White House Forum & Year-end Appeal
December, 2010 - Vol 1, Issue 7
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In This Issue: White House Forum and Year-End Appeal
Greetings!
On December 15, 2010, NYC-EJA Executive Director Eddie Bautista was privileged to speak on a panel at the White House's historic Forum on Environmental Justice.  This unprecedented event attracted EJ leaders from across the country, with presentations by Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretaries Hilda Solis (Labor), Kathleen Sebellius, (Health and Human Services), Ken Salazar (Interior), and Janet Napolitano (Homeland Security), as well as EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House Council on Environmental Quality Director Nancy Sutley. NYC-EJA board member (UPROSE Executive Director and Chair of U.S.E.P.A.'s National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee) Elizabeth Yeampierre gave opening remarks.

 Eddie spoke on the Healthy Communities and Place-based Initiatives panel, and requested federal assistance to support local efforts by City officials and NYC-EJA members to reform the Significant Maritime Industrial Area's (SMIA's) designation found in the NYC Waterfront Revitalization Program (WRP).  NYC-EJA has called for the reform of SMIA's, a WRP designation designed to encourage the clustering of polluting infrastructure and other uses that utilize toxic materials and chemical storage - designations all found in low income/communities of color susceptible to storm surges.  NYC-EJA board members Joan Levine (director of the West Harlem-Morningside Heights Sanitation Coalition) and Yolanda Gonzalez (Executive Director of Nos Quedamos) also attended the Forum.
White House panel 12.15.10
Eddie @ White House 12.15.10


Fighting for cleaner and just communities - one block at a time,
The NYC Environmental Justice Alliance
Friends

As we approach the New Year, we ask your help to sustain our campaigns for environmental justice.  Please make a year-end gift to NYC-EJA by making a tax-deductible online donation at www.NYC-EJA.org.

Founded in 1991, NYC-EJA, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, is NYC's only federation of community-based organizations fighting for environmental justice.  Just this year alone, NYC-EJA:

1) Expanded the City's Map to include private, State and federal solid waste and transportation facilities - our advocacy before the Charter Revision Commission culiminated in a 2010 Election Day victory, with 83% of NY'ers who voted agreeing to have our City Maps truly reflect our communities environmental burdens;

2) Introduced environmental justice proposals in NYS's Climate Action Plan - NYC-EJA's participation in NYS's Climate Action Plan Integration Panel and Technical Work Groups added important recommendations to protect our State's most vulnerable communities;

3) Highlighted inequities and potential storm surge exposures via the NYC Comprehensive Waterfront Plan/Vision 2020 - NYC-EJA proposed reforms to protect EJ communities from the clustering of polluting industries and infrastructure within storm surge zones

But we need your help to continue our successes.  Your tax deductible online contribution can be made securely on the Donation page at our website www.NYC-EJA.org (don't forget the hyphen!). Your donation will support NYC-EJA's ongoing campaigns, including new challenges posed by climate change.  You can also mail a check payable to: New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, 166A 22nd Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11232.

Become an EJ Friend - $50.00
Become an EJ Ally - $100.00
Become an EJ Champion - $200.00 (our 200x200 campaign!)

Happy Holidays, y hasta la proxima,
Eddie Bautista
Executive Director