HEATWAVE: How to Stay Safe
WE ACT Working to Mitigate Disparate Impacts of Extreme Heat

New York City is experiencing the worst heatwave in nearly a decade, which forecasters expect will continue through Monday. As we have been sharing on social media this week, the city has online resources with helpful advice as well as an interactive map to find your nearest cooling center. We have also shared our own resources at weact.org/heat. This includes a video recording of Too Hot to Handle: The Reality of Extreme Heat in New York & How to Prepare Frontline Communities, which is a webinar we did earlier this summer to help our community better understand the causes of extreme heat events, their health impacts, and what we can do to address them. We shared our 2022 Extreme Heat Policy Agenda (PDF), explaining the work we are doing to mitigate the disparate impacts of extreme heat – the deadliest impact of climate change – on communities of color. According to the city’s Department of Health, Black New Yorkers are twice as likely to die from heat-related causes compared to other racial and ethnic groups. And we shared our 2021 Cooling Center Report (PDF), which includes recommendations we made to the city based on our extensive audit of cooling centers in Northern Manhattan last summer. Another useful resource to help you better understand extreme heat in the city is Summer in the City: Improving Community Resilience to Extreme Summertime Heat in Northern Manhattan (PDF), a report we issued last summer with NRDC that is full of community-driven recommendations.

Mapping & Replacing Lead Water Pipes in Buffalo
 
WE ACT joined Citizen Action of New York, Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Open Buffalo, BlueConduit, and NRDC to announce our community-based project to map and replace lead water pipes (lead service lines) in Buffalo. New York State has the highest rate of childhood lead poisoning in the United States. And studies show that Black children living below the poverty line are twice as likely to suffer from lead poisoning as poor white or Latino children. Read the press release here, watch the press conference here, and see some initial coverage here.

Learn How to Write Legislation
WE ACT's Intro to Writing Bills That Can Get Passed

Do you want to learn how to write a bill, or at least better understand the process? Come to our virtual workshop on how to write legislation that can get passed. This is the first of a two-part series. Join us and our team of experts at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, July 27. RSVP here.

Environmental Justice 101
Peggy Shepard & Bailey Helping Train the Next Generation

Peggy Shepard and Bailey will speak with participants of Start:Empowerment & Sustainable Brooklyn’s Redefining Justice in the Climate Movement summer school program for youth at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, August 9, providing them with an overview of environmental justice and how they can get involved. Learn more here.

Energy vs. Power: Visions for the Future
University of Maryland’s Symposium on Environmental Justice & Health Disparities

Join Dr. Sacoby Wilson, Director of the Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, & Health Center at the University of Maryland, for the 8th Annual Symposium on Environmental Justice and Health Disparities on August 11-13. This year’s theme is Energy vs. Power: Visions for the Future. Peggy Shepard is among the amazing list of speakers (PDF). August 11-12 will be virtual, and the August 13 sessions will be held in-person at the University of Maryland’s campus in College Park, Maryland. Click here to learn more and register.

Are You New to WE ACT?
Join Our Online New Member Orientation Session

We will be providing a virtual orientation for new members and those looking to learn more about WE ACT and the work we do. Join us at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, August 24. RSVP here.

New York Providing Utility Debt Relief for Low-Income Households

As you may recall, we have been advocating for utility debt relief because more than 1 million New Yorkers are struggling to pay their utility bills. This crisis has hit low-income communities and communities of color the hardest, as they must spend a disproportionate amount of their household income on utility bills. And with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting these same communities the hardest, it’s not surprising that many have found themselves behind on their utility bills.

Get Debt Relief
Thanks to the New York State Public Service Commission, Governor Kathy Hochul, and the State Legislature, $250 million will be distributed to those in need, helping pay down household utility debt. Current utility customers participating in the Energy Affordability Program (EAP) will receive a one-time bill credit that eliminates arrears accrued through May 1, 2022. But if you are in a low-income household that is not already enrolled in your utility’s EAP program, you can still enroll to receive this credit.

WE ACT Will Help
If you are interested in enrolling, sign up here for help in navigating this process. You can also contact Briana Carbajal at [email protected].

Office of the Utility Advocate
And we’re excited to announce that New York City has passed a bill, Intro 0372-2022, to establish an Office of the Utility Advocate. The Office would be charged with receiving feedback from New Yorkers on their utility providers, advocating for utility customers at public hearings, assisting utility customers with accessing financial help to pay their utility bills, and educating utility customers on their rights and methods to lower their utility bills.

Don't Miss the Bus!
Deadline Approaching to Help Your School Get Electric Buses

The deadline to apply for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program is approaching. Learn how you can help your school district transition to electric school buses, reducing air pollution and improving public health in your community. Learn more here.

Our Member BBQ
Photos from a Great Gathering

In case you missed our annual Member BBQ last Saturday, it was fantastic. We had a huge turnout and ate a lot of food. We were even joined by a number of elected officials, including U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat, New York State Senators Cordell Cleare and Robert Jackson, New York State Assembly Members Al Taylor and Manny De Los Santos, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and City Council Members Carmen De La Rosa and Shaun Abreu. Have a look at some of the photos here.