DEC launches urban heat island study, Hochul announces forestry grants

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — On Monday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the start of a new study on urban heat islands. DEC said its almost-$2-million-partnership with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) will asses heat impacts among disadvantaged New Yorkers.

High temperatures kill more people than floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes combined, according to Scientific American . In cities, concrete and asphalt amplify heat, while buildings crowd out plant life and blunt gusts of fresh air. Cities with more intense urban heat island (UHI) effects even have a harder time cooling down at night. This worsens air quality, spikes power bills, and raises the temperature.

And because hotter neighborhoods with the fewest resources often took shape because of discrimination like redlining, according to the EPA, those poor communities today disproportionately feel the impact of extreme heat. Such poor urbanites suffer more from heat waves and suffer more often from heat-related death and heat stroke.

“Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent in New York State and across the country, significantly impacting our environment and contributing to risks to public health, particularly in disadvantaged communities,” Interim DEC Commissioner Sean Mahar said.

Funded by the State Environmental Protection Fund, the project aims to find solutions for those disadvantaged communities. DEC said that studying when, how, and why temperatures in concrete jungles soar compared to surrounding rural areas will help them come up with ways to lessen UHIs in New York. SUNY ESF’s Dr. Theodore Endreny leads the partnership, mapping hot spots and identifying where to invest in green infrastructure.

“The use of urban forests and their green cooling services is needed now more than ever to protect vulnerable communities from deadly heatwaves,” said Joanie Mahoney, SUNY ESF President, in a written statement.

The announcement from DEC said their data will help guide community plans for planting trees, which seems like the most frequently suggested mitigation strategy. The EPA and DEC alike repeatedly underscore the importance of trees and green space to lower temperatures. Meanwhile, experts frequently mark car infrastructure—specifically, dark asphalt roads that absorb and radiate heat—as a major contributor to the problem.

To that end, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced over $7 million in grants for urban forestry projects. The DEC’s Urban and Community Forestry Program oversees the funds in 23 cities:

• City of Albany: $420,260
• Village of Athens: $340,633
• City of Batavia: $452,732
• Big Initiatives Incorporated (Brooklyn): $407,457
• City of Binghamton: $33,333
• Clinton County: $229,622
• City of Cortland: $65,000
• City of Dunkirk: $122,446
• Evergreens Cemetery Preservation Foundation (Brooklyn): $500,000
• City of Glen Cove: $25,706
• Green-Wood Cemetery (Manhattan): $498,035

• City of Kingston: $491,550
• Town of Massena: $231,342
• Natural Areas Conservancy (Bronx): $394,658
• City of New Rochelle: $35,000
• Orleans County: $468,479
• Orange County: $63,154
• Randall’s Island Park (Manhattan): $497,742
• City of Rochester: $199,625
• City of Syracuse: $495,283
• City of Troy: $317,600
• City of Watertown: $400,000
• Woodlawn Conservancy (Bronx): $473,392

Nine of these projects explicitly support the planting and management of ash trees. The Emerald Ash Borer threatens all of New York’s ash trees, according to DEC. August is Tree Check Month in New York.

Mid-July saw the two hottest days on record in the planet’s history, the Associated Press reported. And while experts do not think climate change causes UHI, but intensifies it, instead. Also on Monday—in the wake of storms that broad over 20 tornadoes through New York—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed for an increase in weather forecasting funding.

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