The New York highway that racism built: ‘It does nothing but pollute’ | The Guardian
In the 1960s, I-81 ploughed through a historically Black neighborhood in Syracuse, displacing hundreds. Organizers’ dream of seeing it torn down may get new life under Biden
Rachel Ramirez Fri 21 May 2021
Just south of downtown Syracuse in upstate New York, a stretch of highway has long divided surrounding neighbourhoods.
On the east side are large buildings where university students live, well-maintained green spaces, and a wall that blocks the highway from view. On the west side is a predominantly low-income and disinvested Black neighborhood where the pollution from the highway exacerbates many residents’ existing health conditions.
asthma than their white counterparts, according to a recent report by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU).
