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News from Melissa Mark-Viverito
Council Member, District 8
September 30
October 28, 2011
October E-News Updates
Recent News & Updates
1st Annual Haunted Housing March to be Held on Halloween 2011
This Monday, October 31st, El Barrio/East Harlem residents and
community based organizations will gather for our First Annual Haunted
Housing March to draw attention to the vacant units and abandoned
building that exist in our neighborhood. Poverty and homelessness are at
record levels in NYC and in East Harlem. We need developers to open these
units and buildings to create more affordable housing. The march
will begin at 3:30 pm at 110th street and Lexington Avenue. Afterwards, a
reception will be held at The Asthma Center for Excellence (161-169 East
110th Street) to discuss the shortage of available housing.
Click here for more info and we hope you can join us!
Participatory Budgeting in Action
This month, our office joined with the District 8 Participatory Budgeting
Committee to hold seven Neighborhood Assemblies across our district. Over
600 people came out to these assemblies, including over 120 attendees at
our Senior Assembly and over 150 young people at our Youth
Assembly. Next, we will move on to the budget delegate phase, when
some 120 volunteers from the community will help form the ideas generated
at these assemblies into concrete proposals. These proposals will
be discussed in the next set of Neighborhood Assemblies, to be held in
February 2012, just before our March 2012 vote. To learn more, visit
www.mmviverito.com/pbnyc or
www.pbnyc.org. We send our thanks to all individuals and groups
that are part of the District 8 Committee, especially George and Angel of
Community Board 11, Cynthia Doty, Stephen and Will of Yorkville Common
Pantry, David of the Children's Aid Society, Carmen (and many other
staff) of Community Voices Heard and Cecilia of Violence Intervention
Program.
More Benches Coming to East Harlem Sidewalks
On October 20th 2011, Melissa helped announce a new City
initiative that will place 1,000 new benches on sidewalks throughout New
York City, beginning with the two brand new benches at East 109th Street
between First and Second Avenues, outside of the Leonard Covello Senior
Center. The initiative, called City Bench, was launched in our
community in response to the efforts undertaken by Melissa's office and
East Harlem's Aging Improvement District (AID) to make our neighborhood
more age-friendly. These new benches are mainly intended to help
provide seniors an opportunity to stop and rest as they are out walking
in the community. This is just Melissa's latest effort to help provide an
improved quality of life for our senior residents.
Read more.
Standing in Support of Occupy Wall Street
Protests
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has gripped the nation, with an estimated
30,000 protesters, including Melissa, marching from Foley Square to
Liberty Square on October 5th and with several marches
thereafter. Before the October 5th march, Melissa spoke to her
colleagues at the City Council stated meeting and encouraged them to
stand up for reform and join hands with the protesters. Her full
statement can be read here. And you can learn more about what Melissa
thinks by watching her interview with SEIU 32BJ's Hector Figueroa on
Pura Política (in Spanish), and
this video (in English).
Congressman Gutierrez Visits New York as Melissa's Immigration Bill
Advances
On Saturday, October 8th, we welcomed Congressman Luis
Gutierrez to New York City. He spoke at an event in Staten Island on the
importance of immigration reform, emphasizing the impact of the Secure
Communities program and the changes to federal policies on
deportation. The following day, Congressman Gutierrez joined
Melissa, Speaker Quinn, Congressman Rangel, Make the Road New York, and
many other electeds and community members at Ascension Church on West
107th Street in our district. Following the 9:30 am Spanish
language mass, the elected officials addressed the congregants and then
held a press conference outside to celebrate the advancement of Intro
656, a bill introduced by Melissa that will restrict the collaboration
between the City's Department of Correction and U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE). Congressman Gutierrez spoke highly of the
legislation and stressed the importance of local and national
collaboration on immigration reform. The bill is set to pass next
week.
Read more.
Progressive Caucus Autumn Updates
Read the latest on what the City Council's Progressive Caucus has been up
to
by clicking here. You can also
click here to join the Progressive Caucus e-mail list, or
visit our blog, follow us on Twitter
(
@NYCProgressives) and
find us on Facebook for all the latest!
Upcoming Events
First Annual Haunted Housing March (Sponsored by the El Barrio/East
Harlem Anti-Displacement Task Force)
When: Monday, October 31st beginning at 3:30 pm
Where: March begins at 110th Street and Lexington
Avenue
Contact Joey Pressley at
[log in to unmask]
for more info.
Search and Care Volunteer Open House
When: Tuesday, November 1st, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Where: 1844 2nd Ave (95th/96th
Streets)
RSVP to Robin Strashun at 212-289-5300 x203.
Healthy Relationships, Healthy Families: A Group for Young Women
When: Wednesday, November 2nd, 5:30 - 8:00 pm
Where: Edwin Gould Academy, 55 E. 110th Street
Join us to discuss relationships, well-being and more. Food and
prizes will be provided. RSVP to Gabriela Leon at
347-933-1782.
FREE Citizenship Application Assistance (Sponsored by CUNY and Council
Member Mark-Viverito)
When: Monday, November 21st, 12 noon - 3 pm
Where: Hunter College, East 68th Street and Lexington Ave,
8th Floor
Full details
available here.
This is only a selection of local events. Additional events in our
district can be found at
http://www.eastharlempreservation.org/docs/events.htm (El Barrio/East
Harlem) and
http://www.columbusamsterdambid.org/events (the West Side).
Also, please see the following Community Boards' calendars for
information on board and committee meetings dealing with local
issues:
Opportunities
Visit our District 8 Volunteer Opportunities page:
www.mmviverito.com/volunteer. This is a page to help
organizations connect with potential volunteers. We hope more
groups will begin to post their opportunities using the Comments
section!
