DEC TO HOLD COMMUNITY MEETINGS ON COMMUNITY AIR MONITORING INITIATIVE PROGRESS

 

Opportunities for Public Input and Review of Work Underway in Rochester and Mount Vernon/Yonkers/New Rochelle

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced an additional two meetings to provide progress updates for communities participating in the 2022-23 Statewide Community Air Monitoring Initiative. Mobile air monitoring began in September 2022 in Rochester and Mount Vernon/Yonkers/New Rochelle. This first round of meetings will help DEC gather community input to target emission sources and future strategies to reduce air pollution in these communities, including the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. 

 

At the meetings, DEC staff will provide an overview of the initiative and present a preliminary overview of the first quarter of air monitoring results specific to each community. Information presented will include how and where the air monitoring is conducted on the street level and how DEC will compile and analyze the data to identify potential contributors of emissions for each pollutant being monitored. Preliminary data collection is now underway and results will be provided once additional information is compiled. 

 

DEC will also provide an update on progress of establishing community advisory committees to engage with local stakeholders throughout this initiative. DEC will continue to hold regular meetings over the next year to update the community on the progress of the air monitoring and to provide a forum for input. Staff from DEC's Division of Air Resources and the Office of Environmental Justice will be available to answer questions and respond to feedback. 

 

A first round of meetings for Brooklyn, Hempstead/New Cassel/Roosevelt/Uniondale/Westbury, Queens, and Syracuse were previously announced for late January and early February, and the second round of update meetings for the Bronx, Manhattan, Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Tonawanda area, and Capital Region are being scheduled for March.   

Mount Vernon/Yonkers/New Rochelle 

• When:Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at 6 p.m.
• Link to join meeting: https://meetny.webex.com/meetny/j.php?MTID=me6e013d65494255c463ce6dc328f95ab
• Meeting Number: 161 264 4870
• Meeting Password: Airmeeting3 
• Call In Number to join by phone only: 518-549-0500

 

Rochester 

• When:Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, at 6 p.m. 
• Link to join meeting: https://meetny.webex.com/meetny/j.php?MTID=md1f7cba93836085f866f252916f53326
• Meeting Number: 161 755 3221
• Meeting Password: RochesterCAMQ1
• Call In Number to join by phone only: 518-549-0500

 

For more information about the Community Air Monitoring Initiative, visit the DEC website at https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/125320.html.  

 

Interpreter services shall be made available to deaf persons, and translator services shall be made available to persons with limited English proficiency, at no charge for either service, upon written request. Requests should be received 10 calendar days before each meeting, but DEC will make every effort to fulfill requests received closer to the meeting date. Requests can be directed to the NYSDEC Office of Communication Services, either by mail (address: NYSDEC, Office of Communication Services, 625 Broadway, Albany, New York 12233-4500), by telephone (518-402-8044) or by e-mail (language@dec.ny.gov).