NYC Council launches investigation into city’s air quality response

The New York City Council is launching an investigation into the city’s response to the “new normal” of unhealthy air quality this summer, a result of Canadian wildfires and local urban air pollution. In a hearing scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m., three committees will meet to hear testimony and discuss ways of improving citywide communications for air pollution. But ahead of the proceedings, air quality experts shared thoughts with Gothamist on steps the city could take before the next clouds arrive.

The hearing will include the Committees on Environmental Protection, Resiliency and Waterfronts; Oversight and Investigations; and Health. The public is welcome to testify in-person or remotely.

Poor air quality isn’t new for NYC. Even though its skies are much cleaner than in the past, the metro area ranks consistently among the top 25 most polluted cities in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association. Last year, Queens alone had 16 days that were unhealthy for vulnerable groups such as the elderly. Despite those trends, air quality wasn’t something that New Yorkers typically monitor every morning with other forms of weather or receive alerts for as a matter of necessity.

That is until “orange air day,” when the skies turned a fuzzy flame-colored hue on June 7. City Councilmember Gale Brewer said that horrific haze prompted an oversight hearing to gather testimony and information to identify and assess what steps the Adams administration took to inform the public of the imminent threat of unhealthy air.

“The question is, was there enough notice,” said Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side and chairs the Council’s committee on oversight and investigations. “It’s very scary, but people need to have more information than ever.”

Brewer said that the city did the best it could, but its response was delayed at times. When the first plume of smoke started to suffuse skies with the smell of campfire on June 6, it was obvious from looking up at the evening haze hanging over places like Yankee Stadium that something was amiss. By 10 p.m., the air quality had reached 218, a level that is dangerous for children and those with underlying health problems. But it wasn’t until close to midnight that City Hall issued a statement and canceled public school outdoor activities for the next day.

Brewer said more could be done to relay information about whether it’s healthy to be outside or when to wear a mask and where to get one nearby.

“The issue for us is you want as much notice as possible,” Brewer said. “There are a lot of people who have underlying conditions that are severely impacted by the quality of the air.”

The councilmember said she’s heard from a lot of constituents who are concerned about when and what will happen the next time the air is dangerous to breathe.

The Canadian wildfire smoke could return to the metropolitan area repeatedly this summer, as blazes still burn north of the border. The current fire forecasts show a season peak around the beginning of August, but most of Canada is rated above average for fire risk through September, fueled by drought conditions brought on by climate change. Most of Canada is listed as abnormally dry.

“We’re not only talking about something that can exacerbate symptoms of those living with lung disease right now, but we’re talking about exposure to something that might cause lung cancer in the long run,” said Trevor Summerfield, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in New York. “We know climate change is real. We know it’s here.”

At the time, Mayor Eric Adams defended the city’s delayed response by calling the situation “extremely fast-moving.” He added there was “no blueprint or playbook for these types of issues.” Summerfield, who resides in Albany, received notice to expect smoke coming his way days in advance.

“We do this for heat, we do this for extreme weather events like hurricanes,” said Dr. Christopher Tedeschi, who is the director of disaster preparedness and an associate professor of emergency medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. “Just because we’re dealing with a smoke condition rather than a heat condition, you have to reinvent the system.”

Getting the message out

A playbook already exists for managing threats such as bad air quality, and Tedeschi said New York City’s blueprint for emergencies is robust. The combination of channels like Notify NYC, which sends citywide emergency communications through personal devices, as well as grassroots networks of community centers, religious organizations, neighborhood nonprofits and doctor’s offices is sufficient in getting the word out.

But Notify NYC only had just over 1 million subscribers, according to city officials in June, raising questions about its reach. Tedeschi said what the city really needs is additional messaging on air quality.

“If you get that [alert] message, there has to be some connection to what do you want me to do about it,” said Tedeschi. A message on air quality needs to include more than whether it’s bad or good; it must also include instructions such as don’t go outside or wear a mask.

Timing of those communications is just as crucial, especially when forecasts are available to facilitate advance notice.

“We’re pretty reasonable at predicting the air quality,” Tedeschi said. “I think to enable someone at least a little bit of planning time is really important.”

Using forecasts to predict air quality risks could give residents a couple of days or more to make preparations such as refilling a prescription drug, getting an inhaler or allowing parents and school staff to figure out what they’re going to do because children can’t go outside. This kind of advance notice could save lives and reduce trips to the hospital.

“It’s very difficult to act on things in the moment unless it’s a big emergency, and that’s kind of the opposite of preparedness,” said Tedeschi.

To be prepared, Tedeschi said that New Yorkers need a baseline education on air quality threats such as understanding the risk levels and the corresponding preparations. These types of non-emergent messages can be communicated through the public transit system – similar to the ads encouraging residents to always have a bag packed at home in case of emergencies.

“There’s some responsibility to provide messaging in a way that enables people to prepare,” Tedeschi said. “You don’t have to be 100% accurate; you have to have a good sense of what’s going on.”

The City Council will gather and analyze all the information from the committee hearing, including any public comment. From that, it hopes to make recommendations that could also lead to legislation.

“We had that one day when the sky turned orange, which was very disconcerting,” said New York City Councilmember Lynn Schulman, who represents parts of Queens. “We want to see what the city is doing and how people can be prepared because I think there’s a lack of knowledge in that area.”

Bria Suggs contributed reporting.