From CNY Solidarity Coalition:
Meeting: 1/10/21, 3 PM on Zoom. CNY Solidarity Annual Membership Meeting.
Upcoming Meetings: 1/24, 2/7, 2/21, 3/7, 3/21
Agenda:
· Financial Report
· Election of Coordinating Committee.
· Special Presentation on Invest in Our New York https://investinourny.org
From the Budget Justice Campaign, a coalition of groups statewide, including Empire State Indivisible, DSA, Citizen Action NY, Working Families Party, Alliance for Quality Education, etc.:
The Invest in our New York Act is a package of six bills that will end tax breaks for the wealthiest New Yorkers and raises $50 billion to invest int our housing and healthcare, our schools and teachers, our towns and our cities, our workers and our youth.
Decades of disinvestment in New York in the name of austerity has led to the worst inequality of any state in the country. As state government paid for less and less, counties and municipalities have been forced to cut services while scrambling to cover what they can through local property, sales, and other taxes that put the heaviest burden on working families and the poor. COVID19 has made it all worse for all but the wealthiest. Black and brown communities have been hit hardest. The State is now facing a $60 billion budget deficit over the next four years.
The top 1% of New Yorkers have the lowest tax burden of any class in New York. Those with the most money should have the highest tax rates, not the lowest. Meanwhile, the financial industry and corporate class has been bailed out repeatedly, and still receive massive tax breaks. We benefit when we fix our regressive tax system. It’s something we MUST do.
Now is the time to pass a progressive taxation system for New York. Progressive legislative candidates across New York won decisive victories in this summer’s State elections. Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Carl Heastie now publicly say they support taxing the rich (but they have not yet done anything). Even Governor Cuomo has been forced to concede that taxing the rich is on the table. (He has done nothing concrete either) A supermajority in both chambers gives the legislature the power to override Cuomo’s veto.
Articles of the Week:
Repeated from last week, relevant to the Invest in our New York campaign:
The Socialists vs. Andrew Cuomo Read it in The Nation
Newly elected DSA members in the New York legislature will work with grassroots organizers to force the governor to tax the rich. Will their inside/outside strategy work?
And see this quote, for evidence of the effectiveness of our work: “Before 2018 Cuomo mostly got his way. A cadre of Democrats in the state Senate who caucused with the Republicans made progressive legislation almost impossible. In 2018, a grassroots campaign defeated nearly all of those conservative Democrats, replacing them with progressives.”
Heather Cox Richardson’s year-end reflections are the best short history of this country since the New Deal, that anyone has ever written in less than a book. And it’s only a couple of pages. Read it!
Centrist Dems are Wrong about November’s Losses
Read it in The Nation
“Several of the Democrats who lost or came close to losing their seats strongly believe that affiliation with progressive calls for social change damaged their contests this year. On a post-election call with party leaders, Representative Abigail Spanberger articulated this point of view when she reportedly blamed the Black Lives Matter demand to “defund the police” and the specter of “socialism” for many of her and her colleagues’ electoral woes.
The truth behind the unexpected losses, however, is exactly the opposite of what those members believe.”
And now for something completely different:
The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance Link
by Robin Wall Kimmerer
As Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and ecological systems to reimagine currencies of exchange?
From the ESF site: Dr. Kimmerer is a mother, plant ecologist, writer and SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York. She serves as the founding Director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment whose mission is to create programs which draw on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge for our shared goals of sustainability.
EVENTS/ACTIONS CALENDAR
Onondaga County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative:
Public Forms beginning:
January 7 for Onondaga County
Jan. 12 for Syracuse City
Go Here for schedule and Zoom links
Executive Order No. 203 titled New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative established June 12, 2020 by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was enacted and requires any agency in New York State seeking state funding to have a plan in place addressing police reform which is approved by its governing body. The plan must be submitted to the Governor by April of 2021.
Similar to other communities in New York State, Onondaga County has combined with all municipalities within the county, to address a comprehensive plan for reform. While this collaborative effort creates a baseline for all government entities within Onondaga County with a police agency operating with law enforcement officials, the Executive Order requires that each department develop its own plan for police reform.
City of Syracuse: Engagement Opportunities will be hosted by Reverend H. Bernard Alex of Victory Temple Fellowship Church on January 12, 13 and 19th. Please visit the Public Comment Link to submit any questions and to pre-register in order to make statements on the day of the Forum.
Onondaga County: Engagement Opportunities will be hosted by Nodesia Hernandez with New York State Senator Rachel May’s Office on January 7 and 14th. Reverend H. Bernard Alex will host the last session on Wednesday, January 20th. Please visit the Public Comment Link to submit any questions and to pre-register in order to make statements on the day of the Forum.
NYCLU is continuing its series of Tuesday Talks on the Rt 81 project.
Read the NYCLU’s report, Building a Better Future: The Structural Racism Built into I-81,and How to Tear It Down, here. “The I-81 project could be the catalyst for knitting back together what the highway destroyed [the 15thWard, where about 90% of the 11,000 Black Syracusans lived]. By taking a hard look at the harms done to people in the past, there is a real chance to improve housing conditions, health outcomes, and economic and educational opportunity for all people in Syracuse.”
