Nobody Can Escape The Bad Summer Air

Levels of fine particles in the air. (Via Department of Health)

A new DOH study [PDF] tracked levels of fine particles like elemental carbon, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide throughout the city's summer air. And though all the maps are different, they paint the same picture: New York is really soiled.

Though Manhattan had it worse for most of the pollutants (ozone affected Rockaway and Staten Island the most), it seems no neighborhood is safe from the dangers of air pollutants. Deputy Health Commissioner Daniel Kass told the Post, "The take-home message here is that the air quality just isn't great anywhere in New York City." Neighborhoods with the largest crowds had an average of 22% higher level of particulate matter than other neighborhoods.

Ground-level ozone, which Kass describes as "basically smog," is more concentrated in areas downwind from the more congested neighborhoods. Kass says, "Any effort the city or everyone else makes to improve air quality in New York City will have benefits across the city. If you reduce traffic in the central Manhattan zone, you will reduce ozone in the outer areas of New York City," and Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said the city needs to start relying more on mass transit. So, is the wait for the subway worth the cleaner air?

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By Jaya Saxena in News on August 18, 2010 2:47 PM

Comments [rss]

Cannibal

Looks like Jersey is about to get a Dirty Sanchez...

allthewine

Well that would be amazing. I would definitely respect riders more if that were the case. However, I'm seriously getting tired of almost getting nailed by messengers on Broadway.

But alas for now pedestrians are apparently idiots who are getting in the way of messengers/hipsters/yuppies/hippies.

allthewine

I happen to think that more bicycle riders will create more mass confusion considering that most of them don't obey traffic rules. People should stop smoking so much, littering and smart cars should be the norm. Ban SUV's.

Tower18

If every single smoker in New York City stopped smoking today, it wouldn't even register on this map.

I would bet simple things like reducing single-occupancy vehicle traffic and cutting down on truck/bus idling would have sizable impacts.

tept

If you got rid of the majority of automobiles (kept buses & delivery trucks) there'd be plenty of room for bikes without the confusion, it'd help the smog, and they'd be more likely to follow traffic rules(seeing as how they'd be the majority of the traffic)

if only.

BDS=(Boycott.Divest.Sanction)

maybe it goes without saying but those red lines criss crossing bklyn are highways and thru ways...the pristine parts are park or places with out cars. The mo density the more smog, just another reason to be against over development.

the population in north williamsburg is going to double! what will that do to the air quality there?

instead of building new indefinitely, why dont we settle on the number of people NYC can comfortably sustain and close the bridges off once we that many people. I vote for 50K

jaems33

"If you reduce traffic in the central Manhattan zone, you will reduce ozone in the outer areas of New York City."

For starters, dramatically increase street parking rates which are already ridiculously below market value and moderately increase the price of off-street parking. It really doesn't make sense to have street parking, the most coveted and in demand to be cheaper than off-street.

LESuicide

So what this map is saying is that if I hang out at Laguardia or JFK, I'll be breathing clean air?

Kojak

Well, cleanER anyway...

Its better than nothing!

Cannibal

This is why you wash your face, TWICE when you get home, and exfoliate 2-3 times a week and use protective moisturizer.

Kojak

More bicycle riders & hybrids will decrease the level of smog, but increase exponentially the level of Smug in the area.

So we're fucked either way.

jaems33

Ha. As if people driving with loud music blaring and showing off luxury cars ain't smug.

Stevennnn

Obviously. Want cleaner here move to someone less dense. The more people = more the garbage, more cars, more buildings etc.

eric l

This is what happens when you hire (three times!) the candidate the entire news media calls an "environmentalist Republican".

And never forget that the media's definition of "environmentalist" is a creep who flies a helicopter instead of taking mass transit to concerts and promised to eliminate half his staff's free cars at City Hall but instead doubled the number once elected.