ARTICLES OF THE WEEK:
Two Articles on the Good Cause Eviction Bill. (See Action Alerts Below)
With New York Budget Late, Advocates Eye ‘Good Cause’ Eviction Protections
Local advocates have their eyes on state budget negotiations to see what happens with “good cause” eviction protections. Tenants and organizers in Central New York are focused on the twice-delayed state budget process for what might happen to “good cause” eviction protections….The protections, first proposed as a bill in both houses of the state legislature in 2019, could allow tenants to challenge in court rent hikes and evictions.
Read it Here on www.CentralCurrent.com
The Revolution Against Shady Landlords Has Begun
In New York, the real estate industry and the politicians in its pocket both reign supreme. These tenants have a plan to change that forever. Read it Here on Portside
Disinformation about the debt ceiling
Three whoppers peddled by the GOP and repeated by the mainstream media. By Robert Reich Read it Here
Continuing Christian Domination:
A Response To The Vatican’s Repudiation Of The Doctrine Of Discovery
by Betty Lyons, Sandra Bigtree and Philip Arnold Read it Here on Aprilonline.
“When the Vatican finally comes to the realization it is mired in the genocidal mud of centuries of racist exploitation of Indigenous peoples around the world, a step towards acknowledging the need for reconciliation is welcome…. But while we welcome this first step towards reconciliation, we know it falls short of the kind of full accountability required to heal the still-festering wounds.”
Betty Lyons, an Onondaga citizen, is the President of the American Indian Law Alliance. Sandra Bigtree, a Mohawk citizen, and Philip Arnold, professor of religious studies at Syracuse University and the founding director of Skä·noñh — Great Law of Peace Center, are co-founders of the Indigenous Values Initiative.
The GOP, ESG, and the Willful Destruction of Planet Earth
That so many states have been passing such legislation that forbids considering environment, society, and governance (ESG) implications of financial investments is anything but a fluke.
“The term ESG has been around for almost two decades, but the far-right assault on companies that adopt its precepts goes back only about three years.” Read it on https://portside.org
This Man Invented the American CEO
The CEO of General Electric is the reason companies off-shore jobs, do massive cost-cutting and layoffs, and pour all their profits into stock buybacks. This is the story of how Jack Welch ruined America. Watch Here (10 Min.)
ACTION ALERTS:
NYCLU on Syracuse Rezone
Many thanks to those of you participated in the public hearing on ReZone on March 28, in City Hall. Attendees were able to express their concerns on the process through public comment.
MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD!
Click this link and send a direct message to the Syracuse Common Council and Syracuse ReZone to demand:
- Public meetings in THE COMMUNITIES that will be impacted most.
- Zone the future I-81 land OR stop ReZone until you can.
- Conduct an EQUITY IMPACT study.
Most of all, the Common Council must vote NO on ReZone until these demands are met.
ReZone is not a matter to be taken lightly…
Affordable housing is A MUST! Equity is A MUST! Inclusion is A MUST!
As a community member, ally, or stakeholder, your voice on ReZone will dictate the future of the City of Syracuse.
Day of Action on Social Media to tell Albany legislators: #TenantsCantWait.
Tuesday and Wednesday , April 18-19 (See articles above)
Every day that the New York State budget is late is another day that tenants could get thrown out on the streets: The budget isn’t a game – it’s the difference between having a roof over their head or being homeless.
Both the NYS Senate and Assembly included support for Good Cause and Housing Access Voucher Program #HAVP in their budget resolutions. Now it’s time to bring it home. Together, these bills would keep families housed, stop unjust evictions, and give tenants more power to fight back against rent hikes and unsafe conditions. Please contact as soon as possible: @GovKathyHochul; @AndreaSCousins; @CarlHeastie
As legislators negotiate the final deal, we need to make it clear: TENANTS CAN’T WAIT. Good Cause and HAVP MUST pass in the budget.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Write your elected official: hj4a.org/TakeAction
Call your elected: hj4a.org/CallYourRep
Join our mass call Tuesday evening: hj4a.org/MassCall
Please use these Hashtags: #TenantsCantWait #GoodCause #HAVP
Your senator and assembly member: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/?address=&geolocate=Use+Current+Location
Pass a Climate Budget by Cutting Pollution from Buildings!
Burning fossil fuels in buildings for heating, cooking, and hot water is expensive, harms our health, and is New York’s #1 source of greenhouse gas emissions. We’re so close to winning historic bills to cut pollution from buildings and lower our energy bills, but we need to keep the pressure up.
Please take a minute to send a letter to your legislators today! Use this easy link!
