Opinion: Local high school student calls for New York’s leaders to act today to protect the future of our state
By Brianna Abad, TREEage’s Queens Borough Organizer, with Assembly Member Claire Valdez (AD-37)
This op–ed from Queens-based TREEage climate organizer Brianna Abad speaks to the need for bold investments and climate action at the state level to protect young people from the worst effects of pollution and the climate crisis—and to the power of New York’s next generation of climate organizers to advocate for the future they deserve. I am proud to stand with them and help build a New York where our state’s young people have what they need to live and thrive.
—Assembly Member Claire Valdez
If one thing binds New Yorkers together, it is that our commutes across the city are chaotic. As a 12th-grade student at Bard High School Early College Queens from College Point, I’ve learned to shrug off the occasional mysterious droplets from the subway ceiling on rainy days and even brush off near-daily heat waves in subway stations during summer.
Last year, I learned what to do when flood water reaches my knees—the trick is to keep it moving, even if it means swimming through the streets to get to school. That day, my classmates entered with soaking shoes. When I opened my backpack, I discovered my computer had water damage. I couldn’t ignore it, as I’d often shrugged off the droplets on my commute. As Bard shares our building with two other high schools, we eventually heard from other students how water dripped from the eighth-floor ceiling, interrupting their exams.
That day, I felt angry and completely disconnected from learning. I could no longer ignore the droplets on my commute. But the Bard Queens student experience is not unique. Over 1.1 million students across New York City are feeling the effects of worsening climate change, a crisis compounded by the city’s deteriorating infrastructure.
On my way home from school at 33 Rawson Street, a station where all Western Queens students converge, I saw others’ frustration with the flooding mirror my own. These experiences—from my commutes to my time at Bard Queens—have taught me the power and necessity for New York City students to unite their climate stories.
Climate change is no longer a distant threat we sometimes experience in subway stations. It exists in every corner of our lives. It crept into my daily commute and is now seeping into my education.
Serving as TREEage’s Queens Borough Organizer for almost two years, I want students to find resilience in unpredictable climate moments and connect with other students through these shared challenges.
Read the full op-ed here.
*Brianna Abad (left) is a Queens native, student, and climate organizer with TREEage. Assembly Member Claire Valdez (right) represents the 37th Assembly District in Queens, which includes Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth, and Ridgewood.