City Air Quality

No matter how bad the air is here, we should all count our blessings. I'm from Los Angeles and since I have lived here, I have not had one problem with allergies. Nor have I seen a news advisory for everyone to stay indoors because the air quality may kill you. For as many people that live here, I think we're doing okay.

I'm officially worried after reading things like this: “People can die of a heart attack from air pollution and never cough once” Also, reading about that kid in the article getting injections of steroids for his asthma was really heartbreaking. I'm sure getting injected with powerful drugs like that as a kid have long term health consequences of their own.

No way! I would never have guessed - compared to other cities I've lived in (Rome is AWFUL), NYC seems to have quite nice air!

I've lived near really trafficky streets a couple of times and felt the strain on my breathing from the dust and stuff...sometimes waking up in the morning feeling like I had...bitten the dust, literally.

@ajadedidealist apparently the UES has some of the city's most polluted air .... while Staten Island has some of the cleanest! http://gothamist.com/2009/12/16/upper_east_side_has_some_of_the_cit.php

Does anybody here use an air purifier? we used to have one but dispensed with it because it was adding to the clutter in the apartment but noticed one at a friend's place the other night.. do they work you think?

My girlfriend has bronchitis. She developed it from living in this city. I consider the air here to be very bad. I have bad allergies. When I went to San Francisco, my sinuses cleared right away. I felt great. But the minute I came back to NYC, my sinuses swelled and I could hardly breathe. @uptowngirl: I have and use an air purifier in my apartment. I need it.

@hhusted my husband suffers from allergies and sinus too and often tell me that if I live long enough in the city I will develop allergies too. I sure hope that's not true..or I will have to relocate to Staten Island for New Jersey is not even an option :)

I had one spring early on in my moving to New York where I had some serious allergic reactions, but then I seem to have adjusted to the bad air somehow. I don't even want to think about what long term living in the city is doing to my lungs.

@ Uraniumfish Me neither, I'm way too eager to just not think about it because then I'd have to come to the conclusion that I should move...I've never had allergies, for whatever that's worth.

I think Mayor Bloomberg should do something about the air quality in this city, but then again, what can he do. Anyone got suggestions on what can be done to make the air quality in this city healthier?

@hhusted plant more trees perhaps??