Syracuse Peace Council needs A Database Expert: lee@peacecouncil.net or 315.472.5478
Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) needs four full-time Energy Advisors for our CNY Regional Clean Energy Hub. Info Here
EVENTS/ACTIONS CALENDAR
Framing for Political Action: Zoom Training with Dana Balter
Tuesday, April 18th. 6:30 – 8 PM
Have you ever said something like, “Republicans are so good at messaging and Democrats aren’t”? It’s frustrating right? Fortunately, we know the secret to turning this problem on its head, thanks, in great measure, to the research of cognitive linguist George Lakoff (Don’t Think of an Elephant). Now we can use his insights to help us win the messaging game and flip NY22.
Join us for an informative, interactive session that will cover the basics of political framing which is essential for developing effective and consistent messages that allow us to make the most of every single opportunity we have to communicate. Whether we are writing LTE’s, using social media, speaking directly to voters, or crafting Anti-MAGA messages, our choice of words and consistent use of language will affect our work.
Please use this link to register before 5 PM Tuesday. A zoom link for the training will be sent.
Annual TAX DAY Protest – Syracuse Peace Council
Tues., April 18. 4:30 – 5:30 PM. 2013 E. Genesee St, in front of Center for Peace & Social Justice
Stand up in favor of your Federal taxes funding equity and human needs, not the military and weapons and war!
100 Black Men Of Syracuse Town Hall on the lead poisoning crisis in the city.
Tuesday, April 18. 5:30 p.m. Southwest Community Center, 401 South Ave. Syracuse
Moderated by Joe Driscoll, the Interstate 81 Project Director. The panel of experts and community members will include Paul Ciavarri, a community organizer for Legal Services of Central New York; Kiara Van Brackle, a community health researcher; and public health consultant Debra Lewis, Lead Poisoning Prevention Program coordinator for the Onondaga County Health Department.
Upstate Drone Action Earth Day Action
Friday, April 21, 2023. 12 Pm. James M. Hanley Federal Building, 100 S. Clinton St, Syracuse
In solidarity with The Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal. We will deliver subpoenas for the Tribunal to those who enable the Merchants of Death and show their true faces. We begin our visits to the local pillars of the War Machine in Syracuse, NY. We will be accompanied by Medea Benjamin, the intrepid leader of CodePink, and Diane Sare, who is running against Senator Gillibrand on an antiwar ticket, as we deliver an Indictment and several subpoenas for the Merchants of Death People’s Tribunal on War Crimes. The Merchants of Death People’s Tribunal on War Crimes will be live-streamed November 10-13, 2023 at MerchantsOfDeath.org.
BLM, BHM, DEI, CRT: Alphabets Against American Amnesia
Fri., April 21. 4 PM EDT Maxwell Auditorium, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, SU Campus
Michael Eric Dyson is Distinguished University Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, College of Arts & Science, and Distinguished University Professor of Ethics and Society, The Divinity School, and NEH Centennial Chair at Vanderbilt University. Given the polarization surrounding conversations about race in America, how do we adequately respond to the crises and catastrophes occasioned by white backlash, resurgent white supremacy and resilient white nationalism? Historic and contemporary forms of Black struggle offer instructive resistance to these socially malignant forces and position the contemporary debate about race in relation to preceding epochs of racial malaise and racist terror.Register Here
An Evening With Medea Benjamin
Friday, April 21 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Bishop Harrison Center, 1342 Lancaster Ave. Syracuse, NY
Join us for a discussion and book signing by Medea Benjamin for her latest book release, War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, co-written with Nicolas Davis. Medea has been an advocate for social justice for 50 years. She was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the millions of women who do the essential work of peace worldwide. Info Here
Electronics Recycling Event Sat. April 22, 2023 8:30AM – 2:30 PM Destiny USA- Register Here
Novelis Party for the Planet
Sat. April 22, 2023, 11am-3pm Rosamond Gifford Zoo. Information: https://tinyurl.com/c6uf5ua6
GreeningUSA is working with the Rosamond Gifford Zoo to bring this to the Central NY Community!
Earth Day celebration brings dozens of conservation groups to the zoo to spotlight nature conservation and saving species. Features animal demonstrations and keeper chats focused on endangered species, conservation-themed games and activities, puppet shows, green infrastructure and garden tours, and more. Our Conservation Stations and Eco-partners offer fun activities, giveaways and tips on how we can all help protect our planet.
What Do NY Kids Learn About Our Racist History? What Do You Know?
Monday, April 24, 7:00 – 8:30 PM Register
League of Women Voters NY: https://lwvny.org
We’ve seen cultural wars over teaching about racism and slavery in the US. New York has escaped the worst vitriol, but that doesn’t mean our curriculums are great. Most of us learned that slavery happened in the South and Jim Crow happened in the South and lynching happened in the South, as if there was never any racial problem in New York. The Antiracist Curriculum Project, co-led by Rochester educators Kesha James and Shane Wiegand, is developing lesson plans for K-12 teachers covering the history of slavery in New York, as well as racist policies which have entrenched residential segregation. They also teach about the resistance to slavery and racism. Adults need the information they’ve put together as well.
