PCBs Press Conference Tomorrow!!!

WHEN: Thursday, October 7, 2010 at 12 P.M

WHERE:  In front of City Hall
                    260 Broadway
                   New York, NY


Press Conference Outside City Hall to Demand Action on Removing Toxic PCB Chemicals from Public School Classrooms

Activists and elected officials demand that the Department of Education and the EPA take immediate action to test and clean up NYC classrooms

WHAT: PCBs – chemicals which have been proven to pose serious risks to children’s nervous and immune systems and to hamper brain development – are currently found in products like window caulk and lighting fixtures in public schools across New York City. Recent results from a pilot study conducted by the NYC Department of Education and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found significantly elevated levels of PCBs in two of three schools tested, with levels at the third also above guidances, putting thousands of kids at risk. There is every reason to believe that many schools built or renovated between 1950 and the late 1970s will be similarly contaminated.

This Thursday, October 7, at 12:00 P.M., New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, a civil rights law firm that has been deeply involved in community efforts to rid New York City schools of PCBs, will join other leaders on this issue, including Congressman Jerrold Nadler and other elected officials, labor and community organizations, school employees, and parents, to hold a press conference outside of City Hall calling on the Department of Education and the EPA to test all schools built in the relevant timeframe and bring air levels at all contaminated schools within guidance levels immediately.

Confirmed speakers include:

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, United States House of Representatives

Congressman Joseph Crowley, United States House of Representatives

Congressman José Serrano, United States House of Representatives

Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, New York State Assembly

New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio

Albert Rodriguez, General Counsel, Office of the Bronx Borough President

Miranda Massie, Litigation Director at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

Regina Castro, New York Communities for Change

Michael Mulgrew, President, United Federation of Teachers

Representatives from SEIU 32BJ and the New York State Laborers’ Union

Parents

About New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) advances equality and civil rights, with a focus on health justice, disability rights and environmental justice, through the power of community lawyering and partnerships with the private bar. Through community lawyering, NYLPI puts its legal, policy and community organizing expertise at the service of New York City communities and individuals. NYLPI’s partnership with the private bar strengthens its advocacy and connects community groups and non-profits with critical legal assistance. NYLPI is the recipient of the 2010 New York Times Awards for Nonprofit Excellence.