Tell Us What You Want to Build in Your Neighborhood - In a Video!
As part of our new
Participatory Budgeting initiative, a contest has been launched where
you can create a video to share how you would spend $1 million to improve
our community. All of those who create a video will be entered into
a raffle to win a Flip video camera! All contest details are below,
as well as some tips for those who may be new to making videos. Please
read the instructions carefully and upload your submission before the
November 21st deadline.
Find out all the details by clicking here.
The Advocacy, Counseling, and Entitlement Services (ACES) Project
Are you 55 years or older and looking for a fulfilling volunteer
opportunity? You can help the members of your community obtain the
services and benefits they need by becoming an RSVP/ACES Benefits
Counselor. For more information, call Edwin Osborne at 212.614.5412.
Reimagining the Waterfront - Manhattan's East River
Esplanade
CIVITAS is calling architects, landscape architects, urban planners,
students and artists to generate dramatic and original concepts for New
York City's east side waterfront park, from 60th to 125th streets,
jump-starting a process that aspires to the transformation of the entire
East River pedestrian experience. Visit the competition website,
www.reimaginethewaterfront-civitas.com, for information about the
jury, submission guidelines, prizes, and helpful resources.
Registration began on September 15. Competition winners will
be announced winter 2012.
Getting Involved
The Youth Violence Task Force
Unfortunately, we are experiencing a rise in violence in the El
Barrio/East Harlem community, particularly among our youth. Melissa
has created the East Harlem/ El Barrio Youth Violence Task Force
in response to the increase in violence among youth. The task force
has been meeting for over a month and we hope you all will join in and be
a part of this movement going forward. Only through working together will
this issue be at the forefront of our community's priorities. Below is
some information on our task force. If you are interested in being
on our listserv, please send an e-mail to [log in to unmask]
and you will be added immediately. To read more about the Task
Force visit
http://wp.me/PJ9TG-x9.
Anti-Displacement Task Force
The Task Force is a body comprised of Community Based Organization
(CBOs), tenants, activists, advocates and elected officials who
collectively work, as a community, to confront ruthless landlords,
investors, and developers that are attempting to displace members of our
community. Their work brings visibility to the housing crisis through
community forums, marches, rallies and other initiatives. Our office
stands right behind their efforts to empower tenants and community
members by providing information and a local support network. For
more information, visit
http://wp.me/PJ9TG-CJ. To inquire about the next meeting call
Joey Pressley at 212-828-9800.
District 8 Youth Council
The Youth Council provides a wonderful opportunity for the community's
youth (ages 13 and up) to take part in local politics in their
surrounding community. Young people become involved with local entities
that handle youth related issues such as; the Youth & Education
Committee meetings of Community Board 11 so as they can see the
importance of local politics both to the Community and to themselves. The
youth are currently working on a video project to compete in the New York
Civil Liberties Union "Freedom of Expression: What is the Change You
Believe In?" contest. The District 8 Youth Council meets on
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm - 6pm weekly. For more information visit
http://wp.me/PJ9TG-CN or contact Elsie Encarnacion at
212-828-9800.
Harlem African Burial Ground Task Force
Harlem African Burial Ground Task Force is a group of concerned citizens
who have united to help the Elmendorf Reformed Church (ERC) to restore
and memorialize its historically and culturally significant colonial
African Burial ground at 1st Avenue, between 126th and 127th Streets. ERC
was established in 1660. In 1665, the First Church of Harlem, also known
as the Dutch Reformed Church of Harlem (ERC), erected a church building
at the corner of First Avenue and 127th Street, and a quarter acre of
land connected with the church was set aside and became known as the
"Negro Burying Ground" (hereafter called the African Burial
Ground). To learn more, visit
http://harlemafricanburialground.wordpress.com/.
District 8 Immigrant Service Network
The East Harlem Immigration Task Force meets twice during any given
month. Planning meetings are held on the first Thursday of each
month from 9:30am until 11am. These meetings are designed to design
and schedule the Task Force's activities. The venue for these
meetings rotate. Full meetings are held of the third Thursday of
each month from 9:30am until 11am. For more info,
please contact Joey Pressley at 212-828-9800 or
[log in to unmask]
or visit
http://wp.me/PJ9TG-CH.
Constituent Services Information
Our District Office is Located at:
105 East 116th Street
New York NY, 10029
Office Hours
Monday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Thursday: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Note that Constituent Walk-In Days fall on Mondays
and Wednesdays (11:00am to 6:00pm), Thursdays (10:00am to 6:00pm), and
Saturdays (10:00am to 1:00pm). No appointment is necessary.
November Bronx & West Side Office Hours
Bronx (Millbrook Community Center, 201 St. Ann's Avenue @
137th Street)
Tuesday, November 8th and Tuesday, November 22nd -
10:00 am to 12:00 noon
West Side (Children's Aid Society's Frederick Douglass Center, 885
Columbus Avenue @ 104th Street)
Tuesday, November 8th and Tuesday, November 22nd -
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Inside this Update: Jump to A Specific Section
News & Updates
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Opportunities
Getting Involved
Constituent Services Info
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Contact Our Office
DISTRICT OFFICE:
105 East 116th Street
New York, NY 10029
P: (212) 828-9800
F: (212) 722-6378
CITY HALL OFFICE:
250 Broadway
Room 1882
New York, NY 10007
P: (212) 788-6960
F: (212) 442-1564
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Office of Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito | 105 East 116th Street |
New York | NY | 10029