Breathe Newburgh is a community-powered clean air initiative led by Outdoor Promise. We bring together residents, youth, health advocates, and local partners to confront air pollution in Newburgh with truth, science, and collective action. Our mission is clear: make air quality visible, protect the health of our families, and organize for long-term environmental justice.
Air pollution in Newburgh has been ignored for too long. Families live beside heavy truck traffic, demolition sites, industrial operations, and heating fuel emissions. Asthma rates remain disproportionately high, especially among children. Too many people are forced to make health decisions without knowing what they are breathing—and that is unacceptable.
Breathe Newburgh began with neighborhood conversations, youth-led air walks, and residents asking hard questions: Where is the pollution coming from? Who is most at risk? Why isn’t anyone tracking this for us? We listened and turned concern into action by building a community science approach rooted in transparency and local power.
To expand access to real-time air monitoring, Breathe Newburgh uses the JustAir platform to map pollution levels across neighborhoods in a way residents can understand and use. We collaborate with SUNY Albany on community-based air monitoring methods, and with Bard College on data communication and local research support. These collaborations strengthen the science behind our work without losing sight of who this initiative serves—the people of Newburgh.
We are ensuring that air data remains public, ethical, and community-owned. Clean air should not depend on income, race, or neighborhood. Clean air is a right.
Partners
Breathe Newburgh is powered by community participation and collaboration. Mission-aligned partners strengthen our work.
Core Partners
- JustAir – real-time community air monitoring platform powering our public dashboard
- SUNY Albany – technical guidance and community air science methods
- Bard College – student research, communication, and data storytelling support
Community Support
- Residents and neighborhood leaders
- Schools and youth organizations
- Health and environmental justice advocates
