GENERAL INFORMATION
"The African American Environmentalist Association and Norris McDonald have been of great assistance to me in formulating environmental and energy policies." -- Rev Al Sharpton
New York City
New York City is a city of over 7.5 million people, covering 301 sq miles. More than 18 million people live in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area. New York City is the largest city in the United States and one of the busiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world. The capital is Albany, 156 miles to the north. New York City consists of five distinct boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
South Bronx
Population: Approx 1.2 million, Unemployment: 9.8%, Household income: $22,225, No Superfund sites, Numerous TRI sites, and 16 waste transfer stations (AAEA's 1st Bronx Office was two blocks from one).
Description of a Changing Bronx
This opportunity for change was dependent, however, on fair play. And fair play was not usually what was given to urban minorities during the 1970s and 1980s. This was a time of ``urban renewal,'' yet it was also the time of most strife for those who had inhabited urban areas the longest. Trisha Rose tells of the plight faced by the South Bronx in the 1970s as New York dealt with revitalizing its downtown. Those who bore the brunt of this effort were the minority inhabitants of the Bronx, completely overlooked, and quite literally overpassed. The construction of Cross-Bronx Expressway forced the sudden relocation of 170,000 people already strained by their tenuous hold on viability. According to Rose, ``ethnic and racial transition in the South Bronx was not a gradual process ... instead, it was a brutal process of community destruction and relocation.'' This sudden upheaval of so many lives led to chaos. Forced to start with ``few city resources, fragmented leadership, and limited political power,'' there was little urban residents could do to right their neighborhoods. By 1977 the South Bronx was portrayed in the media ``as lawless zones where crime is sanctioned and chaos bubbles just below the surface.''
Source: Eric Richardson, eworld, "Hip-Hop and Law & Order"
Green Building Design Competition for New York City
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 are sponsoring the Green Building Design Competition for New York City.
The purpose of this competition is to establish New York City as the leader in America's green building movement by: 1) showcasing how green building principles can be incorporated into new and existing New York City building stock; 2) encouraging the development of new ideas in green building design by providing a venue for those people dedicated to green building principles to share their experiences; and 3) uncovering and highlighting the impediments to green building in New York City so that government can better understand the changes needed to facilitate the proliferation of green buildings in New York City. **IMPORTANT DATES**
The deadline for expressing intent to submit is November 10, 2003.
The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2004.
For more information on this exciting program, please visit the following websites:
http://www.epa.gov/region02/
http://www.nyc.gov/html/moec/html/competition.html
TAXI DRIVER
The average New York cabbie probably needs to make a minimum of $100 per day, seven days per week, to cover the lease and make a living. Gas is a big expense, about $25 per day, especially when gas is around $2.00 a gallon and you have to run the air conditioner. Take home is around $75 a day. So tips are important in the profit equation. Please tip cabbies 20 percent so that they can make a decent living. Cabbies do not have much discretionary income. They make about $30,000 per year (if everything goes right).
New York City just instituted a rate hike for the cabbies so they will get $2 to $3 more an hour. Maybe cabbies will catch a Broadway play and get dental and medical insurance. Now if we could just get all of them in electric vehicles, New York's air would be a little better.
