Dear friends,
Jorge Renaud, a poet and justice advocate who visited one of my classes last week, talked about the power of art to nurture the spirit. Yesterday, I read Ilya Kaminsky’s beautiful essay, “Poems in a Time of Crisis,” in which he described his correspondence with friends in Odessa, the city where he grew up.
I ask how I can help. Finally, an older friend, a lifelong journalist, writes back: “Putins come and go. If you want to help, send us some poems and essays. We are putting together a literary magazine.”
In the middle of war, he is asking for poems.
These are powerful reminders that there is more than one way to feed people.
Of course, sometimes, food is the best way to feed people.
Jose Andres and his amazing World Central Kitchen (WCK) operation are expanding the reach of #ChefsForUkraine into Poland with a new kitchen and food supply depot. WCK brings not only food, but hope to people escaping Russian attacks.
Check out WCK’s enormous paella pans (!) and support their good work.
In order to ramp up its operation for Ukraine, WCK stopped serving meals at the end of February to the folks in the Bronx who were displaced by the January fire that killed 17 people. Unfortunately, the contract went to Arelia Taveras’s NYS Latino Restaurant, Bar & Lounge Association.
There are reports from folks from South Bronx Mutual Aid that food delivered by Taveras’s group was left unrefrigerated, without ingredient labels or labels identifying vegetarian and halal meals.
Taveras, who has a gambling addiction and was disbarred after stealing money from some of her clients, contributed more than $1300 to Adams’s mayoral campaign.
Financing for the meals comes from The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York, a nonprofit entity within City Hall that facilitates public-private partnerships for charitable purposes.
The complaints about food come as Twin Parks tenants are also criticizing the city for so far only distributing a small fraction of money raised on their behalf, Documented NY reported.
The Mayor’s Fund has reportedly raised $2.5 million for survivors of the fire but only given out 10% of that so far.
Call on the Mayor to do a better job of looking after the Twin Parks tenants. This is a ready-made action.
Unfortunately for the people at Rikers who thought they’d be released, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), which runs the NYS parole system, claims that since they were jailed before March 1, they are not eligible for the hearings mandated by the new law.
The Less Is More Act guarantees that people will have a chance to argue for their release at a hearing scheduled within 24 hours of DOCCS’s order to return them to jail.
Legislators have complained that DOCCS is willfully misreading the bill.
[T]he Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit on behalf of the 91 people held on Rikers Island who expected a chance at release. DOCCS is fighting that lawsuit, with representation from the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has touted the benefits of the Less Is More Act herself.
Ask Governor Hochul to speed implementation of Less Is More and get people out of jail!
This is a great example of investing in the people — those who give and receive care AND all of us who live in the state.
Sign this petition to remind the Governor that we need Fair Pay for Home Care.
Saying thank you is part of my regular practice. I know it makes a difference to the people I thank and it makes me feel good to acknowledge their work.
Use this tool from the NY Caring Majority to thank our sponsors in the legislature. This is extremely easy to use!
After more than a year of work, NYS’s Climate Action Council has released a draft of the plan intended to guide our state’s transition off fossil fuels and toward climate justice.
Fossil fuel corporations and their cronies are actively trying to advance false solutions and weaken the proposed plan to implement the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
As members of the public, we have the opportunity to submit comments on the proposed scoping plan.
Use this ready-made action from NY Renews to let our state legislators know that we want to phase out fossil fuel combustion technologies and protect low-income New Yorkers from high utility rates.
There’s a rally outside Senator Schumer’s apartment at 4 PM today to demand that he keep his promises to deliver climate investments.
If you can, RSVP and join the demonstration near Grand Army Plaza.
A few months ago, I saw a Tweet from community organizer Kamau Franklin that left a deep impression on me. He included a photo of a banner that said
On August 1, 1967, this stoplight was installed as a result of a community initiative spearheaded by the Black Panther Party.
and he wrote:
“A revolutionary act does not need to be grand in scale to be meaningful, as long as it touches on the material conditions of the people: food, clothing, shelter, safety.”
Separately, our actions may not seem consequential, much less revolutionary, but they are. Feeding people, freeing people, paying workers fairly, providing care, and ensuring our shared future will change peoples’ lives.
Have a great day!
with love,
L