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April 1, 2022 • Schneps Media
BY ISABEL SONG BEER
Elected officials, environmentalists,
union leaders and
other advocates gathered on
the steps of City Hall on March
24 to demand Mayor Eric Adams
and the NYC city council retrofit
public schools with climate
friendly infrastructure.
The March 24 rally saw the
coalition of advocates call on the
mayor to plan to support carbonfree,
healthy schools especially
in lower income neighborhoods
by funding the Carbon Free and
Healthy Schools (CFHS) initiative
in this fiscal year’s budget plan.
The speakers highlighted how
the initiative could simultaneously
combat multiple priorities of city
KIDS & EDUCATION
leaders, while also addressing the
long term concerns of student
health and wellbeing in public
school buildings.
“The majority of the emissions
from our city come from large
buildings,” said Maritza Silva-Farrell,
executive director of ALIGN, a
leader of the Climate Works for All
coalition to amNew York. “Public
schools are some of the biggest polluters
in the city. So we are talking
about reducing emissions and
ensuring that we actually meet our
climate goals, and it is critical that
these buildings have the funding
necessary to be upgraded and have
the retrofits needed.”
NYC public schools are an average
of 70 years old, and with aging
infrastructure and a pandemic,
students are being put in unnecessary
risk of illness or injury. Many
of these schools lack adequate
heating, cooling and ventilation
systems (HVAC), and also may still
contain hazardous building materials
like lead and asbestos.
“It’s clear that now more than
ever New York City’s public
schools need a historic investment
in their infrastructure,” said Jeff
Vockrodt, executive director of
Climate Jobs NY.
Approved by climate change
movements like the Sunrise Movement,
Climate Works for All and
unions including 32BJ SEIU, AFSCME
District Council 37, Building
and Construction Trades Council,
United Federation of Teachers,
Council of School Supervisors and
Administrators and the NYC Central
Labor Council, the CFHS plan
would; make energy-efficient retrofits
to school buildings and cut
75,000 tons of carbon emissions,
upgrade school HVAC and air conditioning
systems, save the Department
of Education $250 million
per year, install solar panels and fix
roofs in need of repairs and create
tens of thousands new union jobs.
These issues with public school
infrastructure also disproportionately
impact communities of color,
particularly Black and Brown children
who have higher asthma and
obesity rates. The issues of disrepair
not only impact their health,
but prevent them from learning at
their full potential.
“The pandemic exposed the
inequities in our school system’s
infrastructure front and center
for all New Yorkers to see,” said
Kyle Bragg, President, SEIU 32BJ.
“For the workers and students,
especially those who live and
learn in communities of color,
who have endured years of crumbling
infrastructures detrimental
to working and learning conditions,
the Carbon Free & Healthy
Schools plan offers a path to
transformative change.”
PHOTO BY ISABEL SONG BEER
Elected officials, climate change activists and union leaders
stand on the steps of city hall to rally for Carbon Free and Healthy
Schools on march 24, 2022.
Adams, Council urged
to invest in green
school infrastructure
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