New York, NY – A group of around 15 New Yorkers gathered, May 17, in front of the Ted Weiss Federal Building, home of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rally was called by the group New York Boricua Resistance (NYBR), in response to the poisoning of Puerto Ricans by Bayer-Monsanto and AES corporations, which are guilty of dumping toxic waste and spraying hazardous chemicals.

The rally in New York was held in solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico, who organized a march one day later, on May 18. Although small in numbers, the rally got a lot of support from people passing by, especially from taxi and truck drivers, many of whom honked and waved in approval.

In addition to the organizers from NYBR, several other groups came out, including the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR), Struggle La Lucha, Earth Strike, and Extinction Rebellion, among others. Individuals from each organization gave brief solidarity statements.

In his speech, Jake Holtzman of CSFR said, “The fact that the U.S. government allows these companies to dump toxic waste and spray dangerous chemicals in Puerto Rico, just goes to show…[that] the U.S. does not care about the lives and wellbeing of Black and brown people; they only care about corporate profits.”

A member NYBR stressed that whether it’s toxic waste dumping in Puerto Rico or in the South Bronx, we will be out in the streets fighting for the human rights and respect of our communities. Group chants included, “EPA, you could stop it, but you’re in Monsanto’s pocket,” and “EPA, tell the truth, Monsanto kills and pollutes.”

#NewYorkNY #PeoplesStruggles #PuertoRico #BayerMonsanto #AES