From CNY Solidarity Coalition:
Next Meeting: Sunday, March 7, 2021, 3-4 PM. Zoom Link to come.
AGENDA:
§ Announcements;
§ What’s Up with the County Leg? Mary Kuhn, John Deer, Dustin Czarny, Heather Waters
§ The Invest in Our NY. Group will meet on the call, starting around 4:10.
Upcoming Meetings: 3/21, 4/11, 4/25, 5/9, 5/23. Committee meetings will take place at our second meeting each month: 3/21, 4/25, 5/23
Announcement:
The Syracuse Center for Peace and Social Justice is accepting applications for their Board of Directors. The Center is a non-profit organization that houses Syracuse Peace Council, Workers Center of CNY, Public Citizen, Black Lives Matter, AGREE, Unchained, and NY Immigration Coalition. We also offer low cost meeting spaces for progressive organizations. We are a fully volunteer board seeking to expand our skill base. Applications can be found on our website at syracusecenter.org.
Invest in Our New York
Urgent update: the Assembly and Senate are each nearing completion of their “one house budgets” which will then be the basis for negotiations with the governor.
Due to the urgency of getting Invest In Our New York into these budget resolutions, which may be completed by the end of this week, we have moved our timeline of a week of action to this week, March 1 to March 5.
This is a critical time to call, write or email, tweet or text your representatives. We will post content, and daily updates on ways to connect with representatives. See our week of action posts here: https://www.facebook.com/events/761201721188286
Invest in Our New York Press Event this Wednesday March 3rd 4:30 PM outside the State Office Building at 333 E. Washington St. We have a small handful of speakers but could accommodate others. We are envisioning a small outdoor public event, not a large rally.
Here’s what we know about our legislators’ positions as of now:
· Pamela J. Hunter, 128th District: HunterP@nyassembly.gov. Assembly Member Hunter is supporting all six of the IONY bills. Please thank her!
· Rachel May, NYS Senate Dist. 53: may@nysenate.gov; 315-478-8745. Senator May is co-sponsoring 4 of the 6 IONY bills – Please thank her! She is working on different approaches to the other two issues.
· John Mannion, NYS Senate Dist. 50: mannion@nysenate.gov 315-428-7632 No Response to our requests for comment. Constituents please call him!
· William B. Magnarelli, 129th District: MagnarW@nyassembly.gov: No Response to our requests for comment. Constituents please call him! AM Magnarelli has made a number of public statements in the past justifying why not to raise taxes on millionaires.
· Al Stirpe, 127th District: StirpeA@nyassembly.gov: No Response to our requests for comment. Constituents please call him!
· Next IONY Planning Team Meeting: March 7 at 4:15 following the 3 Pm CNY Solidarity Meeting.
Contact Peter (pmccar1100@gmail.com) or Keller (Keller.shelton@gmail.com)
· Please respond: Assembly Members Hunter and Magnarelli have constituent surveys on their sites that directly address the Invest in Our NY issues.They need to hear from us:
· Sign the petition at http://investinourny.org This gives the statewide campaign evidence of broad support
To Learn more:
o https://www.cnysolidarity.org/2021/02/02/invest-in-our-new-york/
o http://investinourny.org (scroll down past the petition to the slideshow, or keep going to the Act Summary
Articles of the Week:
Tax N.Y.’s wealthy to reverse proposed cuts to municipalities (in Syracuse Newspapers)
To the Editor: New York has the highest rate of income inequality of all the 50 states, and the city of Syracuse has a poverty rate that far exceeds the state’s (31% v. 14%), with rates of poverty for children and Black and Hispanic residents among the highest in the nation.
These lopsided income distributions produce unfairness for middle- and low-income New Yorkers in such areas of public spending as health, housing, education, transportation and employment. At a time when the state’s 2021 budget calls for cuts to Onondaga County (to the tune of $84 million), to the city of Syracuse (almost $2 million), and to Central New York towns and villages, the news of these cuts is disheartening. It means furloughs and cutbacks in city and county services when the only people who are likely to be able to manage financially are those who have well-paying jobs. Those in reduced circumstances are almost certain to have to delay health care, endure public schools that desperately need updating, and face the threat of housing insecurity.
The Assembly and Senate are poised to consider six bills to remedy this. Together they constitute the “Invest in Our New York Act.” These bills are designed to raise taxes only for individuals who are the most wealthy and, if passed, would collectively raise over $63 billion to be distributed to counties and municipalities for infrastructure and services.
Please contact your legislators in the Assembly and Senate and urge them to pass these bills.
Elaine Wolf Syracuse
660 Billionaires See Wealth Rise 40 percent
The increase in US billionaire wealth has surpassed $1.1 trillion since mid-March, 2020, more than enough to pay for all the relief for working families contained in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package proposed by President Biden.