In Session 1 (April 17), Kesha and Shane will teach us about slavery in New York. It provided the basis for many of the biggest and most profitable corporations and New York is full of places named after enslavers.
In Session 2 (April 24) they will teach us about racist policies in the 20th century and the persistent legacy of segregation that continues to trap black and brown communities in toxic dilapidated housing.
Day of Action for Communities Not Cages
Tues. April 25, Albany
The day will include creative actions, press conferences, rallies, and meetings with lawmakers. Transportation and food provided. This will be an opportunity to call for passage of the Second Look Act, Earned Time Act, and Eliminate Mandatory Minimums Act to overhaul New York’s racist and unjust sentencing laws and bring our loved ones home. We have the support of many lawmakers and this will be an important opportunity for us to push for passage of these urgent bills. Please help make the day as powerful as possible!
ORG TURNOUT: Let us know how many members, clients, or colleagues you can bring on April 25! Thank you to Westchester for Change, Bronx Defenders, Legal Action Center, Fortune Society, New York Civil Liberties Union, PSPNY, TPW, CASES, NYCC, and New Hour who have already committed to turning people out! Let us know how many people your org can bring (and ask people to sign-up here).
RSVP & AMPLIFY: RSVP for yourself here. Help spread the word on social media with the attached graphic and social media toolkit here. Please post today!
Women and the American Idea
Tuesday, April 25 – 12:00 pm Free Online
JoinTomiko Brown-Nagin, author of Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality, and Elizabeth Cobbs, author of Fearless Women: Feminist Patriots from Abigail Adams to Beyoncé for a conversation exploring key influential women throughout history and how these women inspired constitutional change. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Register to Attend Online
Palestinian Poetry Night
Tues. April 25th, 7 pm. ArtRage Gallery. 505 Hawley Ave, Syracuse, NY 13203
Join us for a poetry event hosted by the SPC Justice for Palestine Committee! We will have renowned poet, essayist, and short story writer, Mosab Abu Toha, sharing his poetry with us on his experiences as a Palestinian from Gaza. He is the proud author of Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza (2022, City Lights), which earned him the prestigious 2022 Palestine Book Award. Abu Toha is also the founder of the Edward Said Library, the first English-language library in Gaza. His talents were recognized in 2019-2020 where he served as a visiting poet and librarian-in-residence at Harvard University. He is currently a graduate student at Syracuse University studying English. https://peacecouncil.net/event/palestinian-poetry-night/
SAVE THE DATES
Decolonizing and Indigenizing Environmental Justice
Wednesday, April 26, 2023; 5-6:30pm @ Gateway Center, SUNY ESF. Open to All
Public lecture by: Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) is an award-winning journalist and columnist. She is a lecturer of American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos, and independent consultant and educator on environmental justice and other Indigenous policy-related issues. She is the author of As Long As Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice from Colonization to Standing Rock and co-author with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz of All the Real Indians Died Off and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans.
Hosted by the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, in partnership with Adaptive Peaks Seminar Series (sponsored by the Department of Environmental Biology) and the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series (sponsored by SUNY ESF and the ESF Women’s Caucus)
https://linktr.ee/cnpe for more information Questions? Please email: cnpeinfo@esf.edu
For a campus parking pass, please fill out this form for a printable pass via email a few days before the event.
“Braiding the Sacred” Indigenous Land Stewardship Talk w/ Angela Ferguson
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 At 7 Pm – 9 PM @ Grace Episcopal Church of Syracuse
“Braiding the Sacred” Indigenous Land Stewardship Talk w/ Angela Ferguson
Event by Syracuse Community Choir COVID-19 health and safety requirements: Masks
Angela Ferguson, Eel Clan, from Onondaga Nation Farm, will discuss the relationship between seeds and people from a Haudenosaunee perspective and the “Braiding the Sacred” Seed Saving Project.
Angela Ferguson is a member of the Onondaga Nation Eel Clan, Supervisor of the Onondaga Nation Community Garden, and Founding Member of “Braiding The Sacred” Movement, a Corn Seed Collection Project across Turtle Island—braidingthesacred.org.
Open to the Public. Pay what you can @ the door or online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/…
In-person (masks required) and on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8565231977…
The public talk will end around 8PM, at which point we will take a short break and then transition to choir rehearsal. Feel free to stay for the duration if you’d like to sing with us!
