Summertime Air Quality Report Links Heavy Traffic to Higher Levels of Pollution in Many NYC NeighborhoodsMajor pollutants are concentrated in the city's most densely populated areas; Suburban neighborhoods downwind from high emissions have higher ozone levels.
Air quality varies widely among New York City neighborhoods during the summer months, a new report from the New York City Community Air Survey shows. Four major pollutants are heavily concentrated in high-traffic areas such as Midtown and Lower Manhattan, as well as parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island that run along busy freeways. The report - Results from Summer Monitoring 2009 - is the city's first comprehensive analysis of summertime air quality at the street level.