Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

clean air

clean air

  • Wildfire Smoke Should Help All New Yorkers Understand the Need for Clean Air Solutions Like This One

    Wildfire smoke upon New York City (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    There is an old expression: “Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.” As someone who has lived in and around public housing in Western Queens for more than 40 years and has dedicated my life’s work to this special community, we have lived through a very long night, but now we can sense the sunrise, and we are determined not to miss it.

    The recent unhealthy air from the smoke of Canadian wildfires have given all New

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  • New Yorkers Deserve a Breath of Fresh Air

    Kids at rest (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    While New Yorkers have been battling the COVID-19 pandemic, another public health epidemic is on the horizon that similarly affects their capacity to breathe freely: asthma. In 2019,over 1.4 million New Yorkers were living with asthma, and this number has likely grown since then. Over...

  • The Pandemic Preys Upon Pollution’s Victims and Shows the Power Path Ahead

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    Governor Cuomo near Indian Point (photo: governor's office)


    A silent and invisible killer, the novel coronavirus attacks the most fundamental human function that sustains life: our ability to breathe. To breathe properly, human beings need healthy lungs and clean air, specifically oxygen. And if lungs are compromised, there’s an even greater need for clean air. 

    As deaths in New York from COVID-19 surpass 17,000, those living in the pandemic epicenter face the compounding threat of substantially increased air pollution due to the imminent closure of one

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