BRONX, NY – At a press conference Friday morning hosted by Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) concerning the presidential administration’s assault on the funding for the health and wellbeing of the Bronx, including slashing programs for urban forestry, emergency preparedness, resiliency, and air/water quality. The administration has terminated the following lines of funding:
- Bronx is Blooming S150,000
- Nos Quedamos $500,000
- Bronx River Alliance $500,000
- Van Cortlandt Park Alliance S75,000
- Bronx River Alliance- $1,047,647
The impact of these funding cuts spans all across New York and the country.
“The freeze on federal funding for communities like ours targets those most affected by the toxic legacy of policies such as redlining and the planning of Robert Moses. This will harm the incredible progress our watershed communities have made in reclaiming and improving the Bronx River and our neighborhoods” said Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director of the Bronx River Alliance
“The Bronx River Alliance has long been a steadfast champion for environmental justice and community resilience in the Bronx. The federal funding freeze is an assault on the health, safety, and future of our communities. Denying critical investments in clean water and community resilience is indefensible. I stand with the Bronx River Alliance and all the other groups present in demanding that these essential funds be restored immediately so that the people of the Bronx are not left behind.” Rep. Ritchie Torres
Last week, the Bronx River Alliance joined other nonprofit organizations and cities from across the country in a suit in federal court to stop the federal administration’s freeze on funding for critical programs. Impacts range from energy efficient affordable housing to air pollution monitoring to food access for communities and support for local farmers.
The Bronx River Alliance and other groups were all selected as partners to move forward important Congressional priorities to benefit their communities and the nation. The illegal ongoing federal funding freeze has put in jeopardy efforts to improve public health and protect vulnerable populations from increased flooding and extreme heat. It has also put in jeopardy the livelihoods of key staff members critical to the organization’s mission as well as longstanding relationships with community partners and government officials.
Bronx River Alliance was awarded a nearly $1 million Community Change Grant to engage local communities in decisions related to coastal adaptation and infrastructure projects. The organization also has received a $497,000 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Program grant to improve water quality in four Bronx and Westchester County rivers by working with local communities to collect and leverage water quality data to advocate for policy and infrastructure improvements that address longstanding sources of water pollution.
The federal government’s disruption of these binding agreements and the freezing of $1.5M in funding put in jeopardy significant goals:
The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving grant “4 Rivers” Partnership for Urban Waterways in Bronx and Lower Westchester Counties was intended to support work impacting the environment and human health, including:
- water quality data collection for municipalities, advocates, and electeds to make the case for funding to update aging sewage infrastructure;
- addressing sources of water pollution critical to the health and safety of residents who use the river for paddling and fishing – and even though hazardous due to sewage – for swimming during heat waves
- building capacity of local communities to advocate effectively for the river
The Community Change Grant: “Climate Justice Task Force” Uplifting Bronx Voices for Climate Change Resilience” was designed to support:
- education and civic engagement with local partners to involve residents in the planning and implementation of ongoing infrastructure and community development projects
- building the capacity of community groups to advance policies and implement projects addressing flooding and heat impacts;
This illegal freeze on Congressionally approved federal funds directly targets and harms vulnerable populations in the South Bronx such as children, the elderly, and those living with chronic illnesses.
The freeze also harms the Bronx River Alliance, which remains obligated for deliverables under the agreement, even in the absence of funding to hire new or compensate existing staff. Employment insecurity coupled with increased demands undermines the performance and stability of the organization.
The Southern Environmental Law Center in partnership with the Public Rights Project filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, on behalf of 11 nonprofit organizations and 6 municipalities. Many of the grants impacted by the uncertainty of the funding freeze support projects that address public health, environmental problems, agricultural challenges from flooding and heat in communities facing disproportionate environmental harms.
These binding federal grant agreements allow cities and nonprofit organizations to carry out programs that fill critical gaps where federal and state programs fall short. These grants are mostly reimbursement-based, meaning that recipients perform work and then submit a request for reimbursement – meaning that organizations are still required to do the contracted work even when funds to pay salaries and equipment costs are frozen
The federal funding freeze is disrupting critical work such as developing energy-efficient affordable housing and weatherizing and retrofitting homes in North Charleston, SC; job training in the water and waste industries in Baltimore, MD; monitoring air quality and providing health resources in north Mecklenburg County, NC; transitioning New Haven, CT residents to home heating systems that reduce costs and improve air quality; improving soil health while increasing revenue on farms in Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay watershed; supporting family farmers in rural communities; and increasing access to safe, affordable, healthy food across the country.
See also: Press Release from Southern Environmental Law Center
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Bronx River Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City which serves as a coordinated voice for the Bronx River and works with 100+ partners to protect and restore the Bronx River corridor and greenway so that it can be a healthy ecological, recreational, educational and economic resource for the communities through which the river flows.
The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 200, including more than 130 legal and policy experts, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. selc.org
As a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, Public Rights Project helps local government officials fight for civil rights. We do this by building their capacity to protect and advance civil rights, convening and connecting them on issues of civil rights, and providing legal representation to governments to help them win in court on behalf of their residents. Since our founding, we’ve built a network of over 1,300 partners, including elected officials and 227 government offices across all 50 states, and helped recover over $46 million in relief for marginalized people. www.publicrightsproject.org
