STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A program designed to cut down on truck emissions isn’t making much of an impact in neighborhoods that suffer from the worst air pollution, including parts Staten Island, according to the city’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Since 2019, the DEP’s Citizen Air Complaint Program has allowed New Yorkers to report trucks and other large vehicles that are idling illegally.
By utilizing the agency’s idling complaints website, New Yorkers can record and report vehicles that are idling for more than three minutes, or more than one minute near a school or park.
When asked about the impact of the program on Staten Island, a DEP spokesperson said that under the current structure, a small number of people have repeatedly targeted known hotspots for idling. The complaints for the program, the representative explained, are typically concentrated in Manhattan, wealthier parts of Brooklyn, and western Queens.
In addition, some of the areas that suffer the most from air pollution, including on Staten Island, receive little attention from the program, according to the spokesperson.
“DEP’s Citizen Complaint Program allows members of the public to report commercial vehicles that idle beyond the legal limit. While the program is successful, it has flaws — particularly its limited impact in addressing idling pollution in environmental justice communities, despite a rise in complaint volume,” according to the DEP spokesperson.
“DEP remains committed to working with City Hall, the City Council, and key stakeholders to strengthen and improve the program.”
The spokesperson also pointed toward testimony by DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala about the program.
At a City Council hearing, Aggarwala said the program had been a successful tool for reducing vehicle emissions in the city.
Aggarwala did, however, admit that the program had almost no impact on the neighborhoods that needed it the most, including the South Bronx, the North Shore of Staten Island, East New York, and Brownsville.
According to a recent report from the New York Post, not many complaints are coming from the neighborhoods that suffer from the worst air pollution, including parts of Staten Island’s North Shore.
The DEP representative said that the agency fully supports a bill in the City Council that would amend the program.
Intro 941, first proposed in 2024, would adjust some of the penalties associated with the program, create a code of conduct for participants, and allow owners to fix their vehicles instead of just paying a fine.
Vehicle emissions were found to be a contributing factor to more than 2,000 deaths in 2016,a Harvard study determined, and Staten Island’s harmful ozone pollution has been previously highlighted by the Advance/SILive.com