Congressman Paul Tonko Hosts Roundtable with ALL(bany) Together Project Community Partners
Partners Call on US EPA to Immediately Reinstate
$20M Community Change Grant Wrongfully Terminated in May
View the images from the event below
Albany, NY— Today, United States Representative for New York State’s 20th Congressional district, Paul Tonko, hosted a roundtable with the ALL(bany) Together Project, a collaboration of eight organizations funded with $20M through a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Change grant as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act that was wrongfully terminated in early May of this year. The termination of the grant pauses important work in public health and climate solutions to disenfranchised neighborhoods in Albany, NY.
The project leverages the diverse strengths of eight key nonprofit organizations to advance public health and climate solutions in Albany centering work in formerly redlined communities that have faced legacy pollution, persistent disinvestment, and a history of disproportionate health burdens; which will worsen as climate change continues without intervention. The ALL(bany) Together project brings together Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region as the lead agency, Clean+Healthy as the statutory partner, and collaborating entities: Affordable Housing Partnership, Arbor Hill Development Corporation, AVillage, Capital Area Urban League, Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, and the Underground Railroad Education Center.
During the Roundtable, Congressman Tonko and project partners discussed what is at stake with the wrongful termination of the grant, the harm that has occurred with its cancellation, and a plan to get the funds reactivated or secure replacement funds.
Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) said, “I am outraged by the Trump administration’s cancellation of this $20 million EPA grant for the ALL(bany) Together Project — a reckless and unjustified action that has halted vital efforts to improve public health and climate resiliency in neighborhoods that have borne the burdens of climate change and environmental contamination for far too long. This decision doesn’t just hurt Albany — it’s part of a broader assault on communities across the nation who are striving for equity, environmental justice, and improved public health. I’m deeply grateful to the dedicated community partners who joined today’s roundtable and who continue to fight for the resources our residents deserve. Together, we will keep pushing to reinstate this critical funding and hold this administration accountable for its harmful actions.”
Late last year, the project was selected to receive a $20M Community Change grant by the US EPA, and the project formally launched on February 1, 2025. It was on the list of Environmental Justice grants targeted for cancellation in widely circulated documents, and on May 5th of this year, that funding was frozen upon receipt of a May 2nd termination letter, leaving program work on hold. Trinity Alliance, as lead agency, continues to fight the wrongful termination of the funding.
Daquetta P. Jones-Johnson, CEO of Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region, the lead applicant on the (ALL)bany Together project said,“If this funding is not restored—as is legally justified—the consequences will be devastating for Albany’s South End, Arbor Hill, and West Hill. We won’t just lose dollars; we risk losing lives, compromising safety, deepening health disparities, and abandoning the very future we are working so hard to repair and restore. Impacted community members will be present to share powerful testimony on the urgent need for (All)bany Together's initiative and the transformative impact the Community Change Grant would have on their neighborhoods. We call on the public to stand with us by signing the petition to the U.S. EPA, demanding the reinstatement of this wrongfully terminated funding in the name of justice, equity, and community trust.”
Bobbi Wilding, Executive Director for Clean+Healthy said, "This project is about weaving together the good work of many organizations to achieve a just and healthy community for Albany residents. When the vision for a clean and healthy life is snatched from us, it is evident that they don't care about the health or lives of the people in Albany, NY. The wrongful termination of our $20 million EPA Community Change grant isn't just about lost funding—it's about survival for communities that have endured decades of environmental racism. Albany's formerly redlined neighborhoods deserve clean air, safe homes, and a future where their zip code doesn't determine their fate. The ALL(bany) Together Project isn't just a program—it's a lifeline., We will not let Albany be forgotten again.”
Key elements of project include constructing Community Resilience Hubs at Trinity Alliance and the Underground Railroad Education Center to provide community access to cooling, electricity, and coordination during extreme weather and other emergencies, tree planting to mitigate heat and air pollution, free composting and improved food waste pickup capacity, renovations to address environmental health concerns like asbestos, lead, and mold to increase access to clean energy grants, targeted clean energy retrofits for homes, and clean energy workforce development with wrap-around services. The project will include community engagement and input as the project progresses.
