Zero Clemencies

Mt. Kisco, NY September 6, 2014

55,000 men and women are imprisoned in New York State. Despite other governors’ records in pardoning or commuting sentences, Governor Cuomo has issued zero clemencies in over three years in office. Not one. That’s shameful. It’s why we’re joined NOW, Village Independent Democrats, and many other groups in “Candles for Clemency” on September 6th outside the governor’s Mt. Kisco home. Actress Kathryn Erbe, of Law & Order:Criminal Intent fame, was among the participants. The assembled lit candles to demand a second chance for the many who deserve it.

March for Justice

Join us to March for Justice on Saturday, August 23rd, in memory of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, Eric Garner in Staten Island, and others who have died unjust and wrongful deaths at the hands of local police. We’ll be marching with 1199SEIU and others to demand police accountability, an end to discrimination and the killing of unarmed people of color, and respect for the civil rights of all citizens and residents. March starts at 12 noon near the Ferry Terminal at Bay Street and Victory Boulevard, the site of Eric Garner’s death. Sign up and all information here.

The Affordable Housing Crisis

Affordable housing is a topic near and dear to most New Yorkers, and has been one of Mayor de Blasio’s top priorities since taking office. He has promised to create or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing over the next 10 years.

Recently the New York Times reported on two new proposed rent subsidy programs aimed at helping families with children move from homeless shelters into permanent housing. They include rental assistance for families who have been homeless for two years or more, and rent subsidies for victims of domestic violence with children.

Despite these efforts, many New Yorkers continue to get priced out of their neighborhoods. In response to this epidemic, the Real Affordability for All coalition will march this Wednesday, August 20th, in support of preserving real affordability in private developments and in public housing, and ensuring that all new housing remains permanently affordable to people living in those neighborhoods. RSVP HERE. The starting point will be 1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd (at 116th St). map

New York’s rent laws are set to expire next year, and opponents of rent stabilization will be doing everything in their power to undo the rent regulations that we’ve fought so hard for. We need to make our voices heard so that elected officials know they must do everything they can to preserve and strengthen our rent laws! For more information on the fight over rent regulation, check out Real Rent Reform, a coalition of community groups working together for safe, stable, and affordable housing for New Yorkers.

The People’s Climate March Is Coming.

Climate change has been getting a lot of notice lately. From the highly acclaimed Years of Living Dangerously series on Showtime to the EPA’s recent moves to restrict carbon emissions from power plants, we’re making progress. But it’s not enough. We need to get serious about cutting greenhouse gas emissions and moving aggressively to a clean and sustainable energy future.

This year, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the United Nations, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is organizing a “climate summit” to prepare world leaders ahead of the next round of climate negotiations scheduled for 2015 in Paris. Climate change activist organizations from around the country and across the globe see this as an opportunity to weigh in and tell our leaders it’s finally time to take concrete actions to curb the effects of global warming. The People’s Climate March is the result.

You can do three things:

Mark Sept. 21 on your calendar and join thousands from around the world in marching for definitive action on climate change.
If you’re a member of an organization or group, join the growing list oforganizations supporting the March, including Greater NYC for Change.
Get out the word. Come join 350NYC this Saturday, Aug. 9, to spread the word to other New Yorkers to join the March next month.

2014-15 Board of Directors and Officers Announcement

At the Annual Meeting of Greater NYC for Change, Inc., held on June 19, 2014 and pursuant to Article II, Section 2 of its By-Laws, the following were elected to serve as the Board of Directors for the 2014-15 period, until the next Annual Meeting:

Dale Corvino

Maki Isayama

Kate Linker

Kim Moscaritolo

Yuridia Pena

Aliya Quraishi

Brett Saffer

Sara Valenzuela

Tasha Williams

Subsequent to the Annual Meeting and pursuant to Article III, Section 2 of the By-Laws, the following Officers were selected by consensus of the Members of the Board of Directors to serve a term of duty until the next Annual Meeting:

President: Kate Linker

1st Vice President: Tasha Williams

2nd Vice President: Kim Moscaritolo

Secretary: Dale Corvino

Treasurer: Aliya Quraishi, to be succeeded by Maki Isayama during leave commencing on or before November 2014

Respectfully submitted,

Dale Corvino

Secretary, Board of Directors

Greater NYC for Change, Inc.

