NYC Climate Justice Agenda 2016: Strengthening the Mayor's OneNYC Plan

In this report, the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA) presents an analysis of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s OneNYC Plan and recommends ways to strengthen the city government’s efforts to cultivate climate justice. The document is organized under five themes: (1) climate adaptation and mitigation, (2) equity and infrastructure, (3) public health, (4) community preparedness, and (5) community-based planning. Under each theme, NYC-EJA lists the strengths and shortcomings of OneNYC, as well as a set of recommendations to build a more just, equitable, and resilient city.

Use the recommendations of environmental justice leaders to assess if your own community's policies are meeting their standards.

For example, the NYC-EJA report describes the unique vulnerability of low-income communities of color living in or around waterfront communities designated as Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas (SMIAs). Due to a lower review standard, SMIAs are more likely to be home to sources of pollution that disproportionately burden low-income communities and communities of color. The climate adaptation and mitigation section points out that SMIAs have not been properly prioritized for resiliency investments despite their high exposure to storm surge. NYC-EJA recommends that the city monitor and reduce hazardous exposures, invest more equitably in coastal protection, prioritize green infrastructure improvements, and assess the impacts of high winds in these communities.

NYC-EJA also highlights the locally-led, grassroots initiatives of its member organizations in order to identify models of leadership and opportunities for partnership. One such organization is UPROSE, Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community-based organization, which promotes sustainability and resiliency in the Sunset Park neighborhood through community organizing, education, indigenous and youth leadership development, and cultural/artistic expression.

In addition to OneNYC, this document assesses New York City’s, “A Stronger, More Resilient New York” (2013), other climate initiatives, and the state of interagency planning and coordination. This report serves as a policy framework to analyze city resiliency plans and reduce the vulnerabilities of low-income communities and communities of color to climate change impacts.

Publication Date: April 2016

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