A little history
Our organization began to coalesce during the summer of 2014, with mobilization efforts in the northwest Bronx for the People’s Climate March. We called ourselves the Riverdale-Kingsbridge Coalition for Climate Action (RKCCA). The assistance and support of two local institutions were of particular importance – Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture and the Church of the Mediator, Kingsbridge. We are also very grateful to The Riverdale Press, which has covered our activities from the beginning.
The People’s Climate March “Host Committee” – the many individuals and organizations who came together in the winter, spring, summer and early fall of 2014 to organize what became the half-million-strong People’s Climate March on September 21, (in the winter of 2015, the PCM Host Committee became the People’s Climate Movement NY-PCMNY) – came together in response to the announcement that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would convene a UN Climate Summit when the UN convened in September, 2014. The decision to hold a massive people’s march, calling on governments attending the summit to take immediate, urgent steps to curb climate change, included the understanding that as important as the march itself would be, even more critical would be the growth and strengthening of the civil society underlying the burgeoning global climate movement. RKCCA took this double mandate very much to heart, committing itself to turning out large numbers from the northwest Bronx at the September 21 march, and to continuing the struggle to build the movement for climate justice long after the march was over.
In early October, RKCCA began a post-march series of meetings and discussions that culminated with the formal adoption of the name Bronx Climate Justice North (BCJN). The name was chosen to underline our commitment to the work and tenets of climate justice, as well as to our formal alliance with Bronx Climate Justice South, a coalition of environmental justice organizations based in the South Bronx.
RKCCA in the news:
- 8/20/14, Battle over climate change heats up, The Riverdale Press
- 9/11/14, Join the People’s Climate March, RKCCA Point of View piece, The Riverdale Press
- 9/11/14, Things are heating up, Editorial mentions RKCCA, The Riverdale Press
- 9/14/14, Riverdale-Kingsbridge Coalition for Climate Action Hosts ‘March for Mother Earth,’ News 12 The Bronx
- 9/25/14, People and pols join historic climate march, The Riverdale Press
BCJN in the news – picking up where RKCCA left off:
- 11/6/14, Climate group gets name change, The Riverdale Press
- 11/8/14, BCJN Forum, “The Bronx is Breathing!,” with Mychal Johnson and Taleigh Smith of BCJS, Eco Anchor NYC.
- 11/27/14, Bronx united against FreshDirect, BCJN Point of View piece, The Riverdale Press
- 11/27/14, Activists seek ban on pesticides, BCJN in news piece on opposition to use of glyphosates, The Riverdale Press
- 12/18/14, Local activism pays off, The Daily Kos
- 12/18/14, Local activism pays off, The Huffington Post
- 12/25/14, Activists exult in state’s ban of fracking, BCJN in news piece on NYS fracking ban annoucement, The Riverdale Press
- 1/8/15, Inspiring examples of environmentalism, Editorial mentions BCJN, The Riverdale Press
- 2/2/15, Marble Hill neighbors fume over idling freight train diesel fumes leaking into their apartments, New York Daily News
- 2/19/15, We don’t need no stinkin’ gas, BCJN in news piece on idling diesel train emissions, The Riverdale Press
- 2/26/15, Local Girl Scouts from Troop 3463 Think Green, Girl Scouts thank BCJN in letter on fracking ban, The Riverdale Press
- 3/12/15, The trains in our midst, BCJN Point of View piece on struggle with the MTA over idling diesel trains and hazardous propane transport, The Riverdale Press
- 4/2/15, Say No to Port Ambrose, An Open Letter to Bronx Elected Officials from Bronx Climate Justice North and allies, The Riverdale Press
- 4/16/15, Fight for $15 expands far beyond service sector in day of action, The Indypendent
- 4/21/15, 350.org leader Bill McKibben hails BCJN, Twitter feed
- 7/2/15, Close down Indian Point, An Open Letter to NYC and NYS Elected Officials from Bronx Climate Justice North, Bronx Climate Justice South, and South Bronx Unite, The Riverdale Press
- 7/9/15, A Response from U.S. Representative Eliot Engel to BCJN and allies on Indian Point, The Riverdale Press
- 8/27/15, Idling Trains Move South But Vexation Remains, The Riverdale Press
- 9/24/15, Come to Climate Rally, BCJN op-ed praising Pope Francis and faith organizations’ leadership on climate change, The Riverdale Press
