Read, listen and share our newsletter from our website!

Our meetings continue to grow! Not only are we filling our current meeting space, this Sunday we filled our zoom capacity. We apologize if you could not get to our meeting in person or on Zoom. We will be increasing our zoom capacity for our next meeting in April and are looking for a larger meeting space as we want to continue to bring people in.

Here are some notes from Sunday’s meeting:

• From the Workers’ Center of CNY: ICE has increased their presence in New York State, and we will not stand by while our friends, neighbors and coworkers are being torn away from our community! Rally together against deportations 11am on Wednesday, April 2nd at Syracuse City Hall & call state representatives to support the NY4All Act. See action alert and event below. 

• From Climate Justice: Sign this petition to extend the comment period and hold 5 public hearings for Micron’s Environmental Review. 

• From Indivisible OC: Saturday, April 5th will be a nationwide day of action. Local event details below or find an event near you at handsoff2025.com

• From State and Local: We are continuing to collect sign-ons from Onondaga County residents to ask the County Executive to hold a town hall. 

Upcoming Meetings of CNY Solidarity Coalition:

Sunday, April 27 @ 3 PM

Tentative Agenda: Panel Discussion: SAVE Act, then Committee Breakouts

This year, the Republican majority in Congress has prioritized a piece of legislation that, if passed, would become the first voter suppression law enacted by that body in recent memory, and perhaps ever. That legislation is the SAVE Act, a bill that would    disenfranchise millions of American citizens. Read about it.

You receive the newsletter  because you are on the CNY Solidarity Coalition mailing list.

If you’d also like to be added to Indivisible Onondaga County‘s email list, please Click Here and enter your contact info. 

For info on Indivisible Onondaga County and our other committees: https://www.cnysolidarity.org/committees/  

Stand with Momodou Taal against Unjust Detention

NOTE: We had intended to publish an appeal for contributions to Momodou Taal’s legal defense fund. Given the latest news  as of Monday, we instead suggest donations to:

• CNY Workers’ Center: Workers’ Center of CNY

• Interfaith Works: Please Donate Now

For more background, see the legal fund appeal Here. We do not have a current update on the status of the fund, so we have made the alternate suggestions above.

Update from Momodou Taal: March 31

I would like first to thank from the bottom of my heart every single individual and organization that supported me through this, particularly my fantastic legal team. Everything I have tried to do has been in service of affirming the humanity of the Palestinian people, a struggle that will leave a lasting mark on me.

Today I took the decision to leave the United States, free and with my head held high. … I decided to sue the Trump administration with the hope that it would offer reprieve for myself and other similarly situated persons. But Trump did not want me to have my day in court and sent ICE agents to my home and revoked my visa. We held out but our first motion was denied. We were due to submit a second briefing with the hope that I could stay out of detention whilst the lawsuit progressed.

Given what we have seen across the United States, I have lost faith that a favourable ruling from the courts would guarantee my personal safety and ability to express my beliefs.

Let’s work to pass NY HEAT Act 

NY HEAT Act allows energy utilities to provide clean energy options while protecting families from high energy costs. 

NY HEAT Act  Info here. 

Sign up Here for the Assemblymember Hunter April 2 NY HEAT call relay

Sign up Here for the Assemblymember Magnarelli April 2 NY HEAT call relay

Call Governor Hochul about the GAP Fund this week

The GAP Fund provides funding to tackle electrification obstacles that other programs don’t cover. Info about the GAP Fund is here

1. Please call Governor Hochul at 518-474-8390 during the week of March 30.

2. Press 2 to speak to a person. Long Hold time?  Press 1 for voice message. 

3. Call script for message to  staffer or voicemail:

“Hello, my name is ___ and I live in ____. I’m calling to urge Governor Hochul to include the Green Affordable Pre-Electrification Fund (also known as the GAP Fund) Senate Bill S3315 & Assembly Bill A2102 in the State Budget this month. We all deserve the opportunity to access the benefits from our state’s clean energy transition. (Optional: Include why this bill is important to you!) 

