JUST BREATHE: A Community Forum on Brooklyn’s Health, Energy and Environment

Saturday, May 17, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Currently, New York City stands in violation of federal Clean Air standards.

As a result, asthma rates in some of New York City’s communities of color are four times the national average.

We invite you to come hear first hand from medical, environmental, academic and civil rights experts how to reverse this disturbing trend and to become stakeholders in New York’s environmental and energy future.

An event brought to you by:

SHARE (Safe Healthy Affordable Reliable Energy), Brooklyn Branch NAACP and Medger Evers College

Location:

Medgar Evers College
Presidential Conference Center, Room B1008
1650 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn

RSVP to Craig Wilson at rsvp@shareny.org

Tuesday May 6th is Idle-Free Day in NYC!

Press Conference:
Tuesday, May 6th
10am
City Hall Steps
Go here to see the flyer for the press conference.

As we know from the post this week, NYC’s air quality is, well, ahem, sub-par. Okay, it’s horrible. 43% of Brooklynites are at risk of health problems each day because of pollution — most of which is from vehicles’ tailpipes.

Find out more truths about idling and how it harms your health, hurts air quality, wastes fuel, and is against the law!

Join a growing chorus of New Yorkers who are tired of breathing exhaust from idling cars and trucks!

Here are some resources on what you can do if you are: an individual, a school, a community group, a business, or a policy-maker.

Stay tuned at the IFNY website or on the Idle-Free NYC blog.

This past April, the DOT presented their designs to Community Board 8 for a re-designed Vanderbilt Avenue. While the idea of safe bike lanes and greenstreets in their plan was well-meaning, the designs’ plans for on-street bike lanes have struck a chord with residents in the area and bike enthusiasts.

A petition has just started circulating where constituents and NYC residents can make their voice known on the re-development of the bike paths. Here is your chance to help make the streets of Brooklyn safer.

From the petition:

We are gracious that bike lanes were included in the design. However, these are on-street, unprotected bike lanes. In other words, these are dangerous and thus NOT the gold standard.

We, the undersigned, therefore demand a redesign to include protected bike lanes (either on opposite sides of the Avenue, or immediately adjacent to each other, on one side of the street.)

This project is at the point where your voice is needed.

Please sign the petition here: Safer Streets on Vanderbilt Avenue

Full text of the petition and a little back-story after the jump…

So our air got WORSE last year? How did that happen? Not good.

According to State of the Air: 2008 — the American Lung Association’s annual report on air quality country-wide — NYC is now the 8th most polluted city in the country in regards to ozone, aka smog.

We are now the 13th most polluted city in the country for short-term particulates, aka soot. Soot!

We used to be the 10th-worst and 17th-worst polluted in those categories respectively, but we seem to have actually gotten worse and not better in the course of 2007.

People at risk from poor air quality in King’s County alone:

Pediatric Asthma: 60,806
Adult Asthma: 156,821
Chronic Bronchitis: 78,575
Emphysema: 33,462
Cardiovascular Disease: 615,491
Diabetes: 141,024

That is over 1 million people who are at risk of poor health every single day due to pollution in King’s County. That is a whopping 43% of the population that is at risk. It deserves the “D” grade that it gets.

Read the report’s key findings to read some pretty shocking stats about the state of the air in this country, but also some positive plans for action on how we can improve our air quality.

Read the whole post, and find out how you can take action, by clicking below…

Get out to the Peace Fair happening right now at Long Island University in Brooklyn!

Fifth Annual Brooklyn Peace Fair
Saturday, April 26, 2008, 11 am–6 pm
Long Island University Brooklyn Campus
1 University Plaza (corner of Flatbush and DeKalb Aves)
Admission free! (must bring photo ID)

Speakers and presenters include Debbie Almontaser, State Senator Eric Adams, Congressman Major Owens

Performers: Abiodun (Last Poets), Aja Monet (Def Poet), Ajah-Yo, Amanda Diva and Friends, Dragons of Zynth, Invincible (Anomolies), Mental Notes, Queen God!s, Ra Hendrix, Remi Kanazi, Stephanie Rooker, Dancing Peace, the Raging Grannies and Their Daughters