The author, a single parent living in Brownsville, Brooklyn, suffers from severe asthma exacerbated by environmental injustices in their neighborhood, such as air pollution and limited access to resources. They highlight the burden carried by many New Yorkers living in similarly affected areas, struggling with health and economic choices due to pollution. The author expresses disappointment in Governor Kathy Hochul's withdrawal from the cap-and-invest program, which could have provided funding for cleaner air and infrastructure, arguing that it would benefit residents' health and economic situation instead of harming it as corporate lobbyists claim.
This is why Gov. Kathy Hochul's retreat from the cap-and-invest program is devastating. This program would make large polluters pay for their pollution while generating approximately $3 billion annually to be invested in our communities.
Our budgets have been stretched beyond their limits, yet more is taken from us each year. We can't allow for a shot at cleaner air to be taken away.
Sometimes it feels as if I am trying to breathe through a straw. My situation is not unique-it is the reality for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers whose neighborhoods bear the burden of pollution.
Corporate lobbyists claim this program would hurt New Yorkers economically, but they never mention people like me who are already paying with our health and wallets.
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