WE ACT for Environmental Justice: Creating cleaner spaces for all New Yorkers

By Nicole Cornell

WE ACT for Environmental Justice, a Northern Manhattan-based organization, was formed in 1988 to fight the placement of a sewage treatment plant in West Harlem.

WeAct is now the lead organizer of the national Environmental Justice Leadership Forum and has a Federal Policy office in Washington D.C. with ties to the White House, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Congress.

The Biden Administration has been putting a greater focus on environmental justice and placing officials with a background in environmentalism in positions in the Department of the Interior and the EPA. On March 29th, WE ACT’s Co-Founder and Executive Director Peggy Shepard was named to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. The Council will provide advice and recommendations to the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council on how to address issues of environmental injustice.

Jeff Jones, a communications consultant for ACE NY and a board member of WeAct since 2008, says the growing awareness of environmental injustice at the national level is “very exciting, hopeful, and impressive.” When he got involved with WeAct, the group was working to remove diesel bus depots from northern Manhattan which posed a health risk to residents of the lower income communities there. WeAct also worked to transition the diesel buses to natural gas, and is now working on taking that to the next level, supporting the use of more electric buses.

WeAct is currently working with PUSH Buffalo on the Out of Gas project which aims to replace gas stoves with climate friendly stoves in affordable and public housing units. Older gas stoves are bad for younger people’s health, especially in older apartment buildings with poor ventilation. This is a pilot project at the moment, and they are looking for financial support and landlords who are willing to make these changes.

Another of WeAct’s current campaigns is Better Buildings NY which focuses on achieving clean energy goals outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act through making transitions to electric power. Buildings produce more greenhouse gases than cars in New York, creating the need to transition to boilers, furnaces, water heaters, and stoves powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels.

WeAct also works with the Just Green Partnership, which aims to adjust the laws governing how chemicals are regulated and marketed in New York State. The partnership’s goal is to build a better movement for health and environmental justice in the state. In addition to these projects, they are working to decrease lead contamination in housing and drinking water in schools.

During the week of April 18th , WeAct is hosting a virtual 5k fundraising event. This will be in celebration of the 50th Earth Day Anniversary and will help fund the group’s efforts to develop climate resilience in frontline communities in Northern New York City and across the United States. WeAct will be participating as a team and joining in the fundraising and awareness efforts. You can show your support for WeAct and the ACE NY 5k team here.