WHO WE ARE
The purpose of Neighbors for Environmental Justice is to educate, advocate and organize with our community to accomplish environmental justice on the southwest side of Chicago.
We believe environmental justice cannot be separated from racial justice, and so we align and advocate to support the larger struggle for justice in all the forms it takes.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Food distribution
N4EJ has been organizing food distributions at rotating sites on the Southwest Side. We began in partnership with Gourmet Gorilla and the USDA and distributed most weeks from June through September 2020, distributing more than $250,000 worth of food. We continue to organize food distributions. Follow us on Facebook or sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.
Community Conversations
A series of open discussions about environmental justice and what it means for our community, these (currently virtual) conversations are a chance for us all to connect and consider the issues facing us and what we can do about them.
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
Stop MAT Asphalt!
The sudden appearance in 2018 of a hot-mix asphalt plant across the street from McKinley Park is what first prompted Neighbors For Environmental Justice to get organized. We’re still fighting to close the plant, which has received numerous complaints and citations. Read about it! Get involved! And if you’re in the area while it smells bad, head on over to smellsbad.today to submit a report or file a complaint.
Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN)
Environmental justice isn’t just an issue on the Southwest Side. We are working in coalition with Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, People for Community Recovery, Southeast Environmental Task Force Southeast Side Coalition to Ban Petcoke, Blacks In Green, and Ixchel to confront Chicago’s long pattern of environmental racism and fight for change. Every neighborhood deserves clean air and clean water.
Suing the EPA
N4EJ has partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to sue the US EPA over the way they evaluated the toxic chemical methylene chloride, which is used in the Clean Harbors solvent reprocessing facility at on 42nd street by Ashland.
RESEARCH
Early warnings
We try to track the announcement of new developments and potential sources of pollution, and warn the community as soon as we find anything.
Air Monitoring
We have purchased PurpleAir monitors to collect data about particulate matter (PM) around Chicago. You can view the map, or get your own monitor! We have also been working with ELPC and Microsoft to help place monitors and provide feedback for the UrbanAir project.
Pollution Research
To learn more about the effects of air pollution on community health, we’ve been collecting articles and research.
Public Documents
We have gathered a lot of public documents through public records searches and FOIA requests in our campaign to close MAT Asphalt. Check out our collection of key documents. To search the Chicago data portal for inspections or documents related to a person, business, or address, try BetterDataPortal.
GET INVOLVED
The first thing you can do is speak up. When it smells bad, report it (to us) and file a complaint (with the city/state) at smellsbad.today.
If you want to help with food distributions, environmental actions, community conversations, or other possible events, fill out our volunteer survey and let us know how you want to be involved.
We’re also on a bunch of different platforms, so you can follow and engage with us here, too:
Twitter: @N4EJchicago
Facebook: fb.com/N4EJchicago
Instagram: @n4ejchicago
Sign up for our Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ig57i1
Air monitoring: @SWSideair or www.purpleair.com
Oh, and of course you can always email us: info@n4ej.org