Energy Justice Center summarizes state pilot air‑monitoring data, urges New Rochelle to press for mitigation

Bridal Salter, founder of the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center, briefed the New Rochelle City Council’s committee of the whole on May 6 about findings from New York State’s community air monitoring pilot and local outreach the center is running under its “Air of Truth” program.

Salter said the monitoring—vehicle-mounted sensors that drove block-by-block in 2022–2023 in 10 communities across the state including New Rochelle, Mount Vernon and Yonkers—shows that Westchester County’s air quality is poor overall and that pollution is concentrated near Interstate 95 and certain industrial sources. “The American Lung Association gives all of Westchester an F grade for air quality,” Salter told council members.

Salter said the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (the Climate Act) required the state to identify “disadvantaged” communities and to pilot air monitoring in some of those communities. The law also requires that 40% of certain state climate investments benefit those communities. The state’s pilot maps, she said, overlay pollution hot spots with community assets—public housing, child‑care centers and hospitals—creating priority areas for mitigation planning.

Why it matters

Salter framed the presentation as both a climate and a public‑health briefing: beyond greenhouse‑gas reduction goals, the monitoring data can justify mitigation funding and site‑specific remedies for neighborhoods exposed to fine particulate matter and other pollutants. She said the state is required by statute to develop community mitigation plans based on the monitoring and that local governments can and should engage early with that process.

Supporting details and examples

- Scope and findings: Salter described the pilot as block‑by‑block mobile monitoring done in 2022–2023. She identified I‑95 as a primary contributor to the localized hotspots in southern New Rochelle and elsewhere in Westchester. She also cited other industrial sources in the county, including a large municipal waste incinerator in Peekskill and certain cement facilities.

- Local education and engagement: Her group’s “Air of Truth” activities included high school curricula, an art‑and‑science partnership with students and a bus tour of local hotspot locations. Salter said students suggested both long‑term shifts (electrifying diesel truck fleets) and nearer‑term measures such as adding vegetative buffers and improving pedestrian safety where highways meet neighborhoods.

- Funding and programs: Salter pointed to state programs, the New York Green Bank and the 2019 State environmental bond act (which she said carries roughly $4 billion and—under the Climate Act—directs 40% of climate investment to disadvantaged communities). She also said some private foundations and federal funding streams remain available.

Council questions and staff responses

Council members asked how churches, nonprofits and property owners could access programs for electrification, ventilation upgrades or air filtration. Salter said there are multiple state and nonprofit programs and that her organization can help with community outreach. When asked about federal funding volatility, Salter said several state financing tools remain (including the Green Bank and bond‑act programs) and encouraged local officials to prepare data and applications now.

Councilmember Louis Tarantino and others pressed on how to protect residents already living adjacent to I‑95 and rail corridors, noting recent residential development along those corridors. Salter replied that effective options are site‑specific: indoor filtration, building upgrades, targeted vegetative barriers, and air monitoring to time or prioritize protective actions. She also pointed to New York’s newer cumulative‑impacts law—regulations the Department of Environmental Conservation is developing—which requires regulators to consider existing pollution burdens before permitting additional sources in already overburdened areas.

What the City can do next

Salter recommended that New Rochelle: - Dig into the state’s monitoring maps and overlay them with local datasets (public housing, schools, hospitals) to prioritize mitigation; - Align local climate and public‑health plans (Green New Rochelle, greenhouse‑gas inventory, climate vulnerability assessment) so grant applications show evidence and readiness; - Engage early with state DEC on the community mitigation planning process; - Pursue state and other grants; and - Continue local education and youth engagement to build support for interventions such as urban forestry, filtration, and clean‑transportation projects.

Salter closed by offering her organization’s assistance with community engagement and grant coordination and by noting the state team’s willingness to brief local officials.

Ending

Council members thanked Salter for the presentation and discussed coordinating city departments—planning, development and public health—to align upcoming projects and grant efforts with the monitoring results and mitigation opportunities.