Bronx Youth Rally for #StudentsOverHighways

Bronx students, school faculty, and elected officials continue the fight against an expanded Cross Bronx and rallied against the impacts of added noise and air pollution on health and academic performance

BRONX, NY (10/15/2025) (readMedia)-- Today, Bronx students, parents, and school faculty rallied for a more just, sustainable Cross Bronx corridor, and highlighted the impacts of added noise and air pollution on health and academic performance. Long considered one of the most congested corridors citywide, the Cross Bronx is a major source of noise and air pollution with dangerous health implications for Bronx youth already suffering from the highest childhood asthma rates city- and nationwide.

Watch a recording of the rally here.

Last Thursday, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) announced its decision to scrap plans to build a new traffic diversion structure for the Cross Bronx Expressway, in response to widespread community opposition to the project. But the work isn't over. Now, students and members of the Stop the Cross Bronx Coalition are urging Governor Hochul and NYSDOT to eliminate proposals that would widen the existing Cross Bronx Expressway.

With up to 150,000 polluting vehicles already using the roadway daily - including 18,000 heavy trucks - the proposed expansion would bring even more traffic congestion and noise, while exacerbating poor air quality for local communities. Studies show that noise pollution significantly impacts students' attention, cognitive development, and reading performance. Higher noise pollution also drives lower attendance, test scores, and more behavioral incidents.

Directly impacted students, parents, and residents urged Governor Hochul and NYSDOT to improve the corridor and protect public health by investing in the community's existing infrastructure needs.

"Growing up in the South Bronx means constantly dealing with traffic noise and dirty pollution – from the day you start school till the day you graduate. It's not fair that students in our neighborhoods have to put up with loud trucks and toxic air from the Cross Bronx, on top of trying to learn and keep our grades up. Bronx kids deserve a healthy future and an education free of distraction. We have one message for Governor Hochul: put students over highways and halt all plans to widen the Cross Bronx," said David Gomez, junior at Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School and youth organizer with the POINT CDC.

"Today is a continuation of the work that our young people have led for decades with the POINT CDC and partner organizations like YMPJ: addressing the harms in our built environment and their impact on our communities. The South Bronx has come together once again to share our expertise and lived experience on what's right and wrong for our neighborhoods. Our work doesn't stop here. With Bronx students at the frontlines, we will continue working toward equitable repairs for the Cross Bronx, and a healthier, safer future for our communities," said Dariella Rodriguez, Director of Community Development at the POINT CDC.

"As a lifelong Bronx native and parent whose son attends Samara Community School, Starlight Park and the Bronx River are so important to our family. These spaces are a learning asset, an exercise route, and make up the path where he first learned how to ride a bike. But raising our family right near the Cross Bronx's dirty emissions has weighed on his entire childhood. I'm proud to continue advocating to protect and preserve this space for his generation and future ones. We need our state leaders to partner with the community and work toward a safer, cleaner Cross Bronx," said Aazam Otero, Samara Community School parent and Co-founder of Morning Glory Community Garden.

"Samara Community School is located steps from the Sheridan Expressway and Cross Bronx Expressway. This proximity exposes our students and staff to constant noise and air pollution. It's already an extraordinary feat to safely cross the busy, dirty, noisy expressway with classes of young children just to access our ONLY local green space: Starlight Park," said Mariana Swick, Founding Teacher and Integrated Arts & Outdoor Educator at Samara Community School. "But our elementary school is also located steps from the Bronx River - the only freshwater river flowing through NYC - and its beautiful surrounding green space. Thanks to decades of advocacy, care, and restoration by Bronx River Alliance, our students are able to utilize this space every week as an outdoor classroom where they can run, play, breathe in cleaner air, and study their local plants, animals, and ecosystem. Any expansion to the Cross Bronx would cause immeasurable damage to the Bronx River watershed's already susceptible living ecosystem - including our youngest children learning in and around it."

"The advocacy of the Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School and Samara Community School students is a reminder that youth voices are crucial in the fight against harmful infrastructure, which will affect their generation and those to come. The NYSDOT's recent announcement shows that they recognize the community rejects any highway expansion or widening; community-led alternatives must be prioritized instead. The Bronx deserves safer, cleaner, and accessible public transit options and public spaces. Community and connectivity - not more highways - must always come first," said Adrian Cacho, Senior Organizer, Open Plans.

"Together with our partners at the Bronx River Alliance, environmental advocates, and my colleagues in government, we remain committed to ensuring our communities are free from the pollution and environmental degradation that have plagued our neighborhoods for generations," said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. "I want to thank the New York State Department of Transportation for reversing course on their plans and listening to those who have been most impacted by environmental racism and inequality in our borough. However, our work is far from over. We will continue to advocate for a community-centered plan that prioritizes green spaces and meaningful mitigation efforts that protect the health and well-being of our families."

"Our youth represent the future of the Bronx and it's our duty to protect their right to learn, and enjoy a safe, healthy childhood. That's why we're committed to working with Governor Hochul and state DOT toward a healthier, more just Cross Bronx 5 Bridges project for them and for us all," said Siddhartha Sanchez, Executive Director of Bronx River Alliance.

About Bronx River Alliance: The Bronx River Alliance serves as a coordinated voice for the river and works in harmonious partnership to protect, improve and restore the Bronx River corridor so that it can be a healthy ecological, recreational, educational and economic resource for the communities through which the river flows.

About the Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition: The Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion coalition is composed of Bronx grassroots groups, environmental justice organizations, and advocates for safe and healthy transportation. Together, we are fighting to implement a positive community-led vision that reverses the harms done to the public health, environment, and social and economic life of the Bronx by the Expressway. To realize this vision requires stopping new highway expansions along the Cross Bronx – beginning with New York State DOT's current plan to widen the CBE and construct nearly a mile of new elevated highway.

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