South Bronx environmental nonprofits are sounding the alarm over federal funding cuts they say will decimate initiatives aimed at cleaning the air and water in their communities, which suffer from some of the worst pollution in the country. In addition to direct harm to the environment, the organizations fear the funding cuts will cut young people off from educational and work opportunities.
Their worries stem from the Trump administration’s blocking of $2.8 million in grant money earmarked for Bronx organizations. The Bronx River Alliance has teamed up with organizations in six other cities and the Southern Environmental Law Center to sue the federal government, arguing the cuts are illegal because Congress already approved the funding.
The effected Bronx organizations include the Bronx River Alliance, which stands to lose $1,547,647, Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice in Soundview $575,000, Nos Quedamos $500,000, The Bronx is Blooming $150,000 and the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance $75,000.
Representatives from the organizations gathered with Rep. Ritchie Torres at Starlight Park on Friday to call attention to the cuts.
“The Trump administration recently announced that it is going to ignore the law enacted by Congress, that it’s going to violate the contract signed by the EPA,” terminating 400 grants worth $1.7 billion, said Torres.
“We in the Bronx have been ground zero for environmental injustice and we are in danger of being the hardest hit by Donald Trump’s defunding of environmental protection and public health.”
Highways like the Cross Bronx Expressway, and the trucking fleets serving the Hunts Point Terminal Market contribute to dangerously high levels of PM2.5, an air pollutant linked to asthma, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.
The advocates said that past federal policies neglected poor neighborhoods like the South Bronx, leading to dangerous pollution rates and public health crises, but recent pushes to fund environmental initiatives, including under the last administration, improved matters.
“It is government-sanctioned policies that have created the system our communities are forced to live in,” said Jennifer Beaugrand, founder of The Bronx is Blooming. “These grants are a small step in helping ameliorate those situations.”
Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency Director Lee Zeldin, applauded the administration’s intention to slash environmental funding, saying earlier in March that it is “driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.”
What These Grants Are and Who They Impact
As a flock of geese glided along the Bronx River, one of the nonprofit representatives at the press conference recalled “you used to be able to light the river on fire from the pollution,” during an era when there was no federal funding for environmental initiatives.
Siddhartha Sanchez, executive director of the Bronx River Alliance, remembered those bleak days.
Starlight Park, he said, “represents a success of government,” pointing out that over $62 million in federal funding led to restoration of “nearly 20 acres of waterfront parks, athletic fields, playgrounds, as well as wetlands and green infrastructure that protect the water quality of the river. This place represents the tangible success of federal investments.”
The Biden administration awarded these grants to communities so they could “enable communities to have a voice in the decisions related to coastal adaptation and infrastructure projects.”
Bronx River Alliance
The EPA’s Community Change Grant for the Bronx Climate Justice Task Force project is the most expensive of the proposed cuts. The Alliance was slated to receive $1 million to work with about a dozen Bronx groups, to ensure communities had a say in determining what their piece of that grant money would be used for.
The Alliance also stands to lose $500,000 for a project to clean four rivers, including the Bronx River, by partnering with local community groups to collect water quality data, using their findings to help clean the waterways.
Nos Quedamos
This Melrose group received a $500,000 grant to develop three resiliency hubs across the South Bronx for services ranging from emergency preparedness to green workforce development.
“Without this funding, that doesn’t happen,” said Mark Gonzalez, the group’s deputy director. “It’s a big hole not only in our budget but in our community.”
The Bronx is Blooming
This organization had expected $150,000 to create solutions for the South Bronx’s notorious urban heat island effect. As a result of that phenomenon, buildings, roads, and concrete absorb heat, which raises summertime temperatures to dangerous levels. In contrast, green spaces cool the atmosphere.
The group plants trees to combat excessive heat, and expected to train more than 200 young Bronxites in park restoration, tree planting and youth workforce development. They hoped to plant 500 trees annually, steward 3,000 more, and create environmental career opportunities for the young people.
Van Cortlandt Park Alliance
This Riverdale group anticipated a $75,000 grant for youth internships for environmental education and career development.
It remains unclear if New York State will make up for any of the lost federal revenue. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office did not respond to request for comment from The Herald.
“The state could be under a crunch,” said Bronx River Alliance board member Carolyn McLaughlin. With the Trump administration also proposing so many cuts, “New York State will receive a lot of requests to fill these gaps.”
The EPA did not respond to request for comment from The Herald.
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