WE ACT For Environmental Justice offers air quality readings for Upper Manhattan neighborhoods
NEW YORK - As we continue to experience air quality concerns across our area, a Harlem-based nonprofit is monitoring one of the city's hotspots. WE ACT for Environmental Justice steps in to fill a gap in city and state data.
Outside an old building at Amsterdam and West 152nd Street, new technology is hard at work, sharing real-time readings of the haze billowing above.
"We're breathing in this toxic irritant, and it's like getting a sunburn on your lungs is the way that the EPA describes it," said WE ACT environmental health director Dr. Micaela Martinez. "It's like a chemical irritation inside your lungs. And that's why it's really harmful to people's health."
WE ACT has installed the only air quality monitor between City College and the George Washington Bridge, plus an indoor counterpart, checking levels of particles from Canadian wildfires as well as changes to the ozone.
"For example, in the evening when we'd have trucks going by to do their deliveries, there's a huge spike at night," said Jaron Burke, an environmental health manager for WE ACT.
"A lot of homes, especially Uptown, the air we breathe indoors is pretty much a match to the air we breathe outdoors," Martinez added.
They hope the data they collect can be connected to the neighborhood's higher rates of respiratory illness, especially ahead of the implementation of congestion pricing.
"We can see if that burden is indeed being shifted Uptown and if it matches the models that the state and everyone else put together," said Burke.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation supplements its own monitors with Aclima cars that drive throughout the boroughs 24 hours a day. The statewide initiative began in July 2022 and will end this summer.
"We can have very accurate information and data because we constantly pass through the street," said Ramses Diaz, a fleet technician for Aclima.
Diaz brought one of the cars to WE ACT to show students in the summer program how their cars capture air quality measurements for monitoring. Aclima shares this data with the state quarterly.
"A lot of different aspects of our life are impacting our health, and I think ... that knowledge should be available to all people in communities, and we should be able to have the resources to address them," said WE ACT student leader Samuel Calderon.
WE ACT recommends neighbors sensitive to changes in air quality create a safe space at home, where an air filter can flow and windows and vents stay closed.
WE ACT suggests checking the air quality as often as you check the weather, and plan accordingly. To see the current readings, click here.
WE ACT also has a new monthly Uptown Chats podcast discussing local climate concerns. To hear episodes, click here.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene sent CBS New York the following statement:
"We encourage New Yorkers to learn about air quality, and community efforts like those at WEACT can help raise awareness of and address local sources of air pollution. As a city, we monitor street-level air quality through the New York City Community Air Survey to understand differences between neighborhoods and can provide context for understanding local monitoring data. The data are available online in tables and reports for public use. Additionally, for real-time information we encourage New Yorkers to go to AirNow.gov, which can help us all navigate fluctuating air quality."
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