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** Albany Advocacy Day: Pass the NY HEAT Act
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J ([link removed]) oin us ([link removed]) TOMORROW - Tuesday, February 4th - for our first Albany Advocacy Day of the year, which will focus on passing the New York Home Energy Affordable Transition ([link removed]) (NY HEAT) Act. NY HEAT will cap household energy costs, unlock billions of dollars in funding for clean energy, and end wasteful subsidies to gas utilities.

We will be taking a bus up to Albany and scheduling meetings with key state legislators to make sure we get this bill over the finish line. It passed the Senate last year, and we now have more than 70 sponsors in the Assembly, so we are close. Watch this video ([link removed]) to learn more about our Advocacy Days, and then come help us convince a few more legislators and Governor Kathy Hochul to support the NY HEAT Act! RSVP ([link removed])

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** Climate, Jobs, & Justice New. York CIty Mayoral Candidate Forum
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The New York City Mayor is up for reelection this year, and the race is already a hot one – with nearly a dozen candidates vying for the job and questions surrounding the incumbent. You don’t want to miss our first Mayoral Candidate Forum of the season on Thursday, February 6th from 6:30 - 8:30 PM at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, located at 2 West 64th Street (West 64th & Central Park West). The venue is accessible, and simultaneous English/Spanish translation will be available. We are co-hosting this event with more than 20 other groups (see the full list ([link removed]) ) so seats will fill up fast. Be sure to RSVP today as we ask each candidate questions about environmental issues impacting our community. RSVP ([link removed])
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** February 2025 Membership Meeting:
Celebrate Black History Month!
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Join us on Saturday, February 8th from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM for our February Membership Meeting at the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, located at 454 West 155th Street. We will have a special celebration of Black History Month, including a presentation on the history of the environmental justice movement in Northern Manhattan’s Black communities courtesy of Columbia University Professor Dr. John Williams. We will also be honoring some special guests and have invited several of our Federal elected officials to join us. We hope you will, too! RSVP ([link removed])
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** Breathe Free: Environmental Justice from New Orleans to Harlem
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What is the role of science in community-based environmental justice initiatives? Cameron Clarke will join a Columbia University panel discussion of environmental activists sharing their experiences reclaiming outdoor spaces for their community. Fellow panelists include Healthy Gulf Climate Justice Organizer Sage Michael, musician and New Orleans for Lincoln Beach Founder Tricia Wallace, and artist and activist Reggie Ford, along with Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Columbia’s Center for Science and Society Hadeel Assali, who will moderate. The panel will be on Tuesday, February 11th, from 11:40 AM to 12:55 PM in the West Atrium of Columbia’s Forum, which is located at 601 West 125th Street (Broadway & West 125th). RSVP ([link removed])
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** Albany Advocacy Day: Beauty Justice
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Are you concerned about the toxic chemicals commonly found in cosmetics and other personal care products? Did you know that many of the most toxic products are aggressively marketed towards people of color? Do you want to help do something about this? Travel with us to Albany on Tuesday, March 4th to lobby for legislation to get toxic chemicals out of these products!

We will lobby for the New York State Beauty Justice Act ([link removed]) , which will ban the most dangerous toxic chemicals from the majority of personal care products. And we will also be lobbying for legislation to eliminate toxic substances PFAS and formaldehyde from menstrual products.

Join us in Albany to demand stronger health protections in the beauty and personal care industries. On Tuesday, March 4th, we will be taking a bus from our office (7 AM) up to the State Capitol to meet with key state legislators, returning later that day (5 PM). We will provide a briefing on these bills and a quick tutorial on talking to elected officials as well as a free lunch and transportation. Watch this brief video ([link removed]) to learn what these Albany trips are all about. RSVP ([link removed])
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** Earth Day 5K Fun Run: Support WE ACT!
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Come celebrate Earth Day, help raise funds for WE ACT, and run or walk for a healthier, greener community at our annual Earth Day 5K fundraiser. We will be holding the fun run at Randall’s Island on Saturday, April 19th. You can run or walk, and enter as an individual or as a team. The event is open to everyone, including all ages and abilities. Early bird tickets are now on sale for $25! To take advantage of this special offer, register today ([link removed]) using the promo code “earlybird” when prompted. RSVP ([link removed])
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**
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We continue our campaign to call out the new administration’s war on equity, with Peggy Shepard appearing in a CNN ([link removed]) news story on the potential impacts this will have on our communities. In the story, which was also shared on Philanthropy News Digest's ([link removed]) Candid platform as well as the Yahoo News ([link removed]) platform, she made our views clear:

“By instituting executive orders that really failed to address these issues, they are, in effect, making systemic racism a national policy,” Peggy Shepard, a former co-chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, told CNN.

“We have to fight back against the undermining of our efforts,” Shepard said. “They’re obviously making this systemic racism a cornerstone of the administration and working to eliminate so many of these policies and programs that support a safe and clean environment, so it will have a harmful effect.”

Peggy also spoke to the Associated Press ([link removed]) about how this will impact community-based organizations and the renewed importance of state action. That story generated coverage in multiple news outlets, including the Washington Post ([link removed]) , the Boston Globe ([link removed]) , the Detroit News ([link removed]) , the Chicago Sun-Times ([link removed])
, and NBC4-TV ([link removed]) in Washington, DC. Both ABC News ([link removed]) and PBS News ([link removed]) shared another Associated Press ([link removed]) story that cited one of her earlier quotes.

She echoed the need for state and local action in another E&E News ([link removed]) story, which focused on the administration’s inability to influence such legislation.

And Marileidy Pimentel Paniagua, who somehow manages to find time between her work and family to be a Columbia University School of Professional Studies CUNY Fellow and Master of Science in Sustainability Management student, was recently profiled by Columbia ([link removed]) about the work she is doing here at WE ACT.
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** Uptown Chats: Congestion Pricing
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We posted a new episode of our bi-monthly podcast, Uptown Chats, last week. In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie take a look at congestion pricing, which has finally been implemented in New York City. They weigh the pros and cons for environmental justice communities with help from New York State Senator Liz Krueger. Listen ([link removed])
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EarthShare

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