Edmundo Martinez is used to traffic — the near-constant hum of pistons pumping and tires on pavement, the screeching acceleration of late-night street races, angry horns, and frantic sirens. After a while, it all started to blend together. It wasn’t until he started traveling farther away from his Parkchester home that he understood: peacefulness sounded different.
Martinez and his neighbors in the South Bronx spent their lives listening to traffic wedged between highways like the Cross Bronx Expressway and Bruckner Expressway; they’ve dealt with noise pollution, abysmal air quality and community isolation for generations.
