BRONX — Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that $20 million from the city's congestion pricing revenue would be redirected to fight childhood asthma in the Bronx and fund the NYC Clean Trucks Program. The redirection of funds to the program took place in April. Mamdani characterized the funds as "An investment in our lungs."

Nineteen percent of Bronx children have been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives, compared to 12 percent of children across New York City. The annual rate of asthma hospitalizations for children younger than four in the Bronx is about 340 per 10,000, while the citywide annual rate is around 200 per 10,000.

A preliminary report by Columbia University scientists, in partnership with South Bronx Unite, found that congestion pricing increased the concentration of toxic air particles in the area by 2 percent. The report has not yet been peer-reviewed. Javier Marchand, an air quality advocate for South Bronx Unite, said particulate matter is "It's the stuff that'll go into your lungs, into your body, into your blood for years." He added, "You don't taste it, you don't see it or anything, you just breathe it."

The NYC Clean Trucks Program offers rebates to owners of truck fleets for switching to low- or zero-emission vehicles. Since 2012, the program has led to the replacement of 714 diesel trucks, according to a city press release.

Last November, the Department of Transportation proposed a redesign of its established routes for heavy-duty trucks. The proposed plan includes roughly 21 miles of new truck routes on highways, increasing truck route mileage across the city by around 3 percent. The department stated the plan aims to shift heavy vehicle traffic away from local streets. Around 75 percent of New York City's waste is processed in environmental justice neighborhoods, including one in the South Bronx, according to city agencies.

Empire Clean Cities, a nonprofit dedicated to electrifying truck fleets, aims to add an electric truck charging hub across the street from the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center. The center distributes around 4.5 billion pounds of food to businesses across the region annually. The charging hub project is funded through a grant from the state's Energy Research and Development Authority. Jonah Kasdan is a program manager at the nonprofit, where three local companies have agreed to a gradual transition to electric trucks. Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy cut funding for one of the group's projects without warning.

The nonprofit partnered with city agencies to pilot the transport of food via boat. A federal grant directed $5 million to the city to support the pilot. A 2022 pilot study of New York City children with asthma, co-authored by pediatrician Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, found that exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide contributed to reduced lung function after exercise.