September Membership Meeting: Come Learn About the EJNYC Report & How You Can Help Advance Environmental Justice in NYC

Our September Membership Meeting will be on Saturday, September 13th from 10:00 AM-1:00 PM at the Most Worshipful Prince Hall, located at 454 West 155th Street. With special guests from the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice, we will be discussing New York City’s EJNYC Report and how you can get involved in helping the city develop its EJNYC Plan, which – with your involvement – will become a comprehensive citywide action plan to address the issues identified in the report. After the meeting, we encourage you to join us as we canvass select parks to raise awareness of and support for them (see below). RSVP

Northern Manhattan Parks Canvassing: Help Raise Awareness & Support

Whether providing cooling benefits in the face of extreme heat or absorbing runoff from flash flooding, parks and green spaces are a vital tool to help lessen the impacts of climate change on a community. That is why – as part of our Our Parks, Our Backyard initiative – we and the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund are going to be canvassing in select parks on Saturday, Sept. 13th from 1:15-3:15 PM. We will be visiting Jackie Robinson, St. Nicolas, and Riverside Parks to engage Northern Manhattan park users to raise awareness of our parks, particularly when it comes to climate change and parks investment. We are meeting at the Most Worshipful Prince Hall, located at 454 West 155th Street, right after our September Membership Meeting (see above). Staff members will accompany volunteers to each of these three parks and provide hands-on training along the way. RSVP

We all deserve personal care and beauty products that are safe - free from cancer-causing and other harmful chemicals - no matter where we live, work, or shop. Click here to tell Congress to support the 2025 Safer Beauty Bill Package!

The temperatures may have cooled this week, but extreme heat is still the deadliest impact of climate change, and communities of color bear the brunt of it. Click here to urge New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to call for a vote to implement a Cool Pavement Pilot, which will prioritize installation of cool pavement technologies in neighborhoods that face the highest risk of harm from extreme heat – like ours!

Update: Legionnaires’ Disease in Harlem

The outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Harlem continues to grow worse. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has reported that there are now 111 confirmed cases - including 6 deaths and 7 hospitalizations - in zip codes 10027, 10030, 10035, 10037, and 10039. The symptoms, which can take effect anywhere from 2-10 days, include cough, fever, chills, muscle aches, and shortness of breath. If you do not have a health care provider, visit NYC Health + Hospitals or call 311 or 844-NYC-4NYC (844-692-4692).

Legionnaires’ disease is a pneumonia (lung infection) caused by breathing in bacteria (Legionella) that is found naturally in the environment and grows in warm water. The City notes that the disease cannot be passed from person-to-person, nor from drinking water, showering, or even individual air conditioning units. People can only get sick by breathing in water vapor containing the bacteria. And those who are over 50-years-old, smoke, have chronic lung disease, or have a weakened immune system are at greatest risk.

Learn more about this cluster of cases in English, Spanish, and other languages. And learn more about the disease here.

Help Raise Awareness

You can download, print, and share this poster in your building. And here is a postcard you can share with your friends and neighbors.

Peggy Shepard was featured in an E&E News article on how state actions are proving effective and out of reach of the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine environmental justice. She emphasized the importance of state and local laws, and raised concern that these may prove a challenge in states where the fossil fuel industry has significant influence.

The Canary Media article about the completion of rulemaking for New York State’s All Electric Building Act, which we helped pass, was also picked up by the Cool Down and the Optimist Daily.

Help Build the Movement: Become a Cecil Corbin-Mark Fellow

Applications are now open for our Cecil Corbin-Mark Fellowship. This fellow will be part of our National Organizing Department, based in our New York City office, and focusing on environmental health and the energy sector. This is a great opportunity to help build our movement at a time when it is under attack. Download the Job Description

Mariclaire Joseph (left) and Marciely Alvarado (right) were at the 22nd Annual Rose Court Tenant Association Block Party in Inwood with Assemblyman Manny De Los Santos on August 16th, engaging with members of the community to educate them about the work we are doing and how they can get involved.