OP-ED: Why Climate change is burning New York City alive

“New York City is being burned alive …” is a statement that will come as a shock to the more than 8.5 million residents of the city where dreams are made. However, this same city has experienced an average temperature increase of above 2.5°F since 1901, the largest increase in its recorded history.

For some, this rise in temperature is just a minor inconvenience. However, for workers in the construction, transportation, and manufacturing sectors, this heat will disproportionately cause intense, long-lasting issues such as dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Low-income and Black communities, as well as older residents with underlying health conditions, will also be disproportionately affected. These conditions are tied to more than 500 heat-related deaths annually in NYC, and at least 2,000 annual deaths throughout the country. Change is needed now more than ever from on a state and community level … and we are already behind.

I grew up in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and shared a three-bedroom, one-bathroom, rent-stabilized apartment in a seven-member household. In elementary school, current events often discussed global warming as a “good” thing. I remember reading media articles that asked, Who doesn’t like warmer weather, a sign of summer break, watermelon popsicles, and playground water sprinklers?

However, outside of school, I experienced how rising temperatures and humidity made every journey home grueling as my family climbed the steep, narrow, and worn-out staircases that separated us from our home. When I walked around the neighborhood with my grandfather, we noticed streets constantly filled with scattered plastic litter and empty bottles and cans tucked in plain sight against bushes and sidewalk corners.

Public trash cans would stay overfilled each day, contributing to the air pollution and the spread of microplastics. Certain corners and alleyways became “mini landfills” as large garbage bags, food scraps, and scrap materials were abandoned, increasing the risk for methane release, a key contributor to climate change.

Now, as a public health student, I understand climate change as a preventable but urgent problem that puts Black communities at double the risk for heat stress-related deaths compared to all other racial and ethnic groups. This public health crisis requires both systemic and community efforts to tackle deeply rooted social, environmental, and housing inequities.

From a systemic level, reallocation of funding towards housing and water inspections is needed to ensure residents are living in cool, well-ventilated, and safe spaces, especially in older NYCHA buildings. Efforts to promote green spaces in neighborhoods with high heat vulnerability index (HVI) levels will protect air quality for generations to come and would be preventive measures to mitigate the incidence of asthma and other lung diseases. Lastly, proper sanitation efforts to remove garbage and promote recycling can control the amount of pollutants lingering on the streets.

At a community level, organizations can regularly plan local events and initiatives that were historically held annually during Earth Day. Collaboration between New York Parks, the Department of Transportation, local gardens, community centers, and schools can offer interactive planting workshops, litter cleanups, climate education, and running and biking races to engage the community and encourage collective efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.

In a city that prides itself on building from the hopes and dreams of millions of diverse individuals, it is our shared responsibility to battle the heat, educate ourselves about local initiatives to protect our friends and neighbors, and engage in both community-based and state-level efforts to maintain a city that future generations can continue to thrive in.

Vicki Yang is a student currently working toward a master’s in public health degree at the SUNY Downstate School of Public Health.