"20 years of fighting for cleaner and more just communities - one block at a time..."
- Waterfront Justice Project/ Sandy Regional Assembly Recovery Agenda
The current Waterfront Revitalization Plan encourages industrial and maritime development in six areas called Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas (SMIAs). NYC-EJA will work with City officials to reform the SMIA designation. http://nyc-eja.org/?page_id=32 - Charter Revision and Fair Share
In March 2010, Mayor Bloomberg appointed the NYC Charter Revision Commission to comprehensively review and recommend changes to the City Charter for voter referenda approval. Two critical policy areas for environmental justice advocates are the fair share and Section 197-a provisions of the Charter. http://nyc-eja.org/?page_id=32 - Brownfield Redevelopment and Advocacy
NYC-EJA is working with members and ally organizations on several brownfield policy initiatives, including continued implementation of the City's Office of Environmental Remediation and proposals for state and federal collaborations. http://nyc-eja.org/?page_id=32 - NYS Climate Action Plan
As a result of NYC-EJA's advocacy, the DEC agreed to add EJ representatives to the Technical Work Groups and Integration Advisory Panel. http://nyc-eja.org/?page_id=32 - Solid Waste/Waste Transfer Stations
Long championed by NYC-EJA and sister coalition OWN, the 20-year Solid Waste Management Plan (or SWMP) adopted by Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council in 2006 was an innovative plan that relied for the first time on principles of environmental justice and borough equity. http://nyc-eja.org/?page_id=32 - Energy & Green Jobs Advocacy
NYC-EJA seeks to ensure that job creation is linked to environmental justice, and to that end has worked with partners like the Center for Working Families to maximize green job opportunities for communities of color. http://nyc-eja.org/?page_id=32
Learn More About Our Ongoing Campaigns
Recovery from the ground up: Strategies for community-based resiliency in New York and New Jersey
On January 26, 2013 nearly 200 participants representing over 40 community, environmental justice, labor and civic groups from neighborhoods most impacted by Superstorm Sandy (and most vulnerable to future storm surges) convened the Sandy Regional Assembly to strategize how government officials should implement a Sandy rebuilding program. See:Â NY1 News coverage of Sandy Regional Assembly January 26thÂ
On Monday April 1, 2013, these groups from across the NY-NJ region presented their Sandy Regional Assembly Recovery Agenda – a mix of suggested capital projects and policy recommendations – to advance 3 goals:
1) Integrate regional rebuilding efforts with local resiliency priorities;
2) Strengthen vulnerable communities & reduce public health threats, and
3)Â Expand community-based climate change planning, disaster preparedness & response.
The Sandy Regional Agenda will be presented to the federal Sandy Rebuilding Task Force chaired by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Governors Cuomo & Christie, and Mayor Bloomberg.
Sandy Regional Assembly Recovery Agenda in the news:
. Fox 5 News:
Groups want more public input on storm rebuilding
. NY1:
Community-based task force offers advice on hurricane recovery
. City Limits:
A Grassroots Plan for Surviving SuperstormsÂ
. The New York World:
Rebuilding from the ground upÂ
. WBAI Pacifica Radio 99.5FM:
A regional coalition demands a role in federal, state and city discussions over rebuilding after Hurricane SandyÂ
. Gotham Gazette:
Today’s Report: ‘Strategies for community-based resiliency in New York and New Jersey’
. News 12 Long Island:
Sandy Regional Assembly recommends grassroots Recovery Agenda
. Rooflines, The Shelterforce Blog. Published by The National Housing Institute
Recovery from the Grassroots
The collective voices of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance have more clout and recognition than the individual organizations standing alone. NYC-EJA’s past accomplishments illustrates this.
NYC-EJA led efforts for a comprehensive policy to address solid waste and the impacts of dozens of waste transfer stations on a handful of low income communities of color throughout New York City.
NYC-EJA and its members were key stakeholders and participants in the Bloomberg Administration’s creation of PlaNYC 2030, New York City’s long-term growth and sustainability plan, which has become an international model for large cities.
NYC-EJA was instrumental in the successful passage of the 2003 NYS Brownfields remediation legislation, which created Brownfield Opportunity Area, or BOA, grants for brownfield remediation planning efforts by communities across NYS.
NYC-EJA’s Open Space Equity Project successfully documented open space disparities for communities of color and lobbied the City to create new playgrounds and waterfront parks in underserved neighborhoods.
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