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New York State Assembly sponsor Linda Rosenthal, former WE ACT Policy Director Sonal Jessel, and Clean+Healthy Executive Director Bobbi Wilding at the State Capitol last year.
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BIG NEWS: Banning PFAS & Other Chemicals in Menstrual Products
Our bill to ban PFAS and other toxic chemicals from menstrual products sold in New York State has passed both houses! This is a big win for our JustGreen Partnership, which has a long track record of passing legislation to reduce toxic exposure in our communities. We will continue our advocacy to make sure New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signs it into law. We also will continue our advocacy for the Beauty Justice Act, which will ban toxic chemicals from personal care products in New York State. Learn more
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NYC Council District 8 Candidate Forum
Do you live in New York City Council District 8? And do you know all the candidates who will be running for that seat in the June 24th Primary Election?
Join us on Saturday, March 29th from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM via Zoom to meet the candidates running for City Council to serve District 8. We have invited all of the candidates running for this office to come and tell us why they are the best candidate for it and how they will tackle environmental racism in our community. WE ACT members will also have an opportunity to ask them questions. Please submit any questions you may have via this form. RSVP
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Climate Works for All Coalition Mayoral Candidates Forum
As a member of the Climate Works for All coalition, we are co-hosting their Mayoral Candidates Forum on Monday, March 31st at 6:30 PM at the CUNY School of Law, which is located at 2 Court Square West in Long Island City. RSVP
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NYU Environmental and Racial Justice Network Summit
New York University is holding the 2025 Spring Summit of its Environmental and Racial Justice Network on Friday, April 4th from 9:30 AM-4:30 PM at 19 Washington Square North. Peggy Shepard will be giving a keynote address and Lonnie Portis will be on a panel discussing how to best navigate the current political climate. Learn more and RSVP here.
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NYC Mayoral Candidate Forum
Do you know all the candidates who are running for New York City Mayor in the June 24th Primary Election?
Join us on Saturday, April 5th from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM to meet the candidates running for New York City Mayor. We will host the candidate forum at the Police Athletic League at the Polo Grounds Towers, located at 3005 Frederick Douglass Boulevard. We have invited all of the candidates running for Mayor to come and tell us why they are the best candidate for it and how they will tackle environmental racism in our community. WE ACT members will also have an opportunity to ask them questions. Please submit any questions you may have via this form. RSVP
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April Membership Meeting: New York City Comptroller Candidate Forum
Do you know what the New York City Comptroller does? And do you know all the candidates who will be running for that seat in the June 24th Primary Election?
Join us on Saturday, April 12th from 10:00 AM-1:00 PM at the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, located at 454 West 155th Street, to meet the candidates running for the New York City Comptroller office. As part of our April Membership Meeting, we are co-hosting this with the NYLCVEF. We have invited all of the candidates running for Comptroller to come tell us why they are the best candidate for the job and to discuss the budget and legislative process as it relates to New York City’s parks. WE ACT members will also have an opportunity to ask them questions. Please submit any questions you may have via this form. RSVP
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Leslie Fields was featured in a Capital B article on the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory rollbacks and what they will mean for communities of color. The article also appeared in Yahoo News and the Indiana Citizen.
“In nearly every American county, more Black people die from air pollution,” said Fields, of WE ACT. “Enabling this disparity is environmental racism, and these rollbacks will lead to continued increasing rates of cancer, lung and heart disease, illnesses, and premature death in our communities.”
Lonnie Portis was thanked for sharing his experiences as part of a research paper entitled “Balancing Socio-economic Development Goals and Coping with Climate Impacts: Lessons from Historically Marginalised Communities in New York City” that was published in Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability.
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Cecil Corbin-Mark Fellowship: Applications Are Now Open
Applications for the 2025-26 Cecil Corbin-Mark Fellowship for Environmental Justice Leadership are now open, and will remain so through April 18th. This fellowship, named in honor of Cecil Corbin-Mark, who served as WE ACT’s Deputy Director before passing away in 2020, is a unique opportunity for young people to continue to follow in his footsteps and begin a career path to become the next generation of environmental justice leaders.
This year, we will be hosting one fellow beginning in June and lasting one year. Learn more about the fellowship and how to apply here. And read about the experiences of former Cecil Corbin-Mark Fellows in this blog post and watch this video testimonial from Tali Natter ’23.
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Earth Day 5K Fun Run: Support WE ACT!
Come celebrate Earth Day, help raise funds for WE ACT, and run or walk for a healthier, greener community at our annual Earth Day 5K fundraiser. We will be holding the fun run at Randall’s Island on Saturday, April 19th. You can run or walk and enter as an individual or as a team. The event is open to everyone, including all ages and abilities. Early bird tickets are now on sale for $25! To take advantage of this special offer, register today using the promo code “earlybird” when prompted. RSVP
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Uptown Chats: Learn About PFAS
What is PFAS, and why are we worried about it? PFAS is an acronym for a type of man-made chemicals that are widely used because of their ability to resist grease, oil, water, and stains – in products such as non-stick pans, microwave popcorn bags, raincoats, cosmetics, fire-fighting foam, carpets, food wrappers, etc. But they are also harmful to your health and so resistant to breaking down that they are called "forever chemicals" because they can remain forever in the soil, water, and body. In this episode, Jaron and Lonnie learn about what New York and other states are doing to ban these chemicals with help from Kate Donovan, Director of Northeast Environmental Health at NRDC. WE ACT, as part of the JustGreen Partnership, has been successful in helping ban PFAS from apparel and food packaging - and we just had the state legislature pass a ban on PFAS and other toxic chemicals in menstrual products! Listen Today
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Help Us Get Out the Vote
New York City has its 2025 Primary Election coming up on June 24th. Do you want to help us make sure we have a strong voter turnout? Click here to join WE ACT’s Get Out the Vote campaign!
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