I strongly support the GAP Fund, and I urge Governor Hochul to put this bill in the state budget and help all NYers transition to more affordable, cleaner heating and cooling.”

Donate to help local refugees and immigrants in this time of crisis:

InterFaith Works builds bridges of understanding among people of different religions and across racial divides. The agency offers programs for people who are vulnerable, low-income, targets of oppression, and refugees who arrive through the federal refugee resettlement programs, fleeing war, political repression, and famine. InterFaith Works has now lost a substantial amount of federal funding. The impacts have been swift and serious: they have had to lay off most of their caseworkers and terminate or suspend indefinitely much of their programming. Their clients, our neighbors and community members, are in URGENT NEED of donations to assist them in feeding their families and paying for basic living expenses. Please Donate Now

The Time is Now to Pass NY4All

It is even more crucial than ever to protect our immigrant neighbors. The New York for All Act  (A3506/S2235) offers protections that help make this possible, by prohibiting state and local resources from being diverted to carry out a cruel and inhumane federal deportation agenda. A New York for all to live without fear. #NY4ALL  Email your state representatives here.

To see where your representative’s position on this bill and others we are following, visit CNY Solidarity’s website.

Letters to the Editor

CNY Solidarity Coalition encourages letters to the editor regarding issues affecting us locally and nationwide.

If you’re looking for a subject to write about, here are this week’s suggestions:

• Have you witnessed any actions by ICE? Do you know someone who’s been abducted? 

• Is anyone experiencing issues contacting Social Security, either in person or by other means?

• How are the federal policy changes, cutbacks, and mass terminations affecting you and/or your family?

• If you or someone you know is a veteran, what stories can they share?

Guidelines for writing Letters to the Editor can be found here.

Why collective action is the only way

^{NOTE: Extended excerpts included due to the critical importance of this article. Please read.}

The first play in the autocratic playbook is not to attack everyone at once.

Rather, it’s to go after one. One law firm. One judge. One university. One journalist. The strategy isn’t just to silence the immediate target — it’s to make others watch and learn. To convince them that resistance is dangerous, costly, and futile… The strategy works. (..BUT) 

…The societies that survived authoritarian threats didn’t just rely on internal solidarity within the press, the courts, or academia. They succeeded because those institutions linked arms across sectors — forming a broad, popular front that transcended professional and even political boundaries.

…Indeed, if there’s one clear dividing line between democracies that have survived recent illiberal populist autocratic movements (Poland, Brazil, Czech Republic) and those that have not (Hungary, Turkey, Venezuela), it’s whether a broad pro-democracy coalition came together across pre-existing divides to stand together for the most foundational elements of democracy.

… a broad, cross-ideological and cross-sectoral, popular front coalition in opposition to autocratic governance and in support of democracy. An effective coalition would: 

1. align on what issues and fights to prioritize; 

2. coordinate its strategy for advancing democratic values and practices; 

3. elevate key leaders; and 

4. advance a clear narrative about democracy’s importance and autocracy’s failures.

Read it on: If You Can Keep It

How the ‘war on terror’ paved the way for student deportations in the US

The “war on terror” largely began after … September 11, 2001…

…President George W Bush began detaining scores of immigrants — nearly all of them from Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities — over alleged ties to terrorism.

…1,200 people were arrested in the initial sweep. Many were ultimately deported.

But the immigration raids did not result in a single conviction on terrorism-related charges. A 2004 report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) noted that the government nevertheless advertised the deportations as “linked to the September 11 investigation”.

Read it on Al Jazeera

Protestors join global call to action during ‘Tesla Takedown’

Hundreds of people gathered on North Burdick Street to protest against the current administration and Elon Musk. The rally started at the Tesla lot and ended around the Genesee Turnpike.

