Only Major Climate Bill Passed in Albany This Year Wilting on Hochul’s Desk
There are higher rates of air pollution in neighborhoods around highways like the Cross Bronx Expressway | Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
The City
By: Samantha Maldonado
New York could have the power to say ‘no’ to more pollution in certain communities — but first the governor must get on board.
The bill is the only major legislation focused on both fighting climate change and protecting vulnerable communities that has cleared both the state Senate and Assembly since the passage of the landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019.
The bill passed in early May and aims to put a stop to racially discriminatory practices that have allowed polluting facilities — like warehouses and waste transfer stations — to proliferate in neighborhoods where non-white and lower-income people live, exacerbating their health and environmental burdens.
Multiple studies have found that people of color are generally exposed to higher levels of air pollution because of the legacy of urban planning that disproportionately harms minorities.
