Roxanne Scott

Hi! I'm a journalist in Queens, NY. I've covered a variety of topics including how climate change affects residents of color in New York City, disparities in gifted and talented enrollment in Kentucky, and the spread of COVID in ICE detention centers in Georgia.

My stories have appeared on local public radio stations as well as NPR, Futuro Media and the BBC.

This year, I'm an Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow writing about floods.

I graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, Temple University and the CUNY School of Journalism. I'm an adjunct professor at the latter where I teach research.

Despite my best efforts, my social media posts contain typos.

City Limits • 09/25/2023

Off the Map: Swaths of Southeast Queens Overlooked in State's List of Climate-Priority Neighborhoods

Under New York’s climate law, “disadvantaged communities” that have borne the brunt of pollution and other environmental issues are being prioritized for funding and climate-related benefits. But swaths of Southeast Queens didn’t make the cut, what local leaders say was an oversight.

Futuro Investigates • 05/11/2023

They Survived a Fire in Harlem. Now They are Fighting Their Landlord and The City for Answers.

They Survived a Fire in Harlem. Now They are Fighting Their Landlord and The City for Answers.

One of the images Efrain Sarmiento remembers in the aftermath of the fire at his Harlem apartment is black handprints made of soot imprinted on the walls of the complex. After having a night out, he returned home to fall asleep on the couch in his one-bedroom apartment. In the middle of the night, he woke up to the smell of smoke. He didn’t hear any fire alarms go off.

Futuro Investigates • 03/28/2023

What To Know To Stay Safe From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

What To Know To Stay Safe From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

During the winter, the two-family house I share with my mother sometimes gets so cold that I need a portable heater to stay warm. These days I use an electrical one. When I was a child, my family would turn the oven on to use it as a source of heat. Now I’m aware that using a gas oven to keep warm can put tenants at risk for carbon monoxide. That made me wonder, how many people know the risks they face in their own homes from CO poisoning

Futuro Investigates • 12/01/2022

How U.S. policies contributed to a crisis in the Arizona Desert

How U.S. policies contributed to a crisis in the Arizona Desert

As the death toll across the border continues to rise, volunteer organizations go out into the most dangerous areas to search for missing people. Futuro Investigates examine why volunteers, lacking financial resources, continue to take on this dangerous work while Border Patrol’s multi-billion budget continues to increase. TUCSON, Arizona. Among the boundless hills and valleys of the Sonoran desert adorned with soaring saguaro cact

City Limits • 10/12/2022

Sewer Backups, Increasing from Climate Change, are Costing City’s Homeowners

About 20 houses in South Jamaica are prone to sewer backups every few months, say homeowners, some of whom have dealt with the issue for more than a decade. But because the sewer line is on private property, the residents are left to contend with the problem on their own.

WABE • 07/01/2021

As ICE Maintains Safety Is A Priority During Pandemic, Records Show Multiple Outbreaks At Ga. Facilities

As ICE Maintains Safety Is A Priority During Pandemic, Records Show Multiple Outbreaks At Ga. Facilities

That includes three investigations at the Irwin County Detention Center, four combined at the Folkston ICE Processing Center and Folkston Annex, four at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility and one ongoing investigation at the Stewart Detention Center.

According to public records obtained by WABE News, since at least April 2020, there have been 12 instances where Georgia DPH investigated

WABE • 02/01/2021

After Chemical Leak At North Georgia Plant, Immigrant Rights Groups Call For More Worker Protections

After Chemical Leak At North Georgia Plant, Immigrant Rights Groups Call For More Worker Protections

A Hall County firefighter leaves following a liquid nitrogen leak Thursday that killed six people at a Foundation Food Group poultry plant in Gainesville.

“At the same facility, there was a lack of goggles,” says Shelly Anand, executive director of Sur Legal Collaborative. The organization advocates for immigrant workers’ rights in Georgia.

The plant has had several workplace violations over t

LPM • 10/23/2018

Despite JCPS Efforts, Racial Disparities Still Exist In Gifted And Talented Programs

On a recent Monday morning, third graders at Gilmore Lane Elementary School off of Poplar Level Road sit in a colorful rug during their morning meeting.

Lindsay Dotterweich is their teacher. She’s also the Gifted and Talented lead at Gilmore.

“I’m not just looking for those kids that have the top test scores or are making the straight As,” she said.

Dotterweich says giftedness may include a student not easily giving up on a task or a student who’s able to lead a game on the playground.

“When

LPM • 11/03/2017

At Louisville's Liberty Field, Cultures Connect Over Soccer

Every night, dozens of players weave past old, brightly-colored shipping containers to the stadium-lit field at Liberty and Shelby street to play soccer.

The field sits on top of a former vacant lot in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood. The repurposed land is part of the ReSurfaced program, which revives some of the city’s unused spaces. And Louisvillians — from those recently arrived from Kenya to native-born dwellers from the South End — come to Liberty Field to enjoy the game.

“We’re all here f