The future of environmental justice and sustainability group decided to focus on the movement of Fresh Direct to the South Bronx, which was done without community input. We decided to emphasize on the adverse effects this has on the environment and health of the community as well as the issue of public versus private land.

On February 29^th, our group contacted Roger Hernandez Jr. from the organization, Friends of Brook Park, to see if he could be our community contact and had any ideas on how to focus our topic. On March 2^nd, Roger wrote to Harry Bubbins from South Bronx Unite, an organization that focuses on the Fresh Direct issue more directly, on our behalf. Harry suggested we focus on the plans Fresh Direct has to double their size and suggested the idea of having air-quality monitors to measure the impact they are making to the neighborhood. Fresh Direct planned on building a 500,000 square foot facility but the company seems to now be planning on creating an even bigger building. To get more information he suggested we write to Mychal Johnson or the South Bronx Unite organization directly.

In the meantime, the group created a project proposal on the effects Fresh Direct’s move has on the South Bronx community in hopes of working with someone from South Bronx Unite. This organization has expressed the community’s disapproval of the move through peaceful protest, environmental justice tours of the neighborhood, and lawsuits. We emailed the organization directly on March 6^th and received no reply.

Professor Hillary Caldwell bridged the line of communication with Roger on March 10^th since South Bronx Unite had not replied. He suggested focusing on the practical application of a solar electric panel charging station system or the area in East Harlem that is now being considered for low-income housing.

Determined to work on the topic of Fresh Direct, we emailed Mychal Johnson on March 15^th to see if he would reply back and be a possible community contact as a representative of South Bronx Unite. Mychal responded that day suggesting we meet with him and go for a tour in the neighborhood to learn more about the issue. We decided to set this small, guided environmental justice tour on the next available date, April 16^th. We also asked if it would be possible to meet with him earlier to discuss the project further.

There were a couple of interesting points made against Fresh Direct that made this topic more appealing to our group. Fresh Direct moved from Long Island City, in Queens, NY to the South Bronx, NY as the company began to expand. They were offered government subsidies to move to New Jersey, but New York City officials wanted to keep Fresh Direct in the City. They offered the company $128 million worth of a subsidy package and tax breaks, which then prompted Fresh Direct to agree to stay (Kochman, 2014).

In a YouTube video made by South Bronx Unite to raise awareness about the current issues, Mychal states, “My community breathes different air than the white community”. This racial injustice aligns with the themes studied in class thus far. Asthma rates are among the City’s highest in the South Bronx and over a hundred Fresh Direct trucks running in the neighborhood will only add to this problem. A study beginning in 2002 involving putting air quality sensor on the backpacks of children showed a large amount of air pollution, which even exceeded the EPA safe limit in some areas.

Another issue the community had with the Fresh Direct move, which was interesting, is that the 1,000 jobs Fresh Direct will bring may not help a community with 35% of residents living below the poverty line more than it will hurt the environment. The workers are exploited and those living in this area are typically not the people who are using Fresh Direct’s services.

The first challenge we faced was deciding what exactly our group wanted to focus on. We began as the future of community gardens group and had trouble focusing on an issue we all felt passionate about. With guidance, we changed our approach to the future of environmental justice and sustainability focusing on Fresh Direct’s impact on the South Bronx community. Finding a community contact who would reply to our emails and like to work with us was a challenge for some time as well. However, this problem is resolved now that we have created a relationship with Mychal Johnson.

The group has worked together efficiently to complete the tasks set out so far. We communicate with each other and the community contact through email. Our group’s remaining tasks include completing a historical narrative, meeting with the community contact to discuss the project further, going on an EJ tour in the South Bronx, attending a South Bronx Unite community meeting, writing the white paper, and creating a video, which acts as our public engagement product.