Hi friends,
On Wednesday evening, a friend and I went to a rally and march to protest the mayor’s budget cuts. It was a peaceful event, although the anger was palpable. I photographed this person, not realizing at the time that they were a marshal for the event (note the green bandana).
We marched from Foley Square through the arches under the Municipal Building, and down Broadway. When the group crossed Broadway, there was a loud roar and an incident we couldn’t see. Then we realized that a group of marshals had been arrested, including the person with the loud love t-shirt.
As multiple people tweeted, the massive police presence at a march to highlight #CareNotCriminalization perfectly illustrated how the NYPD continues to blow huge overtime budgets in order to intimidate the public rather than serve our needs.
This fits in with the Council Speaker’s observation that the mayor and the “the executive branch is in ‘panic mode’.” She was referring specifically to the absence of a coordinated response to the massive influx of migrants.
It also seems that Mayor Adams is failing to run the city effectively. There are tens of thousands of vacant positions in city agencies, which is delaying the effective administration of SNAP benefits, among other services.
Tell the Governor again that SNAP should be administered centrally to ensure that New Yorkers do not go hungry.
At the same time that the city has failed to fill positions and is threatening cuts, the workers in the nonprofits that have city contracts to deliver essential health and homeless services to youth, senior programming, and other human services are demanding a cost-of living adjustment.
Toward that end, they planned ‘a day without human services’ yesterday.
Over 100 human services providers paused many non-life-saving activities on Thursday to demonstrate what they say are the consequences of underfunding the sector as inflation and compounding economic and social crises strain the system. Led by the Human Services Council of New York, the "day without human services” is aimed at securing a $200 million investment from the city, equivalent to a roughly 6.5% cost of living adjustment (COLA).
“While the administration continues to justify agency budget cuts as a result of the costs to assist asylum seekers, the reality is that many investments missing from the budget would be solutions to the current challenges facing our city,” she said.
The council passed legislation yesterday to expand eligibility for the city’s housing voucher program, eliminating the wait time — a 90 day stay in a shelter — and allowing those who are under threat of eviction to apply.
It’s true that the vouchers will not solve the housing problem. It’s also the case that it is less expensive and preferable in every way to subsidize rent than to keep people in homeless shelters.
Let Mayor Adams know that city agencies need to be staffed and working, human services workers must be fairly paid, and that the right to shelter isn’t optional.
On the federal level, the debt ceiling negotiations have jeopardized social programs, as Republicans in Congress insist on spending cuts.
Tell Congress to protect nutrition benefits for pregnant people, infants, and toddlers by refusing cuts to WIC. This quick action is from Moms Rising.
The Republicans will do anything to limit debt, except for cutting military spending, increasing taxes, or raising revenue through the existing taxes.
Tell President Biden to invoke the 14th Amendment to end the manufactured debt ceiling crisis.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently signed into law a set of penalties and restrictions on undocumented immigrants in the state, including a prohibition on localities providing ID cards to noncitizens, which makes it impossible for them to access medical care, among other things.
Further, the law makes it illegal to provide work or transportation to people without documents.
A similar bill more than a decade ago didn’t go so well in Alabama, where a crackdown on immigration led to produce rotting in the fields. Because picking blueberries, tomatoes and squash largely requires hand labor.
This disingenuous prohibition on employment makes no sense, and is of a piece with the failure of Republicans in Congress to sit down honestly to craft immigration legislation that would expand work visas and offer a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
This week, two Latinas in the House of Representatives introduced a bipartisan immigration bill. Representatives María Salazar, of Florida, and Veronica Escobar, of Texas, call their legislation “The Dignity Act.”
It is imperfect and contains a ‘dignity levy’ for undocumented migrants — the idea that one can buy dignity is deeply problematic — AND it also includes a path to citizenship for Dreamers. There’s also a heavy emphasis on border security.
Perhaps this compromise bill will move the conversation forward, but it seems unlikely. Some days, it’s hard to believe how badly people want to come to the US.
Before you go: We’re keeping the pressure on NYS legislators to pass environmental legislation that invests in creating jobs in frontline communities.
Tell Assembly members to pass the Climate and Community Protection Fund! This quick action is from NY Renews.
You’ve earned yourself a weekend. Rest, recharge, and love loudly.
with love,
L