"Outside Alicia Barksdale’s living room, high above Upper Manhattan, the brick chimney atop the building next door belches black smoke all winter long, and even into the spring.

Ms. Barksdale’s windows offer a wide view of the Hudson River, but a sullied one, from the soot and nearby construction dust. So Ms. Barksdale keeps some of her furniture covered and, even on mild days, her windows shut.

'I’m concerned about what he’s breathing in here,' she said one recent morning as she eyed her 11-month-old grandson playing with alphabet blocks."

Kia Gregory reports for the New York Times April 6, 2014. [2]