Philly names Environmental Justice Advisory Commission to address ‘racially biased and discriminatory policies’

Philadelphia named 18 members representing different neighborhoods, races, and ethnicities to its first-ever Environmental Justice Advisory Commission on Wednesday. The goal: righting what Mayor Jim Kenney called a legacy of “racially biased and discriminatory policies” in the past, such as exclusionary zoning, racial covenants, and pollution.

“The consequences are that these communities often face unequal health burdens such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, and premature death,” Kenney said. “... Too often the voices of those on the front lines of environmental risks are not heard by decision-makers when creating policies and programs.”

Although legislation creating the commission passed in 2018, the city began taking applicants about one year ago through the Office of Sustainability. At least 140 people applied from 38 zip codes within the city. The list was winnowed to 17 people, many already well-known for work within their communities.

The commission plans to begin by holding community meetings, starting Thursday evening in Eastwick — an area beset by flooding because of its low-lying proximity to Darby and Cobbs Creeks and bordered by a Superfund site. A number of homes are sinking in one section, which activists say was built on dredged silt decades ago.

Carolyn Moseley, executive director of the Eastwick United Community Development Association, is on the new commission. She has been leading an effort to get $500 million for the city from federal infrastructure money to buy out residents willing to go to new homes she hopes would be built on higher ground that borders the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

The other new members are: Carlos Claussell, Ebony Griffin, Gabriella Gabriel Paez, Jerome Shabazz, John A. Armstead, Joyce Lee, Kermit O, Kinteshia Scott, Mariel Diana Featherstone, Nahdir Austin, Paul Devine Bottone, Radika Bhaskar, Su Ly, Syreeta Thomas, Terrill Haigler, and Tyler Ray.

Members volunteer their time, receiving only a $240 annual stipend for expenses.

“My hope is that the commission can be the voice of the communities we represent,” said Gabriel Paez, 31, who grew up in Hunting Park but now lives in Northeast Philadelphia, “especially minority communities that are the ones who suffer the most from environmental justice issues.”

Gabriel Paez said climate change has hit Hunting Park hard. Data have shown some areas of the city can be 20 degrees warmer than other neighborhoods because there’s so little shade and so much concrete and asphalt.

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“I’ll be working with neighbors to be able to bring solutions to the problem, such as planting more trees,” she said.

Gabriel Paez works in community engagement for the nonprofit Esperanza and has already served on an advisory committee with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant trees around the city.

Ray, 24, of North Philadelphia, has worked with the nonprofit Urban Creators, which has helped establish urban farms in the city.

“In that work, I saw the disparities of low-income neighborhoods, especially neighborhoods of color,” Ray said, “that don’t have access to fresh foods and vegetables and other resources because they are so scarce in the city. So hopefully through this commission I can possibly try to make the city more aware that urban gardens and farms are especially vital for communities.”

At-large Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, chair of the council’s committee on the environment, called Philadelphia “a city that struggles with inequity.”

“It’s a fundamental fact that your zip code determines your life expectancy,” Gilmore Richardson said. “Life expectancy can be up to 20 years shorter than in our most financially secure communities. These neighborhoods experience the cumulative burdens of poverty, crime, extreme weather, lack of access to healthy foods, exposure to toxic pollutants. And for a long time, residents of these neighborhoods have had to come up with their own solutions.”

The commission, she said, will help redress that by coordinating efforts with city departments, to “co-create solutions.”

Cheryl Bettigole, the city’s health commissioner, said her office is drafting an environmental justice complaint policy and developing better ways to communicate health issues to residents, especially when it comes to air quality issues.

“We’ll be developing a community organization and community leader notifications by zip code so any instances of air quality emergencies can be quickly disseminated,” she said. Among other environmental justice initiatives, her office has hired its first chief racial equity officer, Gail Carter-Hamilton.

Officials from other city departments also laid out similar new policies and initiatives during a news conference introducing the commission.

Separately, Councilmember Helen Gym announced at a news conference in South Philadelphia that she would introduce an ordinance Thursday to require the Department of Public Health or another city office to “develop an environmental justice map, in consultation with the Environmental Justice Advisory Commission.”

The map would identify environmental justice communities, which the ordinance specifies as areas within Philadelphia “that experience excessive exposure to environmental toxins or stressors and consequently bear an undue burden of negative health or environmental impacts.”

A press release by Gym says that, under the ordinance, “new industrial projects within or adjacent to these areas which would meaningfully and adversely impact community health will undergo a cumulative impact analysis. This will allow the city to better understand how the new project would shape the existing community landscape and empower the Department of Health to potentially require further mitigating steps before the project can proceed.”