COVID-Induced Delivery Boom Exacerbates Environmental Inequality in the South Bronx
Last week, I saw a Fresh Direct delivery truck parked across the street from my window. A worker dismounted carrying bags stuffed full with groceries and hauled them up to the neighbor’s doorstep before driving away, followed by a cloud of exhaust fumes. Since COVID-19 struck my community, I’ve seen more and more of these trucks on my street, delivering groceries, appliances, and packages throughout the neighborhood; yet, I never see where these deliveries are coming from.
It turns out that these Fresh Direct delivery trucks originate from a poverty-stricken community of minorities in New York City, otherwise known as the South Bronx. Specifically, the Fresh Direct warehouse in the neighborhood of Mott Haven is the source for many of their New York deliveries. Residents suffer from extreme levels of pollution emanating from four nearby highways, Wall Street Journal printing presses, a parcel depot, sewage works, and the hundreds of Fresh Direct trucks passing through the warehouse. For this reason, this neighborhood has been marked as ‘asthma alley’ well before the delivery increase caused by COVID-19, as the air toxicity has led to an influx of health issues regarding breathing and the lungs.
Mott Haven has rates of asthma hospitalizations 21 times higher than other NYC neighborhoods and 5 times higher than the national average. This neighborhood has an average of 647 asthma cases per 10,000 children, as opposed to 410 in the Bronx, 223 in NYC, and 28 in the NYC financial district. But, its inhabitants contribute towards a minuscule amount of the emissions responsible for their hardships. Whereas the Fresh Direct trucks driving down my street come from far away to bring resources, those in Mott Haven drive aimlessly through the streets, bringing with them all of the pollution but none of the benefits. Mott Haven is a prime example of environmental inequality; this means that the minorities of this neighborhood are being forced to bear excess amounts of an environmental burden created largely by more privileged, white citizens. Since 97% of Mott Haven’s citizens are black or Hispanic, this community has been redlined over history as a place of little worth and designated as a corporate dumping ground.
Citizens of Mott Haven protesting the negative impact of the Fresh Direct warehouse on their community. Source: Mott Haven Herald
According to a recent study led by Christopher Tessum, black Americans are exposed to about 56% more pollution than is caused by their consumption, and Hispanics are exposed to 63% more. On the other hand, non-Hispanic whites are exposed to 17% less pollution than they create. This situation is simply unethical. In the words of Anjum Hajat, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, “if you’re contributing less to the problem, why do you have to suffer more from it?” Additionally, why should being a minority endanger your family and your health? Why is racial inequality so prevalent that it’s impacting the environment and stealing away the basic necessities of life?
Another protest by South Bronx citizens: “It’s harder to breathe with white privilege in the air” Source: Bronx Climate Justice North
The environmental inequality in the South Bronx is only widening with time as numbers of deliveries skyrocket due to COVID. Currently, the citizens of this community are being placed into an impossible position; supporting factory and delivery growth may provide a smattering of low-wage jobs that allow them to barely scrape by, but additional pollution will increase asthma cases and put both children and the elderly at even higher risk. In the future, Mott Haven, as well as other neighborhoods in this community, must be protected from the devastating effects of pollution exposure. Hospital resources, such as inhalers and long-term control medications (e.g. corticosteroids) are first needed to provide immediate relief to those already with pollution-induced asthma. After that, green space must be brought to the South Bronx- parks, trees, recreational areas- so that the lungs of this community can take a breath of fresh air.
