Brian Laird on WNYC.

Well, New York City has quietly done something that perhaps no other city has done before, produced a sweeping city-wide accounting of environmental injustice, that is, where pollution,

climate risk, and disinvestment fall hardest, and why? The Environmental Justice NYC report,

originally released last year, maps unequal exposure to heat, dirty air, flooding, noise, and health

risks across all five boroughs. It also traces

those inequities back through New York's history from colonization and displacement to redlining

and highway construction. So now the city is moving into the next phase, turning that data

into a formal environmental justice NYC plan shaped by community input and meant to guide real policy and investment decisions going forward.

So joining us are Peggy Shepard, co-founder and executive director of the group, We Act for Environmental Justice, which helped push for the law that required this work.

And Paul Onix Lozito, deputy director

of the mayor's office of climate and environmental justice from the mayor's office, which

produced the report and is leading the planning process. Peggy, welcome back, and Director Lozito,

welcome to WNYC. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

And listeners, do you live in a neighborhood where you think heat, pollution, flooding, lack of green space, anything related affects your day-to-day life more than other places in the city?

Have you tried to raise concerns with city government and did you feel heard? What standards of

environmental justice should the law require and city policy guarantee? 212-433, WNYC, 212, 433-9-6-92. You can call or you can

text. And Peggy Shepard, before we get into the report itself,

why don't you start by telling our listeners a little bit about We Act for Environmental Justice,

how it began. You know, we've really appreciated that you've come on the show a number of times

and talked about it. So what's its core mission been? Just give the listeners a little 101 on React for Environmental Justice.

Absolutely, Brian.

And it's been great to talk with you over the years.

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