Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Shravanthi Kanekal, Senior Resiliency Planner at New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, on Cooling Centers and Intro 998
1:17:29
ยท
137 sec
Shravanthi Kanekal, representing the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, testified in support of Intro 998 with amendments to improve the city's cooling center program. She highlighted the disproportionate impact of heat-related deaths on Black New Yorkers and emphasized the need for better guidelines and resources for cooling centers.
- Revealed that heat-related deaths in NYC have been corrected from 350 to 580 annually, with Black New Yorkers twice as likely to die from heat impacts as white New Yorkers.
- Shared findings from an informal survey showing issues with existing cooling centers, including non-functional ACs and limited hours.
- Proposed amendments to Intro 998, including ensuring a minimum number of cooling centers, extended hours, clear guidelines, and risk information in multiple languages.
Shravanthi Kanekal
1:17:29
morning chair shulman and members of the City Council my name is Shivanti Kanekar, I'm the senior resiliency planner at the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance and we are a membership network of grassroots organizations from low income neighborhoods and communities of color and we work with them in their struggle for environmental justice.
1:17:46
I'm testifying here today alongside member organizations from FMEJIA in support of intro nine ninety eight with necessary amendments.
1:17:55
An increasing number of New Yorkers are experiencing the negative impacts of our changing climate, especially the impacts of heat, which is a silent killer.
1:18:03
As we've heard from DOHMH today, the number of heat related deaths that occurred annually was corrected from three hundred and fifty to five hundred and eighty New Yorkers and the and with the highest burdens among black New Yorkers who are twice as likely to die from heat related impacts as white New Yorkers and these are alarming figures.
1:18:23
The city must appropriately adapt its policy management and response to heat as a climate threat.
1:18:30
While it's and it's critical to ensure that there are sufficiently that there are sufficient publicly available cooling options to help all New Yorkers.
1:18:38
We acknowledge that the existing cooling center program does play a lifesaving role for many but there are also many shortcomings.
1:18:45
For example, from an informal survey that we conducted in some of our member districts a few years ago, we found that some cooling centers didn't have working ACs, didn't have extended hours and some staff did not know that they were actually designated cooling centers and I say all this to emphasize the importance of clear guidelines and dedicated resources for the program.
1:19:05
At a minimum we'd like intro nine ninety eight to ensure a minimum number of cooling centers that operate across the city, ensure that there's a subset that work over the nine to five regular working hours, that they have clear guidelines and minimum working standards and that they ensure risk information is available all throughout the year and to the top 10 spoken languages.
1:19:27
We also want the city to evaluate key statistics utilized.
Lynn C. Schulman
1:19:33
Just summarize.
1:19:34
Okay.
Shravanthi Kanekal
1:19:34
I would summarize.
1:19:35
In conclusion, we are supportive of intro nine ninety eight.
1:19:39
With the right amendments, we know that this can be a good bill that will support and save a lot of New Yorkers' lives.
Lynn C. Schulman
1:19:46
Thank you.