FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2020
Contact: Chris Dobens, 212-410-1963, chris@weact.org
HARLEM, NY — Kerene Tayloe, Director of Federal Legislative Affairs at WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT), has been appointed to the New York State Climate Action Council’s Transportation Advisory Panel. In response to this appointment, Ms. Tayloe said:
“Transportation is New York City’s second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and it is not a coincidence that the air pollution and asthma rates are so high in low-income communities and communities of color like those we organize in Northern Manhattan. For far too long, we have had to bear a disproportionate amount of air pollution from buses, with six of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s seven Manhattan bus depots being located north of 100th Street. This has had major health impacts for those who live and work in our community. For example, six neighborhoods suffering from the highest rates of asthma in Manhattan are also located north of 100th Street.
“That is why transportation equity has been at the core of WE ACT’s work for decades. From our “Dirty Diesel” campaign which reduced bus emissions in New York City by 95 percent in the 1990s, our empowering community members to advocate for the LEEDS-certified Mother Clare Hale bus depot, and most recently our work to bring electric buses to our schools and communities, we understand the need for an equity lens in expanding transportation opportunities and infrastructure for the residents of Northern Manhattan.
“We will put our experience addressing the health impacts of transportation emissions to use as we advocate for greater transparency in the Transportation and Climate Initiative. Specifically, we want to make sure that its health benefits and investment opportunities are made available to low-income communities and communities of color across the state in a way that is both measurable and enforceable. We also want to better understand how it will work in coordination with New York State’s ground-breaking Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
“I thank Governor Cuomo and the Council for the opportunity to bring the lived experiences and environmental concerns of WE ACT members and other residents of Northern Manhattan to this panel, and I am looking forward to advancing just and equitable transportation solutions that benefit all New Yorkers.”
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WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York City and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.