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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, MARCH 25-31, 2022 BXR
Rally urges Hochul to add electric
school bus funding into state budget
BY JASON COHEN
Parents, advocates and elected
officials rallied in the South
Bronx recently to urge Gov.
Kathy Hochul to include $300 million
for electric school buses in
the 2023 state budget.
Earlier this year, Hochul announced
a plan to electrify New
York state’s entire school bus fleet
by 2035 and require that all new
school bus purchases be electric
starting in 2027. The rally, which
took place March 10 in Hunts
Point, was adjacent to Logan Bus
Company, which is located at 1310
Oak Point Ave.
Funding for such a plan would
electrify the 50,000 diesel buses
that operate in the state and support
voucher incentives, charging
station infrastructure costs
and technical support for both
new bus purchases and retrofits
of existing diesel buses to jumpstart
the transition.
However, the mandate is not
tied to a specific source of funding,
critics argue, and fails to prioritize
school districts in environmental
justice communities
where fair treatment of environmental
regulations and policies
are needed.
“The South Bronx is done accepting
environmental injustices,”
said state Assemblymember
Amanda Septimo, a Mott
Haven Democrat, at the rally.
“New York City’s transportation
sector produces nearly 50 percent
Elected officials, advocates and parents are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to allocate $300 million for electric school buses. File photo
of the greenhouse gas emissions
in the state, and its bus depots
are located in our communities
with disproportionately high
asthma rates. Each additional
year that we don’t address these
major public health issues, our
brown and Black kids will continue
to be twice as likely to suffer
from asthma than other kids
in the state. I am supporting environmental
justice leaders in the
Bronx calling on Governor Hochul
to help the largest school bus
fleet in America reduce greenhouse
emissions and do right by
our communities, like the South
Bronx.”
It is estimated that fully electrifying
school buses in New York
City alone would be the equivalent
of taking nearly 650,000 gaspowered
passenger vehicles off
the road. This legislation would
enable school districts to contract
for buses for longer than the current
five-year limitation, which
will expand the ability of school
districts to meet this goal.
Under the federal Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act, the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is making $5 billion
available over five years for a
competitive program for electric
and other low-emission school
buses. EPA funds will be distributed
through annual competitive
programs.
Septimo was joined by city
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams,
a progressive, and state
Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, a Parkchester
progressive, THE POINT
CDC, Earthjustice, Parents to
Improve School Transportation,
New York City Environmental
Justice Alliance (NYCEJA), New
York Lawyers for the Public Interest,
parents and residents calling
on Hochul to act.
The rally was held in Hunts
Point because that area, along
with Mott Haven and Port Morris,
is known as “Asthma Alley”
due to the toxic fumes from
trucks that travel the industrial
corridor there. With roughly 300
diesel trucks traveling the Cross
Bronx Expressway on a daily basis,
the South Bronx air is full of
harmful chemicals, air pollution
and the highest asthma rates in
New York state.
Kevin Garcia, transportation
planner for NYCEJA, told the
Bronx Times that some school
districts in Westchester have already
begun purchasing electric
school buses, so the concern is
that low-income communities in
the South Bronx will be left behind.
California approved $2.7
billion in 2021 for electric cars,
and the hope is New York can follow
in its footsteps, Garcia said.
“We applaud Governor Hochul
for her commitment to electrify
the entire bus fleet by 2035,
but her mandate falls short and
fails to address how school districts
will fund this transition
and does not mention prioritizing
school districts in environmental
justice communities,”
Garcia said.
Dariella Rodriguez, director
of community development
for the nonprofit THE POINT
Community Development Corporation,
wants the youth in the
South Bronx to grow up in a safe
environment and not have to
worry about breathing in toxins
from diesel-powered buses. THE
POINT is dedicated to youth development
and the cultural and
economic revitalization of Hunts
Point.
“For too many years the story
has been the Bronx is poor, that it
is unhealthy, dirty and ugly,” she
said. “Every breath these young
people take is a breath of poison.
It sends a message: New York
doesn’t care about them.
“We demand $300 million of
next year’s budget to make this
objective reality, while prioritizing
overburdened (environmental
justice) communities who
need it most. School buses should
represent education and a thriving
future for our children, not
pollution and disease.”
Dariella Rodriguez, director of community development for THE POINT Community
Development Corporation, advocates for the governor to allocate $300
million for electric school buses. Photo Jason Cohen