Rezoning Worsens Asthma Concerns

As a definitive decision on the controversial 125th Street rezoning plan looms a week from Wednesday, some residents worry that the New York City Council’s approval of the plan will only further frustrate one of Harlem’s most striking health issues—asthma.

The percentage of asthmatic children in Harlem ranks among the highest in the nation. According to the Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative, arguably one-third of Harlem children ages 0-12 suffer from the chronic lung condition. But while asthma continues to affect the educational and emotional development of the area’s youngsters, a drop in hospitalizations, as reported by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, suggests that the problem has lessened.

Some attribute this decline in the number of asthma-related hospitalizations to the increased effectiveness of doctor-training programs and environmental lobbying groups, such as the West Harlem-based WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

Despite signs that the air may be clearing, WE ACT—an organization that aims to “fight environmental racism”—says that city government has ignored some of the major health and complications that rezoning could bring. WE ACT has criticized studies highlighted by the Department of City Planning’s Environmental Impact Statement, including a 37-page report on air quality in the affected areas­ which concluded that, given certain measures, “the proposed action [rezoning] would not cause significant adverse air quality impacts.”

In a February letter prefacing WE ACT’s response to the findings in the EIS, Anhthu Hoang, general counsel for WE ACT, wrote, “CPC and the City Council should refuse to allow the Plan to go forward unless the DCP revises its ... statement to provide a thorough analysis of its significantly negative environmental impacts and design ways to avoid them.”

In their response, the organization focused on how construction from rezoning would lead to heavier concentrations of particulate matter and ozone, increasing dust and traffic in an already densely populated thoroughfare. Because asthma may develop from an allergic reaction to polluted air, WE ACT fears that rezoning would only add fuel to Harlem’s respiratory fire.

“You have to see it from a health point of view,” said Larry Parker, public relations and communications coordinator at WE ACT, adding that more modern “green” techniques and the curbing of traffic could prevent the construction from taking such a severe health toll. Gentrification and building height limits, Parker said, could also play a role.

Still, others view the issue as a matter of political representation. Nellie Bailey, director of the Harlem Tenants Council, criticized Councilwoman Inez Dickens (D-Harlem) for not fulfilling “her responsibility as a public servant who looked after interests of public constituents,” and failing to make their well-being a priority.

Lynette Velasco, special assistant to Dickens, maintained that Dickens recognizes the contamination and is fighting against it. “What she’s fighting for is more programs, not studies ... to address chronic problems and respiratory illnesses,” Velasco said. Like many others, Velasco noted the difficulty of mounting a clean air policy in a place like Harlem, which contains a plethora of bus depots, highways, and sewage plants—hubs of pollution whose location in the neighborhood are, according to Parker, “are not a coincidence.”

But the crisis of asthma stretches far beyond 125th Street. Recent decades have seen the creation of clinics, hospitals, and coalitions that seek to provide locals with access to what they describe as much-needed information and medical care. Sally Findley, a professor at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and director of the Northern Manhattan Asthma Basics for Children Initiative—a program that partners with the New York City Department of Health—says that communication between doctors and families is essential. “The fundamental premise is that if you can’t talk with the family you can’t determine how bad their asthma is, and you won’t be able to explain to them what to do when they do have asthma,” Findley said.

Asthma—which may stem from genetics, inflammation provoked by stress, or allergic reaction—is particularly bad in Harlem due to poor housing conditions, cockroaches, a high-density population, and surging levels of emotional stress. Although in other areas asthma typically develops in children between the ages of 3 and 5, in Harlem it can appear as early as 6 or 7 months.

Many youths in Harlem must be rushed to the emergency room upon the onset of an attack rather than receive the preventative primary care that asthmatics should receive. While a lack of insurance and medical care do not stop families from giving their children the proper treatment, Findley stresses that schedules often do. “People are going to get their asthma care in the emergency room not because they don’t have insurance; it’s because they work when the doctor is available,” she said.

Still, while the 125th Street rezoning may, according to some, further exacerbate asthma, general pollution in Harlem continues despite the consensus that it must be curtailed. Buses often idle at street corners, many of them not containing protective filters as they release harmful fumes.

Findley reflected on the current circumstances with hope but also with a firm sense of caution. “We’re getting better at it,” she said. “We still need to enforce it ourselves.”

scott.levi@columbiaspectator.com