our Press Conference Video ([link removed])

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TAKE ACTION: Demand the City Fund Environmental Justice in the 2025 Budget

The climate crisis and other environmental hazards have proven tremendously costly for New York City, in terms of lives and livelihoods as well as damage to infrastructure and the communities where we live. There is an urgent need ([link removed]) to make substantial, strategic investments in climate and environmental issues across New York City agencies to mitigate future impacts of the climate crisis and prevent environmental racism.

TAKE ACTION ([link removed])
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Help Your Uptown Community Prepare for Climate Change

Do you work with an organization in Northern Manhattan? WE ACT is bringing back our award-winning Climate Ready Uptown Plan Workshops, and we would love to host one for your members! We’ll be doing workshops all summer long at member-based community organizations based Uptown. At these workshops, we will distribute the Climate Ready Uptown Plan ([link removed]) - an interactive pamphlet that helps Northern Manhattan community members understand their individual risk to climate-related disasters – specifically extreme heat and flooding. And we’ll educate participants on the basics of extreme weather and disaster preparedness.

If you or your organization is interested, please fill out the ([link removed]) form ([link removed]) and we'll be in touch with details!
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APPLY TODAY: Cooling Assistance Helps Eligible Households Buy and Install an Air Conditioner or Fan

Click here ([link removed]) to see if you are eligible for financial support to cover the cost and installation of an air conditioner or fan in your home. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, so act today because funding for this program has run out in July the last two years!

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Learn About the Toxic Dangers Lurking in Your Cosmetics

Personal care products are largely unregulated, and many contain toxic ingredients that have been linked to cancer and other health issues. That’s why you should join our Beauty Justice webinar on Tuesday, May 14 from 6 - 7:15 pm to learn more about this and how you can help us advocate for the New York State Beauty Justice Act ([link removed]) (S.4265 ([link removed]) /A.6969 ([link removed]) ). We have until June 6 to convince Albany to pass this important environmental justice legislation, which will ban the most dangerous toxic chemicals from the majority of personal care products in New York State.
RSVP ([link removed])
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Environmental Health Team on the Road

Dr. Micaela Martinez is speaking about cumulative impacts and structural racism at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) meeting in Durham, NC next week. And Cameron Clarke will be discussing COVID-19 and the missed opportunity for equity on a Color in Green panel on May 16.
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* Gas Stoves: Annie Carforo was quoted in a Bloomberg story ([link removed]) about a new study from Stanford, Harvard, & the Central California Asthma Collaborative that confirmed people of color and low-income are disproportionately exposed to harmful air pollutants from gas stoves. The article, which references (and links to) our Out of Gas, In with Justice ([link removed]) pilot, also appeared in Fortune Magazine ([link removed]) , Financial Post ([link removed]) , and other media outlets. Annie noted that this new study “gives us more leverage to call for interventions and programs and policies that are going to intervene in low-income households first.”
* Calls to Action: Harlem World featured some of our recent calls to action on the bills we are working to advance before the New York State legislative session ends on June 6, including the Lead Paint Right to Know Act ([link removed]) and the Enhanced Public Participation Act ([link removed]) . You can learn more about all of these bills and more – including how you can help us get them passed – by clicking here ([link removed]) .

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As part of our WE ACT TCTAC program, our TCTAC Director of Community Engagement Sarah Salem and Dr. Micaela Martinez (pictured left) traveled to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Dr. Martinez led a two-day Environmental Health & Justice Leadership Training hosted by Inter American University and the EAGLE TCTAC. The curriculum included modules on Environmental & Climate Justice, Beauty Justice, Clean Air & Climate, and Blue & Green Spaces. A special thanks to Dr. Yogani Govender, the Project Director for the EAGLE TCTAC.

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Lonnie Portis spoke at the Rally for Parks hosted by PlayFair at Union Square on Tuesday. The event was both a celebration of New York City green spaces and a rally to call on Mayor Adams to restore parks funding to 1% of the city budget - what it was before years of cutbacks, including under Mayor Adams. Sign the petition ([link removed]) to demand parks receive the funding it deserves and check out Lonnie speaking ([link removed]) at the rally!
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Uptown Chats: New Election Episode on Monday

If you haven’t already listened to our special Earth Day episode of the Uptown Chats podcast with Stephanie Caban from Riverside Park Conservancy ([link removed]) , it’s not too late to do so. But we wanted to give you a heads up that a new episode will be dropping on Monday, in which Jaron and Lonnie talk to Pamela Stewart-Martinez about the upcoming election ([link removed]) .
Listen Here ([link removed])
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