WE ACT for Environmental Justice (formerly known as West Harlem Environmental Action) is a nonprofit organization that works to protect the environment and promote fairness in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was started in March 1988 to help the community oppose the city’s operation of the North River Sewage Treatment Plant and the decision to build a sixth bus depot in Northern Manhattan.
WE ACT focuses on solving environmental justice problems in Northern Manhattan. The group works on issues such as clean air, public health, pollution, and fair use of land. It uses methods like educating people, working with officials, using legal actions, and reaching out to the community to achieve its goals.
Today, WE ACT is part of a group negotiating a Community Benefits Agreement with Columbia University as part of the school’s Manhattanville expansion plan. The organization is also fixing up an old brownstone building to turn it into the WE ACT Environmental Justice Center. This building will have office space, areas for programs, and show examples of eco-friendly building methods.
History and organization
In April 1986, the North River Sewage Treatment Plant started operating on eight blocks of riverside land in West Harlem, Manhattan. After it opened, people living in the area, who were mostly African American and Latino, reported bad smells coming from the plant and increased risks to their health. Peggy Shepard, a local resident who became a political district leader in 1985, asked local and state officials to study the health effects of the plant's emissions. The study showed that the fumes could cause breathing problems if people were exposed to high levels, which led to anger and demands from West Harlem residents for repairs to the facility.
In 1988, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) tried to build a second bus depot in West Harlem near a middle school. The MTA faced strong opposition from the community, including protests, legal actions, and research showing the project's risks.
At this time, the problems caused by the sewage plant and the proposed bus depot highlighted the need for a group to address how environmental dangers unfairly affected the minority community. Because of this, in March 1988, Peggy Shepard, Vernice Miller-Travis, and Chuck Sutton created WE ACT to provide resources and support to the community. Their goal was to help people fight environmental unfairness and improve health conditions in Northern Manhattan.
WE ACT focuses on involving community members in its work and partnerships. It uses research that includes input from local people to solve environmental justice issues and improve the health and quality of life in the area. The group also works to teach community members and raise awareness about issues that affect their health and well-being.
Early work
The North River Sewage Treatment Plant was first proposed in 1955 for a site along the Hudson River at 72nd Street, a neighborhood that was mostly white and wealthy. However, the site was rejected because Robert Moses, a powerful city official, opposed it. He believed the area was needed for a plan that would include the Metropolitan Opera, the NYC Ballet, Avery Fisher Music Hall, and the Juilliard School of Music. As a result, the plant was moved to a different location on the Hudson River waterfront, between West 137th Street and West 145th Street in West Harlem. At the time, this area was a historic, middle-class neighborhood with a majority African-American population.
In 1968, local residents learned the plant would be built in their community. They were upset because they worried it would cause pollution and harm their neighborhood. Despite their concerns, construction began in 1972 and finished in 1985. When the plant started operating in 1986, people reported bad smells coming from the facility that affected an area nearly two square miles in size. Many residents stayed indoors to avoid the fumes, fearing health problems from exposure. A study by the New York Department of Energy Conservation found the plant released hydrogen sulfide levels 28% higher than allowed.
Community members became more active in 1988, when WE ACT co-founders Peggy Shepard, Chuck Sutton, and others were arrested for blocking traffic near the plant as a protest. In 1991, after a lawsuit by WE ACT and the Natural Resources Defense Council, city officials acknowledged that the plant had no odor control systems, a major design flaw. In 1993, a legal agreement was reached with Mayor David Dinkins. This agreement included $1.1 million for environmental projects in West Harlem and made WE ACT a monitor of a $55 million plan to fix the plant.
To ease tensions, the state of New York built a 28-acre park called Riverbank State Park on top of the sewage plant. It opened in 1993, but odors from the plant continued to affect nearby neighborhoods.
Today, the North River Sewage Treatment Plant continues to improve its operations to meet higher air quality standards. Recent upgrades include new ductwork and fans to reduce odors and air issues.
Northern Manhattan is home to one-third of the largest diesel bus fleet in the country, with 4,000 vehicles operated by the MTA. WE ACT pointed out that the high number of bus depots in the area worsened air quality and health issues in the community. The group linked high asthma rates in Northern Manhattan to particulate matter, a pollutant from diesel fuel, released by bus depots, traffic, and major roads. WE ACT launched a media campaign called "Clean Fuel—Clean Air—Good Health" to raise awareness about the dangers of diesel exhaust and its link to asthma. Though the campaign did not change the MTA’s policies, it increased public support for cleaner air.
