Elected officials and advocates gathered at City Hall Park on Thursday to push for zero-emission school buses.  

Electrify NYC, a statewide coalition, released a new report called Wake Up and Smell the Fumes, which highlights the negative health and environment effects that school bus idling is having on local communities.  

The report shows that around 25% of school buses were found idling outside of city schools, contributing to cardiovascular and respiratory issues, as well as damages to the environment.  

“Making sure we have funding at the local, state and federal level… we need to ensure that we are enforcing illegal idling laws to make sure that we’re protecting the health of not only students, but the workers and the communities,” said Kevin Garcia, transportation planner of the NYC Justice Alliance.  

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Environmental Bond Act says that by 2035 all school buses on the road will be zero-emission.