Gritty City Series: Hello Brooklyn! Part 2

I wish my story would end here and that the occasional gritty nose blowing was the extent to my experiences...

By Jameelah Muhammad

16 @ War - Karina Pasian

You are probably thinking the air quality I'm describing is over exaggerated, that New York has come a long way in terms of air quality, and that I'm just some paranoid environmental obsessed person who is determined to make a scene about any possible sign of pollution. And who knows, I don't have the data of previous air quality compared to present day, but what I can say is that well if there have been some improvement, I still believe there is a lot of work that is left to be done. I wish my story would end here and that the occasional gritty nose blowing was the extent to my experiences, however I, like so many other people who probably live in this city am experiencing something on a more chronic scale in terms of what this all means. Over the past year since I have moved to New York, I have experienced a change in my breathing capabilities and overall function. After numerous visits to the doctor, and a many horrible peak flow tests(both painful and exhausting), it was evident that the quality of my breathing had decreased dramatically and something was definitely going on. I have no doubt that what I've been experiencing has either been caused by or exasperated by air quality issues which I've experienced almost everywhere that I've been while living here. To make matters worst, after talking to some close friends who have moved to city from else where and have been here for some time, they can attest to the fact that they've experienced similar pulmonary issues, and in some cases they have developed asthma. Now, I am not a doctor, and I don't know what exact lifestyles these individuals have and currently lead, but I do know that something had to get thrown in the mix for people who are decently healthy to suddenly be experiencing breathing problems and to develop asthma, especially in such a short period of time. So what does this mean for mean? What does mean for people who are living in non-gritty cities, and gritty cities alike? .....

to be continued With more Grit, Grime and Real Change for all

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Gritty City Series: Hello Brooklyn!

Hello Brooklyn - Jay-Z

Gritty City Series-
"The New York Chronicles" Part 1
By Jameelah Muhammad

Yes, I live in a gritty city and I have to say that the experience thus far has been, well...interesting. Not that I expected New York to be pristine and the streets clear of trash and/or debris, however I did underestimate how gritty in fact the city was. A Michigan native, I can attest that my home state has its own set of issues when it comes to pollution, recycling, and general sustainability, but I must say that I have experienced and seen quite a different situation since moving to New York. I've been living in the city for almost a year now and my health and exposure to grittiness is drastically different from when I was living in Michigan. I will never forget after spending my first few weeks here and blowing my nose, only to find gray and black particulates all over my tissue.

Initially I was disturbed, maybe even shocked by this quite obvious evidence of air pollution and inhalation of toxic chemicals to which I was partaking. After a while I stopped seeing these smears on my tissues when I would blow my nose and wondered to myself could it be that my body has adapted to this negative attack on it's lungs, or maybe there is an accumulation of G-d knows what piling up in my lungs that I'm just not as aware of as I was before because the level of my coughing and sneezing has decreased....

"This is Part 1 in a series we will be running all day featuring the Opinion of New York City Educator Jameelah Muhammad. Check back at lunch time for part 2 and a new song to go with it."

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