Watch on CNY Central

A Small Group of People Wanted to Do Away With Social Security From the Beginning

Trump and DOGE and the others who Republican President Dwight Eisenhower called a “tiny splinter group” who hate Social Security, but they tried to privatize it. They were unsuccessful in that. And now what they’re doing is they’re trying to destroy it from within. And we will see pretty soon as it collapses, they’ll say, “Oh, the private sector should run it.” That will be horrible. It will undermine all of our economic security.

Read it on FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting)

‘The blood in our veins’: Onondagas reignite effort to win back Maple Bay, a foothold on Onondaga Lake

The lake is sacred to the Onondaga, who have not had a foothold on a portion of its shore in nearly 200 years. The county has so far not been willing to give the Nation the land.

In 2011, the Onondaga County Legislature took the first step toward returning a parcel on Onondaga Lake to the nation.

It passed a non-binding resolution to recognize the historical significance of Onondaga Lake, and to transfer a plot of land on the lake to the Nation for “traditional uses.”

Read it on Central Current

Tim Snyder’s “20 lessons” for Resisting Tyranny

From Indivisible: If you haven’t heard of Tim Snyder’s “20 lessons” for resisting tyranny… check out the inimitable John Lithgow’s dramatic 10-minute reading that just posted yesterday. (Text also available there.)

And to specifically call out Lesson #13 this week:

Lesson #13: Practice Corporeal Politics. “Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.”

Hands Off! Mass Call for mobilizing against Trump’s power grab

Tuesday, April 1, 8 – 9pm EDT

Trump and Musk think this country belongs to them. They’re taking everything they can get their hands on, claiming anything standing in their way is illegal, and daring the American people to stop them.

On April 5, we’re taking to the streets nationwide to fight back with a clear message: Hands off! 

Ahead of these mobilizations, join movement leaders, experts, and more for a mass call on April 1, to make sense of the Trump administration’s unprecedented power grab, efforts to remove limits to its power, and what we can do to confront it on April 5 and beyond.

This event is being organized by MoveOn, Public Citizen, Stand Up America, and the Not Above the Law Coalition in support of the Hands Off day of action and future actions.

Sign in Here

Rally Together Against Deportations!

Wednesday April 2, 11 AM

Syracuse City Hall, 233 E Washington St

Immigrants in our community are under attack! We’ve responded to dozens of raids and

detentions, families are being torn apart and workers are being targeted! We need you with us to protect immigrants in our community. 

ICE has increased their presence in New York State, and we will not stand by while our friends, neighbors and coworkers are being torn away from our community!

These attacks on our immigrant brothers and sisters are unacceptable!

Join us for a press conference and rally to demand justice for the people detained and to get ICE out of our communities.

Workers’ Center of CNY | NYIC (New York Immigrant Coalition)

Lunch & Learn- Good Jobs for CNY

Wednesday, April 2, 2025 – 11:30am to 1:00pm

Tully’s – 2943 Erie Blvd E – Syracuse New York 13224

Khadeejah Ahmad – (she/her) is an organizer with Jobs to Move America and part of the CNY Good Jobs and Equitable Jobs Access Working Group.

With the tech company Micron expanding its industry to Central New York, Khadeejah is working on a community benefits agreement that seeks to ensure Micron jobs will meet the standard of a good job, including safe working conditions, living wages, and equitable hiring practices, among other conditions. Wait staff will be available to take lunch orders at 11:30. Dutch Treat. Speaker starts at Noon.

Click Here to RSVP

As always the public is invited to all League of Women Voters Events

If you can’t attend in person ZOOM info is Here

Update on Micron Organizing & Environmental Review Process

Wednesday, April 2 at 5:30pm on Zoom

If you want to learn how to get involved with the Micron environmental review process, please join Jobs to Move America for upcoming  Zoom “Teach In & Update” events. We need to come together NOW and demand the high quality jobs, benefits, workplace safety and environmental protections our community deserves!

