Kellie Terry, executive director at The Point CDC, speaks at a forum at Hostos Community College on March 18, about the need for environmentally-friendly businesses. (Photo by Annamarya Scaccia via The Hunts Point Express)
Amid the pressure to create job opportunities in neighborhoods such as the South Bronx, it’s important that the city ensure that new businesses coming into the area do so in an environmentally friendly manner, community advocates said at a recent panel discussion at Hostos Community College, reports Annamarya Scaccia of The Hunts Point Express.
The imminent arrival of FreshDirect in the area, with diesel trucks that will be making deliveries for the online grocer, has raised numerous concerns.
Kellie Terry, executive director of The Point Community Development Corporation, said that the city should require environmental impact statements from businesses before approving applications as part of zoning and land review processes.
“We need to reimagine our environmental process,” Terry said. “The issue is complex, but it’s not beyond fixing.”
Nearly 37 percent of families live below the poverty line in the South Bronx, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is also one of the country’s least healthy communities, with high rates of obesity, diabetes and asthma, according to charitable foundation the New York Community Trust.
Mychal Johnson, a founding member of grassroots coalition South Bronx Unite, noted that once a project has been approved, there’s little recourse for community members who may be affected.
FreshDirect would bring about 1,000 daily diesel truck trips once it opens operations, said Johnson, adding that the added diesel fumes will worsen the area’s poor health conditions.
“We need jobs, but we need to breathe first,” said Johnson.
Read more at the The Hunts Point Express.