For the links to the Tuesday Talks, starting again in January, email: Kevin Atwater, Central New York Chapter, NYCLU. katwater@nyclu.org
Socialist Feminist Working Group – Syracuse DSA
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 – 7:30 PM
Information – signup Here
What is the Socialist Feminist Working Group?? We recognize that capitalism is a barrier to women’s liberation, and other oppressions like sexism and racism are barriers to human liberation. The Socialist Feminist Working Group seeks to fight the oppression of cis women, trans people, and gender nonconforming people on a local and national level by focusing on economic and social issues. Lets meetup, share our experience, and decide how we can fight together for our collective rights.
Sustainable Manlius – Open Meeting
Thursday, January 7, 2021 – 7 PM EST Meeting Link Here.
Join us for the first Sustainable Manlius meeting of 2021! This is going to be an open meeting of the committee, so all who have an interest in sustainability or who would like to get involved in the Town of Manlius’ effort to become a Climate Smart Community are invited to attend.
Email Councilor Katelyn Kriesel with any questions: kkriesel@townofmanlius.org
Invest in Our New York is a new campaign seeking to tax New York’s wealthiest residents in order to fund the services we need to support the working class and keep our economy afloat. The six bills proposed by the state-wide coalition will raise between 50 and 75 billion dollars in annual revenue, and our goal is to include all six in the state budget as it is negotiated over the next few months.
January 9, 1PM – 4 PM Phonebank to Support Invest on Our New York
January 10, 1PM – 4 PM Phonebank to Support Invest on Our New York
Save the date for Indivisible’s National Day of Action. Info Here
Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 12:30 PM
Join us outside the Hanley Federal Building in Syracuse as we call on Sen. Schumer to prioritize a robust democracy reform agenda in the new Congress.
Co-hosted by Indivisible NY24 and Indivisible Syracuse, this event is part of a national Indivisible day of action
See https://artragegallery.org for ArtRage’s upcoming events!
January 7, 2021 at 7pm
Curtain of Water Discussion with filmmaker Joe Guerriero
In conjunction with our current photography exhibition, JOE GUERRIERO: WAITING FOR NORMAL- Cuba and the United States, please join us for a Zoom conversation with photographer and filmmaker Joe Guerriero.
Dislocation Location: Discussion Series on Art as a Refuge and Rallying Point. Part 2.
January 13, 2021 – 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Join us for a 2nd Zoom reading and discussion group in conjunction with our current exhibition, Joe Guerriero: Waiting For Normal- Cuba and the United States. We will read from Jennine Capó Crucet’s How to Leave Hialeah, a book of short stories tracing the space between Cuba and the United States (via a Hialeah, a city in northwest Miami-Dade county).
ArtRage Fair Trade Sale – Virtual Edition
November 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021
Each December ArtRage Gallery hosts a two-day fair trade sale. Your purchases support artisans around the world and small local businesses. This year we feel it’s safer to offer a virtual Fair Trade Sale. Details Here
Syracuse Peace Council Plowshares Craftsfair Online
Nov. 20 – Jan. 31
We are going virtual with Plowshares this year. Ten weeks of sharing, shopping, and crafts November 20-January 31.
Now “open” at www.plowsharescraftsfair.org.
ONGOING EVENTS:
Street Heat – Weekly Protests are back with Physical Distancing!
HANCOCK: our decade-long protests against Hancock’s piloting killer reaper drones over the Islamic oil lands continue. 6000 East Molloy Rd from 4:15 to 5 p.m. For the winter months, we will reduce our schedule: the first Tuesday of every month: same time 4:15 to 5 p.m. Dec 1; Jan 5; Feb 2; March 2; April 6.
DEWITT: Weekly protest against IDF terrorism, maiming and killing of Palestinians. Fridays NEW TIME: 4:00 to 4:45 p.m. at Erie Blvd E and E Genesee, Dewitt. Park in the nearby mini-mall parking lot.
REGIONAL FARMERS MARKET: Protests are off until April.
For more information: anntiffany6235@gmail.com
COVID-19 INFORMATION:
SIRDN Covid19 Warm Line: (315) 552-1670
Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network (SIRDN) Coronavirus-related information for farmworker, immigrant, undocumented, day laborer, and domestic worker communities. English and Spanish-speaking operators. Text and phone.
SIRDN has also created a resource document for COVID-19 information, for immigrants and undocumented folks. English and Spanish Or use these instructions to have Google translate .
If you do not have a doctor and have questions, symptoms, or may have been exposed to COVID-19, call Upstate University Hospital’s Triage Line at 315.464.397
Onondaga County Coronaviris Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Information Page
COVID-19 Testing Hotline
Upstate University Hospital Regional Triage (COVID-19) Information Page
NYS Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Page
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Peter McCarthy
pmccar1100@gmail.com