A Rainforest Portal Action Alert was sent today to a global network of over 20,000 people, alerting them to the destruction of rainforests being wrecked by the demand for rainforest hardwoods by New York City and New York State agencies. The alert was also posted on the Rainforest Portal website. The Rainforest Portal is a project of Ecological Internet.

Rainforest Relief has been working to stop the use of rainforest wood by NYC and NY State agencies since 1994, when we first became aware that the Coney Island boardwalk was made of a tropical hardwood called ipê.

Since then, we have met with NYC Parks Department officials and staff, NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) staff and been in touch with people within the Metropolitan Transit Authority (of which the New York City Transit Authority — responsible for building and maintaining the New York City Subway system) and other agencies, hoping to get them to switch to more sustainable materials.

We've demonstrated all three agencies with protest actions, including hanging a 125'-tall banner from the Parachute Jump at Coney Island and a smaller banner from DOT headquarters at 40 Worth Street.

Recently, spurred on by the support from NY Climate Action Group, we've met with people within Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration and members of the NY State Legislature to again address the loopholes in the New York State tropical timber bill that passed in 1991.

Please take action by sending a message to dozens of recipients within the NYC and NY State governements, demanding an end to the purchase and use of tropical hardwoods ripped from Earth's rapidly dwindling rainforests.