This week on the Disabilities Beat, we share the disability-related news you may have missed last week, including: a significant announcement from activists involved in a pollution controversy in Niagara County, Senator Chuck Schumer taking a stand on food insecurity concerns in Wyoming County, and announcements about Disability Pride Month events to look forward to.
To read the full stories mentioned in this report, click below:
DEC whistleblower recognized as activists pressure Goodyear to end carcinogen emissions by Emyle Watkins
Schumer, community leaders raise concerns as SNAP cuts near by Alex Simone
Disability Pride Festival is returning to Western New York by Maria Pawelczyk
TRANSCRIPT:
This is a rush transcript created by a contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins:
Hi. I'm Emyle Watkins, and this is the Disabilities Beat.
Last week, we saw a significant announcement from activists involved in a pollution controversy in Niagara County, Senator Chuck Schumer taking a stand on food insecurity concerns in Wyoming County, and announcements about Disability Pride Month events to look forward to.
Dylan Keenan:
I am here because my findings were thorough and truthful and I stood behind them.
Emyle Watkins:
Dylan Keenan, a former State Department of Environmental Conservation engineer who pushed for a Niagara Falls factory to be held accountable for dangerous emissions, was recognized on June 29th by local activists. Keenan, who has been suspended without pay for almost two years, reported the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Plant near 56th Street to the US Environmental Protection Agency for releasing more than the safe limit of Ortho-toluidine, or OT, a known bladder carcinogen.
Renae Kimball, president of the NAACP Niagara Falls Branch, presented Keenan with the Environmental Justice Hero Award on behalf of the NAACP and several other organizations. However, Kimball and other activists worry the factory and the state are not going to hold to their promises.
Renae Kimball:
We're not going to allow it to go away, and that's the whole point. I think they're waiting to see if in fact that equipment is installed in October. But the thing is is that they need to be really looking, totally reviewing that permit, and making sure that every ounce of OT is dissipated and it is not flowing into our community.
Emyle Watkins:
The DEC is currently reviewing a new permit for Goodyear. Last year, Goodyear agreed to an order from New York regulators to install functional pollution control devices to remedy emissions by October 2026 and pay a $5,000 fine. The consent order came after months of reporting from BTPM and our partner, Public Health Watch, on DEC documentation showing the surrounding community was at risk while the factory has operated with a faulty pollution control system, possibly as far back as 2010. Goodyear and the state DEC maintain that the community does not face a "imminent threat," and that the interim controls are functional.
Last week, my colleague, Alex Simone, reported on how looming cuts to SNAP food benefits have Western New York advocates and federal politicians sounding the alarm. According to the nonprofit organization, Hunger Solutions New York, the state will take on an additional $1.2 billion in annual SNAP expenses, which also trickle down to the counties if the federal cuts fully go into effect as currently laid out.
Here's more from Simone.
Alex Simone:
Senator Chuck Schumer says he will not vote for a new farm bill unless cuts to SNAP funding are restored or at least postponed across the board for two years, and adds that he expects federal support from both sides of the aisle. Schumer says the cuts will have a devastating impact on families dealing with food insecurity.
Chuck Schumer:
Those cuts go into effect right now in September, and that means in a few months, our counties, including Wyoming County, is going to have to make an awful choice, raise local taxes or cut vital food assistance.
Alex Simone:
According to the New York Health Foundation, veterans are among groups at an elevated risk, with about 25% of the state's veterans from recent wars dealing with food insecurity.
Emyle Watkins:
And to add to Simone's reporting, those veterans also face high disability rates, as 60% of new veterans have a disability. Many groups in and around the disability community also face high rates of food insecurity. A study in the Disability and Health Journal showed that roughly 48% of direct support professionals in New York, who are largely women and people of color, experience food insecurity.
And lastly, the region's largest annual Disability Pride Festival is coming up at the end of this month. This year, the theme of the festival, hosted by Western New York Independent Living, is Art of Access and will feature an entertainment stage, art show, Unity Walk and Roll, over 60 resource tables and more. Senior vice president at M&T Bank and festival committee member, Franklin Collins, says that Disability Pride Month and the festival, while a celebration, is also a reminder of the work that still needs to be done 36 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed.
Franklin Collins:
This month is a reminder of the work that continues and our shared responsibility to create spaces where people feel safe, welcomed, and able to thrive.
Emyle Watkins:
The festival will take place on July 24th at Buffalo RiverWorks from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM and is free to attend.
For more on this story, visit our website at btpm.org.
I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
