The following story was first published in our print edition dated May 16-May 29,2024.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), gathered at Fordham University for a climate summit on April 8 to celebrate the awarding to the university of $50 million in grants for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Region 2 environmental justice initiatives. According to Fordham, it is the largest grant the university has ever received in its 183-year history.

 

Fordham officials said the university will be tasked with managing and distributing the grant to community groups working to tackle climate change issues such as air pollution, toxic clean-ups, and food access. They said the university has been appointed as the regional grant provider for EPA Region 2, which encompasses New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight federally recognized Native American nations.

 

Speaking at the summit, Schumer said, “This is a red-letter day for Fordham and for environmental justice in New York and here in The Bronx.” He added, “We couldn’t have thought of a better place than Fordham to dispense this to go to grassroots groups.”

 

In August 2022, as reported, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, which created the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in the country’s history. The EPA received $3 billion in funds stemming from that bill to award grants and technical assistance to disadvantaged communities.

 

Speaking at the summit, Torres said, “We designed the Inflation Reduction Act to lift up the lowest-income communities of color, especially The Bronx, which has been Ground Zero for environmental injustice.” The congressman’s district, which stretches from the northwest of the borough to the South Bronx is among the poorest in the nation.

 

High rates of asthma among Bronx youth exacerbated by fumes emanating from the vehicle-heavy Cross Bronx Expressway which crosses the district, have long been a cause for concern. According to a September 2021 report by the City’s health department on asthma-related health disparities in the Bronx, “There are several high poverty neighborhoods in The Bronx where two thirds or more of the residents are people of color. These neighborhoods persistently have the highest rates of asthma-related morbidity compared with the rest of New York City.”

 

The report continued, “Residents of high poverty neighborhoods very often live in poorly maintained, substandard housing which subject residents to a number of common environmental asthma triggers, including pests, dust, mold, and smoking. These environmental triggers can in turn increase the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms and exacerbations.”

 

In the context of sustainability and the environment, Fordham University President Tania Tetlow said, “There is no issue more urgent to the world than the ways that we care for our earth, our home.”

 

The subgrants to be distributed by the university will range from $75,000 to $350,000, according to Fordham officials, with the goal of distributing $40 million over a period of three years among 200 organizations.  Fordham officials said the remaining $10 million will be designated for “the grantmaking operation and related programming,” meaning the management by Fordham of the $40 million in subgrants, as well as for Fordham’s own research.

 

According to information posted on Fordham University’s website, the guidelines and criteria for receipt of applications for the subgrants have yet to be confirmed and the official launch date for the dissemination of grants is still pending.

In a separate, earlier statement, Schumer said, “This first-of-its-kind effort, that I made sure we amply funded in the historic Inflation Reduction Act, to directly invest in grassroots environmental justice groups, is critical to fighting the carbon pollution worsening asthma, driving climate change, and increasing the likelihood and severity of devastating extreme weather events.”

 

The U.S. senate majority leader continued, “This $50 million for Fordham University to fund environmental justice projects is the kind of program that can help our disadvantaged communities effectively fight the pollution that harms them.”

 

He added, “I am proud of Fordham University, and I’m so excited to see how the vibrant network of New York and Puerto Rican grassroots environmental justice organizations access and activate this federal funding. I remain laser-focused on implementing the IRA so that we can ensure it lives up to its transformative potential to clean our air and combat climate change.”

 

Meanwhile, in an earlier statement on the grant, Democratic Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who represents parts of northern Manhattan and the west Bronx, said, “This funding will play a significant role in our efforts to develop climate solutions that will benefit our community for many generations to come.”

 

The keynote speaker at the climate summit was Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist and co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank nonprofit that focuses on creating equitable, and practical climate and ocean policy for the future of coastal cities.

 

“I think what the world needs right now, more than ever, are people who can move between different disciplines,” Johnson said. “We need people to solve climate problems in business, in engineering, in law, in medicine. Everyone needs to know at some fundamental level what’s happening.”

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.