Mayor Bloomberg Discusses the Dramatic Improvement in New York City's Air Quality in Weekly Radio Address

September 29, 2013

The following is the text of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s weekly radio address as prepared for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio for Sunday, September 29, 2013.

            “Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

            “Safeguarding your health and safety: That’s the first responsibility that your City government has. And last week, I was proud to announce major progress in protecting New Yorkers – progress that’s saving nearly 800 lives every year.

            “It has to do with the air New Yorkers breathe. It’s cleaner today than it’s been in at least 50 years. Since 2008, we’ve cut the amount of sulphur dioxide – a pollutant that’s linked to asthma and other serious respiratory diseases – by 69 percent. There’s also 23 percent less ‘particulate matter’ in our air – that’s the toxic soot that’s also so harmful and even deadly – than there was five years ago. And we’re continuing to outpace many other major cities in ridding our air of such pollutants.

            “The most dramatic progress we’ve made in air quality has come in what have traditionally been some of the most polluted parts of our city. They’re areas where many large apartment buildings have long used the most heavily polluting grades of fuel oil. In recent years, we’ve ordered the phase-out of these fuels, worked with the City Council and State officials to lower heating oil sulphur content and also provided building owners with help converting to cleaner-burning fuels through a ‘Clean Heat’ initiative. The result: Today, more than 2,700 buildings that once used the most heavily polluting fuel oil have made such switches – well before they’d be legally required to in 2030.

            “Going forward, the full conversion to clean heat from the most polluting grades of fuel oil will be the biggest single step we’ve taken to save lives since the City began its comprehensive smoking control program. Switching to clean heat has already helped cut deaths, emergency room visits, and hospital admissions linked to air pollution by 25 percent; that spells welcome relief from suffering for thousands of New Yorkers every year.

            “Last week, the Clinton Global Initiative – a project of a foundation headed by former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea – recognized New York City’s leadership in taking just such steps to improve public health and clean our environment with an award that I was proud to accept. In recent years, we’ve worked closely with the Clinton Global Initiative through the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, an organization that I currently chair. C40 brings together many of the world’s leading urban areas to work together on the environmental challenges, like air pollution, that we all face.

            “Around the world and especially in developing nations, city populations are exploding; it’s estimated that three-fourths of the world’s people will live in cities by mid-century. Air pollution and the health problems it creates are big and growing problems in many of these cities. And New York’s continued success in cleaning our air is pointing the way for how city governments in the U.S. and around the world can help more of their people breathe easier, too.

            “This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Thanks for listening.”