Overview

Located in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, United Puerto Ricans Organization of Sunset Park (UPROSE) provides youth enrichment services, community leadership, and environmental and quality of life advocacy to a predominately Latino community disproportionately affected by air pollution. Seeking to demonstrate that low-cost, sensible, retrofit technologies can be applied to diesel trucks, UPROSE partnered with Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SWBIDC) and Clem Snacks, a local food distributor, to implement a clean air initiative in the industrial section of Sunset Park.

Benefits

Through a Clean Air Communities grant, UPROSE will retrofit ten (10) diesel delivery trucks with diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs), an after-treatment device that configures to the existing exhaust system to dramatically reduce air contaminants. The diesel trucks, once retrofitted, will run significantly cleaner. These trucks, which deliver throughout the five boroughs, will be less offensive during idle, cleaner during operation, and send a message to the large industrial base in southwest Brooklyn that smart, clean alternatives to conventional diesel combustion are not only available, but make good sense in the workplace.

Technology Partners

Clean Air Communities will provide technical and programmatic assistance to this project, including working with Clean Air Technologies International of Buffalo, NY to test and quantify actual emissions reductions during actual, on-road conditions. DOCs will be provided by Englehard Corporation through Atlantic Detroit Diesel Allison, a NJ/NY metro area distributor.

Education and Outreach

A one year, multi-lingual education and outreach program is planned to communicate the benefits of retrofit technology to the Sunset Park community. The total value of the project, including leveraged funding and in-kind contributions, is approximately $125,000.00.