PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ernest Welde, Member of the Public, on Citizens Air Complaint Program and Proposed Legislation
3:50:36
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123 sec
Ernest Welde, a participant in the Citizens Air Program since 2018, testifies against Intro 941 and in support of Intro 291-A. He shares his personal experience with asthma and argues against extending idling time for school buses, emphasizing the negative health impacts of vehicle idling.
- Welde opposes Intro 941, stating it would discourage participation in the program
- He argues that even 3 minutes of idling is too long and suggests reducing it to 1 minute citywide
- Welde criticizes the proposal to allow school buses to idle for 15 minutes, citing air quality concerns near schools
Ernest Welde
3:50:36
Yes.
3:50:37
Hello.
3:50:37
And I wish I could be there in person.
3:50:39
I'm actually at a work conference right now on the protection of children in terms of their health.
3:50:44
So I think it's very appropriate that I'm testifying today about this bill.
3:50:47
I have been a participant of the Citizens Air Program since 2018, and I've been involved in idling work since 2004.
3:50:54
Actually went to law school to be a better advocate for anti idling work.
3:50:58
I I'm asking you, please do not support 941.
3:51:02
It has many flaws, and I'll get into a few of them.
3:51:04
I do support 2915.
3:51:08
When I first moved to New York, I started to discover that I was breathing badly, and I went to the doctor.
3:51:13
He diagnosed me with asthma, and I started working on anti idling work at that point.
3:51:17
There is no need for people to idle in New York City.
3:51:21
Even 3 minutes is too long, and I would encourage you to address that and move it to one minute for the whole city.
3:51:27
I do not think that the 941 would encourage more participation in the program.
3:51:32
I think that it would discourage participation.
3:51:35
The amount of money that we are getting on this program is not that much.
3:51:40
Most of my complaints, over 50% of the companies that I have filed complaints against have not even paid their tickets.
3:51:46
So most of us are already facing a 50% reduction in the amount that we get.
3:51:51
I do not think that school buses need 15 minutes to idle.
3:51:54
When I'm I carry an arrow monitor with me.
3:51:56
When I'm doing my inspect my reports, the air monitor tells me to leave the area when I'm around a school bus.
3:52:02
They are among the dirtiest vehicles in the city, and they idle right on the playgrounds.
3:52:07
Why do the buses need to even sit in front of the schools?
3:52:10
They all queue up there.
3:52:11
They do not need 15 minutes.
3:52:13
One minute is plenty of time.
3:52:14
There's no analysis that shows that 15 minutes is what they need to get a comfortable cabin temperature.
3:52:19
And DEP has misled you among many things that they misled you about today in that there are only a few cases that talk about passenger comfort, and frankly, I do not think that they defended themselves very well in those cases.
3:52:32
A company has a defense, and they can take that defense for passenger comfort to the oath hearing.
3:52:37
Anti tech idling technology will