In 2000, WE ACT filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation, stating that bus depots were unfairly located in minority neighborhoods in Northern Manhattan, which had six of the eight bus depots in Manhattan. The USDOT found the MTA violated Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and failed to properly analyze the environmental impact of bus depots. This led to changes in bus depot designs, investments in clean-fuel buses, and greater awareness of the dangers of poor air quality.
Mission
WE ACT's mission is to create healthy communities by helping people of color and those with low incomes take part in making good and fair environmental health and protection rules and actions. The organization acts as a source of information and learning to encourage people to get involved and work together on issues related to environmental health and how people live and feel.
Environmental justice
In the United States, the number of people with asthma has increased each year. Healthcare professionals have called this increase "a new epidemic." Asthma is a respiratory disease that causes long-term inflammation in the lungs and sudden tightening of the airways. Scientists are not certain about the exact cause of asthma, but they believe that genetic and environmental factors often work together to cause the disease, especially during early life. Recently, more attention has been given to environmental conditions, such as exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants or allergens. WE ACT reports that racial and economic differences in air pollution lead to higher exposure to harmful air pollutants in minority or low-income communities. WE ACT works to improve air quality in Northern Manhattan and reduce asthma and other breathing problems by addressing sources of harmful air pollution.
WE ACT focuses on asthma and clean air because Northern Manhattan has very high asthma rates. The organization points out that environmental risks in neighborhoods with many Latino and African-American residents, such as high levels of diesel exhaust and strong smells from public buildings, are linked to the highest asthma death and illness rates in New York. WE ACT urges city and state leaders to recognize and solve air quality problems. Right now, WE ACT is working with other community-based environmental groups, including the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), Green Door Initiative (GDI), and Jesus People Against Pollution (JPAP), on the National Asthma Disparities Project. This project studies differences in asthma treatment across four U.S. communities by evaluating the effectiveness of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Coordinated Federal Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Asthma Disparities (Action Plan). The Action Plan was created in May 2012 to review federal efforts to address asthma and improve teamwork among federal programs.
Partnerships
The Community Outreach and Engagement Core (COEC) is a teamwork program between the NIEHS Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan, WE ACT, and other community groups. This program works to learn about and stop environmental causes of diseases like Parkinson’s, Cancer, Asthma, and ALS by using laws and rules. The COEC focuses on four areas in Northern Manhattan: Central Harlem, West Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood. Other groups involved in the program include organizations near Northern Manhattan, such as The Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University, The Harlem Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and the Harlem Hospital Center. One major achievement of COEC and WE ACT is creating the Environmental Health Report Card. This report gives grades to New York City communities based on measurements like indoor and outdoor air quality, water quality for recreation, waste management, open spaces, and access to healthy food. By sharing scientific and health research through events like family fairs, conferences, and the Environmental Health Report Card, COEC members aim to help communities understand environmental dangers and stay involved in local environmental issues.
WE ACT’s work in Northern Manhattan helps COEC members learn about local environmental health problems. In return, WE ACT connects research groups with low-income communities in Northern Manhattan by sharing information.
WE ACT has worked with churches in Northern Manhattan to raise awareness about environmental issues. The goal is to encourage people of faith to care about environmental justice and to teach religious leaders how to support environmental justice efforts in communities that have not usually been involved in these issues. Faith Leaders for Environmental Justice focuses on three areas: Climate Justice, Food Justice, and Energy Consumption. The Climate Justice group teaches about the dangers of climate change and how people can change their habits to reduce its effects. With the Energy Consumption group, they also teach ways to use less energy and lower carbon emissions. The Food Justice group explains the challenges of eating healthy food and the importance of buying healthy food. They also help bring healthy food programs to low-income areas, such as community gardens, food drives, and programs that help people use food stamps.
The Healthy Homes Project is a research effort led by the Columbia University Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH). This project addresses the unequal exposure to environmental dangers faced by children in minority or low-income communities. It teaches families about risks like smoking, lead poisoning, alcohol and drug use, air pollution, trash, pesticides, and poor nutrition. Educating parents about these dangers can help protect children from health problems like asthma, cancer, or delays in growth and development.