- 10/8/15, Climate Change Requires Action, BCJN letter to the editor, The Riverdale Press
- 11/12/15, We Need Green Jobs Now, BCJN op-ed, The Riverdale Press
- 1/21/16, Revitalize Tibbett’s Tail, editorial, The Riverdale Press
- 1/21/16, Activists try to turn around Tibbett’s Tail, The Riverdale Press
- 1/28/16, Tibbett’s Tail is full of potential, BCJN letter to the editor, The Riverdale Press
- 2/3/16, Proposal to pave Putnam Trail progresses, news story mentioning BCJN, The Riverdale Press
- 3/23/16, Interview of BCJN Coordinator Jennifer Scarlott, BronxNet TV
- 4/7/16, We need more locally grown food, BCJN letter to the editor, The Riverdale Press
- 5/5/16, An impassioned call to join Albany climate protest, BCJN op-ed, The Riverdale Press
- 5/13/16, Justice for farm workers, BCJN op-ed, The Riverdale Press
- 5/18/16, Plastic bag tax just a start, editorial, The Riverdale Press
- 5/18/16, Capitalism is broken, letter to the editor mentioning BCJN, The Riverdale Press
BCJN speaks:
- 3/1/15, Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture Leader James G. White speaks to Ethical Society of Northern Westchester on “The Story of Bronx Climate Justice North”
- 3/29/15, BCJN founding member Jennifer Scarlott is interviewed by Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture leader James G. White regarding Bronx Climate Justice North
- 9/20/15, BCJN Coordinator Jennifer Scarlott speaks about oil transport on the Hudson River on a panel organized by the Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains and 350NJ, Environmental Activists Urge North Jersey Residents to be Engaged on Oil Train Issue
BCJN co-sponsors/co-signs:
- 12/10/14, 350NYC.org’s rally, “Climate Justice is a Human Right: Rally for a Global Climate Treaty,” Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York City.
- 2/13/15, 350NYC.org’s rally, “Global Divestment: Whose Side Are You On?,” Broad St./Exchange Place, New York City.
- 3/19/15, 350NYC’s forum, “Countdown to Paris: Update on Global Climate Treaty Negotiations,” Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development
- 4/24-26/15, Peace & Planet: Mobilization for a Nuclear-free, Peaceful, Just, and Sustainable World, New York City
- 8/11/15, 350 NYC panel, Financial Strategies for Keeping Fossil Fuels in the Ground
- 9/27/15, 350NYC climate teach-in, Climate Crisis and Community: Mobilizing for a Safe Future
BCJN in solidarity:
- 12/17/14, South Bronx Unite reports on public hearings on FreshDirect proposal to move to the S. Bronx (at which BCJN testified), calls for a protest at Harlem River Yard secret ground-breaking ceremony by FreshDirect on 12/22/14
- 12/14, Food & Water Watch Open Letter to President Obama and EPA Administrator McCarthy on the EPA’s proposed “Clean Power Plan.”
- 2/6/15, BCJN hosts film screening and discussion of “Crude: The Real Price of Oil,” about the fight against Chevron by indigenous Ecuadorians in the Amazon, Tribal Link Foundation.
- 2/15, BCJN signs No LNG Coalition’s Open Letter to Governor Cuomo, “Stop the LNG Port Ambrose Terminal!”
- 2/15, BCJN a partnering organization with NY Renews
- 5/15, The New Whitney Museum and Fossil Fuels, Open Letter
- 5/26/15, “The Worm in the Empire Apple,” a BCJN founding member writes about the need for justice for NY State’s farmworkers.
- 6/11/15, “Fair treatment for farm workers,” The Riverdale Press
- 5/1/15, BCJN is a proud supporter of South Bronx Unite and its Platform, campaign against FreshDirect, the Port Morris-Mott Haven Waterfront Plan, and the Principles for Private Development.
- 6/1/16, BCJN an ally of the Rural & Migrant Ministry March for Farmworker Justice
- 7/24/16, BCJN an endorsing organization of the March for a Clean Energy Revolution
- 5/26/16, “My heart is at war with my feet,” a post in the Rural & Migrant Ministry blog Witness by BCJN Coordinator Jennifer Scarlott
BCJN in the Bronx:
- 11/21/14, BCJN hosts film screening and discussion of “Chasing Ice,” an award-winning film about the disappearance of glaciers and ice packs, Amalgamated-Park Reservoir Co-op Bulletin.
- 9/15, BCJN a partnering organization with the Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture
- 3/20/16, “All for one and one for all: seeking resilience in the fight against climate change,” a Sunday platform at the Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture by BCJN members Jennifer Scarlott & Mary Hemings.
- 3/23/16, Interview of BCJN Coordinator Jennifer Scarlott, BronxNet TV