An Evening Read! NYIC’s Second Annual Authors’ Event
The New York Immigration Coalition
Thursday, April 27, 6 PM Free virtual event
We will welcome award-winning authors Zaina Arafat, Patricia Engel, Porochista Khakpour and Jaime Manrique to a moderated panel discussion where they will provide exclusive commentary on their literary works and discuss how immigration intersects with their art. For more information or to secure your tickets: https://nyic.me/3Gmz20C
Central Current Virtual Town Hall: Commentary & Perspectives Edition
Thursday, April 27, at 6 p.m. -Central Current has heard a lot of interest from our readers in submitting letters, opinion, creative writing and commentary. Our staff will lead a roundtable discussion about opinion and readers’ submissions. We’ll discuss Central Current’s vision and what it would take to execute this addition to our website in the future. To attend: sign up for newsletter, membership, or donation: https://centralcurrent.org
Workers Memorial Day 2023
Friday, April 28 8:00 – 9:30 AM NYSUT Office – 4983 Brittonfield Parkway East Syracuse, NY 13057
We observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew our commitment to workers’ health and safety. “Mourn for the dead. Fight like hell for the living!”
Please register for in-person OR online using this form: https://forms.gle/PvwZHve9CdQu6psV8
No charge for attendance, but seating is limited. Virtual attendance will be available.
Speakers: David J. Philippone, Esq.; LaToya Jones, RN; Jessica Maxwell of the WCCNY
Questions? email cnyohcc@upstate.edu or call Ana Manning at 315-432-8899
EarthFest 2023
Sat., April 29, 10 AM – 3 PM. Canal Landing Park in Fayetteville
Sustainable Manlius and Renewable Fayetteville will host a large, outdoor environmental and sustainability event. Information booths, an EV car show, EV buses and many other educational and fun activities for adults and children. Solar power, native plants, EVs and bicycles, composting techniques and sustainable practices, etc.
A Love Supreme Tour + Zine Workshop
Saturday, April 29, 2023 At 1 Pm – 3:30 Pm. Syracuse University Bird Library, 6th Floor
A Love Supreme Tour + Zine Workshop
Event by Black Artist Collective and Cjala Surratt
Black Artist Collective A LOVE SUPREME TOUR + ZINE WORKSHOP celebrates the Black Arts Movement. The tour, led by exhibition co-curators Jessica Elliot and Caroline Charles, will take place on Saturday, April 29, in Bird Library: Special Collections on the Syracuse University campus from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Tour attendees will then walk to Light Work in the Robert B. Menschel Media Center for a 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Zine Workshop led by Black Artist Collective member Evan Starling Davis.
REGISTER HERE (spaces are limited): https://forms.gle/LLiuh23kA3fPyQX58
BAC Members: $5 Non-Members : $10 *3 hr. instruction/ covers all materials
Vincent Intondi: Saving The World From Nuclear War
Sat. April 29 1-2:30 pm Barnes and Noble, 3454 Erie Blvd East. Dewitt, NY More Info
Vincent Intondi is a Professor of History and Director of the Institute for Race, Justice, and Civic Engagement at Montgomery College in Takoma Park, Maryland. He regularly works with organizations exploring ways to include more diverse voices in the nuclear disarmament movement. His research focuses on the intersection of race and nuclear weapons. He is the author of the books: African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement and Saving the World from Nuclear War: The June 12, 1982, Disarmament Rally and Beyond. Event by Syracuse Peace Council
CNY Solidarity Coalition Speaker Series: What is STAR Voting?
Tuesday, May 2; 7:00pm-8:00pm online
Join us for an online presentation from Matthew Kouba to learn about STAR Voting, an alternative voting method that fights polarization, combats money in politics, and empowers you to vote your conscience. Visit https://www.starvoting.org/ for more information, resources and examples.
Zoom link will be sent to our newsletter mailing list. Sign up Here if you are not already a recipient.
GreeningUSA’s 19th Annual Meeting!
Celebrating The Last 20 Years and Looking Forward to the Next 20 Years
Friday, May 5, 2023, 9-11am. OneGroup Education Center, 706 North Clinton Street, Syracuse, NY 13204
Opening Remarks by Al Stirpe, Member NYS Assembly
20 years in, we can look back with pride on a long list of accomplishments, and with grit and determination at the set-backs. Looking forward toward the next 20 years, we see inevitable change, opportunities and more tests of our advocacy for a sustainable future.
Undoubtedly, the Micron project represents tremendous opportunity as well as sustainability challenges. Join us in discussing those challenges and opportunities for the next 20 years.
FREE and Open to All! A continental breakfast will be available starting at 8:30 am.
To Attend In Person – Register Here: https://tinyurl.com/zmxzuep9
To Attend Virtually – Register Here: https://tinyurl.com/4ku8euvs