‘Reliving history’: Residents fear I-81 project could displace communities
Read it in the DO
“They’re really concerned that the land will be taken from them in much of the same way that it was taken before,” said Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, the assistant director of the Education Policy Center at the central New York chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “It’s not something that they conjured up in their imagination. This has happened in the past.”
Heather Cox Richardson on the Covid Rescue Bill Read it here
“Republican lawmakers are complaining about the partisan vote and scoffing that President Biden promised to unify the country. But the problem is not the bill. The problem is the Republican lawmakers, who are determined to oppose anything the Democrats propose.”
The False Dilemma of Post-Vaccination Risk Read it in The Atlantic
We’ll never know for sure how contagious people are after they’re vaccinated, but we do know how they should act.
EVENTS/ACTIONS CALENDAR:
SIRDN Bi-Weekly General Meeting –
Tuesday March 2 from 5:30-7:30pm
Join SIRDN (Syracuse Immigrant Refugee Defense Network) for our next bi-weekly general meeting! We will be providing updates on our campaigns and the activities of our working groups, including solidarity fundraising, ongoing legislative advocacy campaigns, and other efforts to support the work of the Workers Center of Central New York. New members are always welcome. Meetings conducted in English and Spanish w/ interpretation. Facebook event here. For Zoom information, please send us a Facebook message or email us at sirdn315@gmail.com.
Budget Justice University: Tax the Rich/Save the Arts
Zoom call. RSVP: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisibleharlem/event/375777/
If you have friends who are arts workers (66% unemployment rate!) reach out to them!
Few industries have been as hard hit by the pandemic as the arts & entertainment industry. We’re suffering, and our leaders are failing us. Luckily, there’s a way we can fight back: we can Invest In Our New York.
While millions can’t make rent or put food on the table the wealthiest have grown $87.7 billion richer during the pandemic. Tell Governor Cuomo, “New York can’t wait—pass the INVEST IN OUR NEW YORK ACT, now!”
Community Forum: The Warrior Cop Mentality in our Schools and Community
Thursday, March 4, 6-7:30 p.m.
The first in a series of community forums in March, hosted by SPAARC. (Syracuse Police Accountability And Reform Coalition)
Virtual Forum No. 1 | Police Accountability, Discipline and Oversight
WARRIOR COP MENTALITY | Virtual Forum No. 1
REGISTER AT: bit.ly/2NKn8Fs
The Overseas Military Base Empire
Webinar by Leah Bolger, sponsored by the Beyond War & Militarism Committee
Tuesday, March 9 at 7:00pm-8:00pm Eastern Time
Click here to register for the Zoom link!
Did you know that the United States has over 200,000 troops stationed on more than 800 bases in more than 80 countries and all seven continents? The CNY Beyond War & Militarism Committee invites you to join us for a webinar on March 9 on “The Overseas Military Base Empire” by Leah Bolger, President of the Board, World BEYOND War and retired U.S. Naval officer. Sharing from her personal experience of being stationed on bases around the world, Leah will present on the social, environmental, and economic impact of U.S. bases — and how to close them.
ONGOING EVENTS:
DEADLOCKED AND LOADED: Disarming America Curated by Karen M. Gutfreund
February 11 to April 18, 2021
ArtRage Gallery – https://artragegallery.org Make your reservation for in-person gallery viewing HERE!
The need to address gun violence is more urgent than ever and in response, artists from across the United States have used their artistic voices to address issues related to our culture of gun violence particularly how it affects women, children and marginalized peoples.
Deadlocked and Loaded: Disarming America is a “locked and loaded” conversation through art, showcasing art in all media that addresses the culture of violence, systemic racism, police brutality and gun issues in the United States—particularly in how it affects women and children with lasting impacts.
This exhibition is presented in collaboration with Community Folk Art Center and Point of Contact Gallery in Syracuse. A catalog representing all 36 artists exhibiting in the three galleries can be viewed HERE.
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.
COVID-19 INFORMATION:
Onondaga County Vaccine Information: https://covid19.ongov.net/vaccine/
DONATIONS NEEDED:
Save the Cayuga SHARE Farm: Support the Sovereignty of Native Nations
Our friends at NOON (Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation) forwarded this appeal, last week: From the letter: “We hope this announcement finds you well. You are invited to support an online fundraiser to save the Cayuga SHARE Farm in the interest of the traditional people of Cayuga (Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ- People of the Pipe), a sovereign nation of the Haudenosaunee confederacy. It is an urgent need to ensure that Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ traditional leadership of chiefs and clan mothers can keep SHARE Farm, the only land which they currently have stewardship rights to within their people’s homeland. Donations made through Groundswell Center for Local Food & Farming will be used to ensure the farm continues to be a place for education, healing, and Haudenosaunee culture….” Continue reading. See also the website, the GoFundMe page or the Facebook page.
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Peter McCarthy
pmccar1100@gmail.com