Hi friends,
This afternoon, the solstice arrives. The long days of light are lovely AND also quite risky, given the intense heat waves around the US and the world. Our bodies are not as adjusted to the heat as they are later in summer and the shorter nights don’t provide as much time for cooling down.
This sobering article about the effects of heat on our brains helps explain why a) everyone may seem more short-tempered than usual, b) you may be feeling less sharp, and c) you shouldn’t be a martyr: turn on your AC or head to the library or another cooling center.
Find a cooling center in New York City.
the heat-related death rate of Black New Yorkers is twice as high as white New Yorkers and pins the difference on inequities stemming from systemic racism. The report estimates that each summer 350 people die prematurely in New York City because of hot weather.
Library officials are blaming the air conditioning problems on $750,000 in deferred maintenance costs exacerbated by Mayor Eric Adams’ recent budget reductions, and warn that more unplanned closures are likely on the horizon.
“For decades, the library has been an essential, free resource for all New Yorkers, especially in times of extreme weather,” said a NYPL spokesperson.
Libraries have already lost Sunday hours due to budget cuts.
Last year, NYPD spending on helicopter operations hit a new high of $12.4 million. The police spent more time in the air and took more helicopter trips outside the city, too.
If the [aviation] unit returned to its previous spending levels, there would be enough left over to cover the mayor’s proposed cuts to at-risk youth recreational programming and a mental health response program.
Last month, NYC’s mayor announced plans for the city to build a new police training facility in Queens. To spend $225 million on the facility when he is cutting library budgets by nearly $60 million is insane.
This morning, my IG feed included reports of protesters against NYC’s “cop city” being arrested at City Hall. (Of course, I can’t find the post now.)
Take action with Communities United for Police Reform to call on your representatives to stop cop city and invest in our communities!
It’s not that the city’s cops don’t need better training. They do. I believe there’s some empty office space available.
Disciplinary records and interviews with sources also reveal a persistent problem with instances of NYPD officers wearing morale patches on their bulletproof vests containing possible white supremacist imagery.
This is an uncomfortable echo of four years ago, when the NYPD’s riot squad pummeled protesters and cops openly wore pro-Trump imagery, flashed white supremacist symbols while on duty and were discovered in membership lists of extremist militias.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), which investigates complaints of police misconduct, is facing budget cuts in excess of $25 million for the coming year.
In response to prior rounds of cuts, the CCRB has ceased investigating whole categories of complaints if they are isolated incidents, including failure of officers to provide their name and shield number, threats by a member of service, discourtesy, refusal to process a civilian complaint, property seizures, forced hospitalizations or untruthfulness.
Two years ago, I had the pleasure of working with a group of sixth graders at MS 224 in Manhattan. The students were interested in how police felt about public safety, how they were trained, and whether officers thought about the roots of police brutality.
The students planned to invite officers from the local precinct to their classroom to talk with them and wrote questions in preparation for the event. Here are some of their questions.
Hazel: What strikes you as suspicious when you look at a person? If you were in a situation where another cop was doing something unfair, what would you do?
Nola: Do you always have to turn your body camera on?
Jenna: In what situations are you allowed to pull out your gun?
Anonymous: Were you taught not to talk against your fellow officers when they do something illegal or abuse their power?
Izzy: How often do you take racial bias tests (training?) or take measures to make sure you’re not racially biased? Do your peers understand the direct tie from slavery to the policing system? Do you know the roots of racist policing?
Philip: If your slogan is to protect and serve, then why don’t people of color feel safe around cops?
The students rescinded the invitation to the officers when they were told that the police would be armed. The young people did not feel safe in the presence of armed police.
Tell the Mayor what you think of the dangers posed to the public by the NYPD on his watch.
Greater exposure to heat may be affecting students’ learning throughout the year. As the world warms, we should consider this.
Unsurprisingly, the impact of heat on test results is significant.
R. Jisung Park, an environmental and labor economist at the University of Pennsylvania, looked at high school standardized test scores and found that they fell 0.2 percent for every degree above 72 Fahrenheit. That might not sound like a lot, but it can add up for students taking an exam in an un-air-conditioned room during a 90-degree heat wave.
One teacher noted that public school buildings in Chicago
“produce yearly emissions equivalent to about 900 railcars’ worth of coal.”
It isn’t surprising that union negotiators are making climate demands.
“If you want a green school, you have to really think about what the challenges of the climate crisis will bring to students who are trying to study,” said J. Mijin Cha, an environmental studies professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Ayesha Qazi-Lampert, an environmental science teacher, explained [that] the CTU wants to transform the city’s schools into “climate-resilient community hubs.”
I’d advise you against messing with teachers in June. They are worried about their students and affected by the same classroom conditions that make it hard for young people to learn. Bring a jug of lemonade to school tomorrow when you drop the kids.
Stay cool, stay hydrated, and look out for each other!
with love,
L