Three South Bronx Groups Win Funding for Environmental Justice Projects
Mott Haven Herald
By: Tatiana Pinheiro
Three South Bronx groups will share $300,000 in state funding for separate environmental justice initiatives that include monitoring localized air pollution, tree planting and engaging young people in environmental action.
The Bronx is Blooming, Stay/Nos Quedamos Inc, Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Inc., were the three South Bronx organizations chosen to receive the funds, as well two others in the North Bronx. Each organization has received $100,000 to assist their mission. The grants are among $3.5 million being distributed statewide to community groups in an effort to redress past environmental injustices. Representatives from the state Department of Environmental Conservation recently joined environmental justice group WE ACT and other community partners at the corner of Cypress Avenue and E. 135th Street on Nov. 20, to celebrate the new grants.In a series of statements, officials addressed everything from environmental racism, poor urban planning, health and more. Arif Ullah, executive director of South Bronx Unite, began by addressing the ongoing stream of traffic caused by the chain of overlapping highways in the area. One main highway, the Bruckner Expressway, he said, has been a direct cause of the poor air quality in the South Bronx. “Surrounding us is polluting infrastructure, what you hear and why you can’t hear me well is because there’s a constant stream of traffic that’s going right past us. This is suffocating the people of the South Bronx and impacting their health in deep ways,” he said.
