What is air pollution and why does it matter? Join Jaron and Lonnie as they explore how air quality impacts New York City with the help of WE ACT’s Community Organizer, Tyisha Smalls and Leslie Vasquez from South Bronx Unite.

Guest Information:

• Tyisha Smalls, WE ACT’s Community Organizer
• Leslie Vasquez, Clean Air Project Organizer at South Bronx Unite

EJ in the News Articles:

• WE ACT’s Community Air Quality Monitoring

• Health Disparities from Canadian Wildfire Smoke in NYC

References from the Show:

• Sign up for the South Bronx Unite Newsletter

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In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Jaron and Lonnie are joined by three special guests, including City Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa, to hear about their experience working in the environmental justice movement.

Guest Information:

• Manuel 'Manny' Salgado, WE ACT’s Environmental Justice Research Analyst
• Carmen De La Rosa, New York City Councilmember (District 10)
• Marileidy Pimentel Paniagua, WE ACT’s Bilingual Community Organizer

References from the Show:

• Poll of Black and Latino/x Communities on Climate Change and the Clean Energy Transition
• Justice40 Initiative
• Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST)
• WE ACT’s Civic Engagement Working Group (Bilingual)

You can also listen to this episode on YouTube.

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Lead is everywhere! Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about the long history of lead exposure and why it is an environmental justice issue, with help from two special guests.

Guest Information:

• Sonal Jessel, WE ACT’s Director of Policy
• Matthew Chachere, Former Staff Attorney at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC)

References from the Show:

• Information and referrals for children and pregnant women with elevated blood lead levels: Lead Poisoning Prevention and Treatment Program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center
• Information on lead exposure on the job for adults: Mt. Sinai Hospital Selikoff Centers for Occupational Health and Bellevue/NYU Occupational Environmental Medicine Clinic
• NYC Environment & Health Data Portal
• NYC 311: Make a complaint about lead paint
• NYC Department of Health Lead Poisoning Prevention Resources

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In the spirit of the holidays, Jaron and Lonnie are joined by two of the people who helped make WE ACT what it is today to tell their part of the WE ACT story.

Guest Information:

• Eric Goldstein, Senior Attorney and Director, New York City Environment, People & Communities Program
• Vernice Miller-Travis, Co-Founder of WE ACT

You can also listen to this episode on YouTube.

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Jaron and Lonnie are kicking off the new year with their first listener-requested topic - Rats! We all know those furry creatures are a nuisance, but are they also an environmental justice issue? Listen to find out!

Rat Resources:

• Got rats? Call 311 to file a complaint.
• View rat inspection results and follow-up actions on the Rat Information Portal. Look up rat inspection history by address, borough, block and lot (BBL) number or by neighborhood.
• Learn more about rat prevention by signing up for Rat Academy Trainings hosted by the NYC Department of Health.

Join us for WE ACT’s first membership meeting of the year. Register here!

You can also listen to this episode on YouTube.

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The war on rats continues! Jaron and Lonnie talk about rat contraceptives and other rat prevention strategies with the help of New York City Councilmember Shaun Abreu.

Rat Resources:

• Got rats? Call 311 to file a complaint.
• View rat inspection results and follow-up actions on our Rat Information Portal. Look up rat inspection history by address, borough, block and lot (BBL) number or by neighborhood.
• Learn more about rat prevention by signing up for Rat Academy Trainings hosted by the NYC Department of Health.

More Information About Rat Contraceptives:

• Brief history of rat contraceptives.
• How do rat contraceptives work?
• How does NYC use rat contraceptives now?
• Will rat contraceptives solve the rat problem?

You can also listen to this episode on YouTube.

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Show me the money! Jaron and Lonnie explore how the budget gets decided at the city and state level in New York with the help from WE ACT’s State Legislative Manager, Briana Carbajal.

Advocacy Resources:

• Albany Advocacy Day: What to Expect When Lobbying with WE ACT at the State Capitol

You can also listen to this episode on YouTube.

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New report alert! Join Jaron and Lonnie to learn about the first-ever EJNYC Report with help from Peggy Shepard, Executive Director and Co-Founder of WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

You can find the EJNYC Report on the NYC Mayor's Office of Climate & Environmental Justice website.

Report not released yet? Sign-up for WE ACT's Newsletter for updates!

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