New York City’s air quality is among the worst in the country, according to the American Lung Association’s annual list of the most polluted cities in America. New York was ranked eighth, a level that is considered "dangerous." Los Angeles (always the bride when it comes to pollution ranking) takes top honors on this one, of course.

“The levels we’re experiencing in New York — and other parts of the country — really do put people at risk” for heart disease and lung cancer, the American Lung Association’s assistant vice president of national policy and advocacy, Janice Nolen, said. Despite modest improvements in New York’s pollution levels in recent years, the air quality is “dangerous,” she said. “The metropolitan area is still among the most ozone-polluted in the country,” she said.

Let’s all put our hands together for Sheldon Silver for dropping the ball on the congestion-pricing plan that would have greatly improved the city’s air quality. ’Preciate it! The New York Sun also notes that the study comes on the heels of the announcement that the New York Power Authority awarded a twenty-year contract to Astoria Energy to build a new power plant in Queens. Asthmatastic! —Noelle Hancock

Air Quality in New York 'Dangerous' [NYS]