Paul Stewart, Co-Founder of the Underground Railroad Education Center said, “The Underground Railroad Education Center is working to address climate injustice as well as expand the capacity of our program to build on the story of the Underground Railroad in ways that benefit our community. The $3.63 million share of the $20 million grant awarded to our community for environmental justice is a critical part of the funding needed to create the Interpretive Center, a net zero building that includes solar and geothermal and that will provide numerous job opportunities for community residents both during and after construction. The center will act as a resilience hub in environmental crisis situations, provide workforce development and home resilience workshops, mitigation strategies to counteract the food desert characteristics of the community, and provide a center for educational, history and cultural programming.”
April Land, President and CEO of the Capital Area Urban League said, “This grant allowed us to expand our clean energy workforce development program and create career pathways to highroad employment in growing industries in the Capital Region, like clean energy and construction trades. Now, with its termination, there is uncertainty about how the program will continue. The median income for the disadvantaged Albany neighborhoods we serve is at $29,993 and 52% of the service area pays 35% and more of the gross household income for rent. The point of the program is to upskill disadvantaged workers in growth sectors to access quality jobs that would increase their income. If our grant were reinstated, we would help stimulate economic development in these neighborhoods which is needed to reverse the impact of redlining and divestment. The advancement of Albany and the Capital Region economy requires connecting skilled workers to the employers who need them and when projects like ours are defunded, economic growth and development becomes stagnant while our communities suffer.”
Stacy Pettigrew, Executive Director of the Radix Ecological Sustainability Center said, “Funding from the EPA would have permitted the Radix Center to plant 200 more trees in Albany's disadvantaged communities which currently suffer from extreme heat and poor air quality, exacerbated by low tree canopy coverage and climate change. Furthermore, we would be able to provide free food scraps collection to low income families, diverting food wastes from landfills and using them to build soil. It is critical for the health of Albany's environmental justice communities that funding be restored.”
Arlene C. Way, Executive Director of the Arbor Hill Development Corporation, a Neighborhood Preservation Company said, “Our goal was to initiate a holistic, block by block campaign to improve the capacity of households to withstand the extreme weather conditions expected with climate change. EPA funds would be used to assess the resilience of each home and respond to needs for new cooling & heating systems, building insulation, siding, windows, and roofs. The social worker, hired through separate funding from a private charitable foundation, would allow us to assess the needs of the household members and provide facilitated support to ensure social determinants of health were addressed. Loss of the EPA funds was extremely disappointing. We applied for the EPA grant because we recognize the dire need in a space that is home to cost-burdened households that embrace the frail elderly, young children and others with pre-existing medical conditions.”
Eva Bass, Executive Director of AVillage Inc., said, “The EPA’s unjust termination of the ALL(bany) Together Project grant is more than a financial blow — it’s a betrayal to the people of Albany’s South End and other historically redlined neighborhoods who have been silenced, poisoned, and left behind for generations. This project was an opportunity to repair harm and empower communities with clean air, green space, healthy housing, and access to economic opportunity. We will not allow systemic injustice to be rebranded as bureaucracy. AVillage stands in unwavering solidarity with our partners and residents to demand the reinstatement of these life-saving funds.”
The Affordable Housing Partnership proposed to use EPA funds to abate mold and asbestos, hazards that exacerbate asthma, a leading health issue in Albany neighborhoods. "We believe that EPA funding is a wise investment of federal resources as it reduces the strain on the health care system and increases work and school productivity" said Susan Cotner, AHP's Executive Director. "Families living on fixed incomes don't have the resources to address these issues. Funding should be restored."
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The ALL(bany) Together Project centers work by eight community organizations in formerly redlined communities that have faced legacy pollution, persistent disinvestment, and a history of disproportionate health burdens; which will worsen as climate change continues without intervention. Learn more about the project here.
Images from 7/25/2025 Roundtable
B roll of Congressman Tonko being interviewed at the ALL(bany) Together Roundtable on July 25th.
Additional B Roll from the Roundtable