Homelessness Crisis Forum, Follow-up, Resources

“As rents steadily rose and low-income wages stagnated, chronically poor families like Dasani’s found themselves stuck in a shelter system with fewer exits” – Andrea Elliott, “Invisible Child: Dasani’s Homeless Life” The New York Times, 12/19/13

Every night in New York City more than 60,000 people, including over 23,000 children, go to sleep homeless. The number of New Yorkers living in shelters has risen by 75% since 2002 while wealth has concentrated disproportionately, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.

On July 9th, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Greater NYC for Change hosted a panel discussion on homelessness. The focus what has changed in the six months since Elliott’s inspiring series brought Dasani and thousands of children like her into focus. Panelists addressed the urgency of the situation, Mayor de Blasio’s affordable housing plan, and ways that average citizens can fight back against the deepening crisis of homelessness. The moderator was Ben Max of Gotham Gazette, and our panelists were James Dill, Executive Director of Housing & Services, Inc., Lisa Lombardi, Deputy Executive Director of Urban Pathways, and Heidi Schmidt, Department of Homeless Services‘ (DHS) Office of Government and Special Events Coordinator. Our co-sponsors were Village Independent Democrats (VID), Manhattan Young Democrats, Democracy for NYC, and Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing.

Following the panel, the assembled broke out into groups, and discussed actions to take. Group shared ideas and a resources list was developed:

Breakout Groups Actions
1. More transparency from the administration about city-owned property. Residential buildings should be listed and counted, then made available for housing the homeless (Refer to HPD)

2. Tax incentives/requirements for developers to include housing for homeless individuals. (Refer to HPD Low Income Housing Tax Credits)

3. Require property owners with vacant buildings make them available for homeless housing units.

4. Push for stronger rent regulations. Questions: Could we pay people directly to rent their own apartments for less? How do we educate people about what homelessness really looks like? Which programs work and how can we replicate? (Refer to DHS Temporary Housing Assistance)

5. Re: getting people legal help for housing court, the New York County Lawyers’ Association has a pro-bono program where attorneys give free advice to walk-ins (see Resources).

6. Taxing vacant lots/units. Identifying where system fails. Promote inter-agency collaboration.

7. Stronger workforce development with homeless, and children, with better coordination between agencies. Community outreach teams to homeless or create a number/office that people can call other than the police (see resources, 311). Provide better training to NYPD.

8. Give community boards the right to petition for legal representation and immediate court dates for community members facing eviction or similar due to backlog in housing court scheduling. Raise awareness that eviction and resulting homelessness hurt communities as well as individuals and families.

Resources
Call 311 for outreach to homeless individuals.
Download the 311 app:
http://www1.nyc.gov/connect/applications.page

NYC DHS Homebase map of Homeless Prevention Network:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/downloads/pdf/homebase_map.pdf

Met Council on Housing Nonprofit tenant’s rights org. Resources for tenants, including legal: http://metcouncilonhousing.org/help_and_answers
Walk-in clinic: http://metcouncilonhousing.org/tenants_rights_walk_in_clinic

New York County Lawyer’s Association http://www.nycla.org/

CLARO NYC Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office provides limited legal advice to low-income New Yorkers being sued by debt collectors.
http://www.claronyc.org/claronyc/default.html

New Alternatives Outreach to LGBT homeless youth:
http://www.newalternativesnyc.org/

NYC Councilman (7, West Harlem) Mark Levine’s “Right to Counsel” Bill:
http://www.markdlevine.com/bill_number_int_214_2014

A Recent Post from Bronx Defenders on the proposed legislation:
http://www.bronxdefenders.org/the-bronx-defenders-joins-rally-to-demand-justice-in-housing-court/

NYC Nonprofit providers of supportive housing:
Housing and Services, Inc http://www.hsi-ny.org/
Urban Pathways http://www.urbanpathways.org/

Panelist Jim Dill of HSI-NY provided the following additional resources:

Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten Year Plan
An ambitious, weighty tome of principles and guidelines. The Mayor’s plan acknowledges that the current homelessness crisis is a subset of the affordable housing crisis. We all eagerly await further details. Specifics addressing homelessness begin in Ch 4, p 78:
www.nyc.gov/html/housing/assets/downloads/pdf/housing_plan.pdf

NYC Homeless/Permanent Supportive Housing Advocacy Groups:
Supportive Housing Network of New York www.shnny.org
United to End Homelessness NYC www.endhomelessnessnyc.org
Campaign 4 NY/NY Housing & Services www.nynycampaign.org