Register for April 2

Hands Off! De-escalation Training

Wednesday, April 2 at 8:00pm – 9:00pm Virtual Event 

The national organizers of Hands Off (the April 5 day of action) are hosting a de-escalation training online. The goal is to understand how to recognize escalating behavior, respond calmly, and diffuse potential conflicts—whether with opposition groups, bystanders, or law enforcement—while staying aligned with your event goals.

Sign up here

No Other Land: Film Screening

PRE-SALES FOR THIS EVENT ARE SOLD OUT.  We will have a very limited number of tickets sold at the door (cash or card accepted) starting at 6pm.  We recommend arriving at 6pm if you plan to purchase at the door.*

Thursday April 3rd at The Palace on James, 2384 James Street Syracuse, NY.

Academy Award winning documentary No Other Land 

Doors open at 6PM. Film will start promptly at 7. 

Syracuse Peace Council and Jewish Voice for Peace Syracuse 

Tickets/more details:: No Other Land Film Screening

Ticket sales will cover the cost of the venue and film rental. All additional proceeds will benefit HEAL Palestine, a leading NGO providing critical support for children with severe injuries and amputations who cannot receive adequate treatment in Gaza.

This extraordinary film has won several international awards and tells the story of residents of Masafer Yatta, a region in the Palestinian West Bank which has been a target of the Israeli military for decades. Residents in these villages are constantly evicted, terrorized, and have their homes destroyed by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers. 

How to Fight for the Department of Education

Thursday, April 3 at 6 PM ET

Red Wine & Blue Virtual Event

Trump just issued an executive order to abolish the Department of Education.

Trump and DOGE have already fired half of the 4,000 federal employees at the Dept. of Ed., who do everything from award college funding to ensure that kids with disabilities get the services they need. Now Trump has begun to eliminate this agency entirely.

We talk to “America’s Government Teacher” Sharon McMahon about how we can stop losing the Dept. of Ed. and  that. We’ll also hear from federal employees who have lost their jobs for an insider’s perspective of how these mass layoffs are affecting services we count on.

Register

Recycle Electronics FREE Drop-off

Saturday, April 5, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm – Destiny USA (Solar Street Pink Lot)

Registration Required

Review acceptable materials: https://www.sunnking.com/acceptable-materials

Syracuse Opportunities Fair

Apr 10, 2025, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

The Oncenter, 800 S State St, Syracuse, NY 13202, USA

Register: Syracuse Opportunities Fair

Jubilee Homes is set to host the Syracuse Opportunities Fair. This event aims to connect job seekers, small business owners, and community members with local employers, service providers, and networking opportunities. Whether you are a recent graduate, a professional looking for new opportunities, or an entrepreneur seeking connections, the event promises to be a valuable resource.

Forum with Congressman John Mannion

Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 PM

League of Women Voters Virtual Event via Zoom

This Zoom forum will be moderated by Erica Smitka, Executive Director of League of Women Voters NYS.

Register by April 8

A Reading and Conversation with Mosab Abu Toha

Sunday April 13 at 4 pm 

All Saints Church, 1340 Lancaster Ave. NY Syr. 13210  

SPC- Justice for Palestine and Parthenon Books

Abu Toha is a Palestinian poet and has written two books of poetry, the award winning Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear (2022), and Forest of Noise (2024). His writings have been published in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and he has been featured on Democracy Now!.

He will readpoems from his recently published book of poetry, Forest of Noise, and speak about his firsthand experiences with the ongoing massacres and ethnic cleansing of Gaza. He and his family fled after bombings, displacement, and detention by the IDF. He is also a columnist, a teacher and founder of the Edward Said Library in Gaza. His remarkable ability to capture and articulate the suffering, courage, steadfastness and humor of Palestinians during the occupation and wars on Gaza is unique. 

The event is free, open to the public and accessible. 

Reparations Roundtable Discussion

Tuesday, April 15 at 7:00pm

Community Folk Art Center, 805 E Genesee St, Syracuse 

Join Senator James Sanders for a Reparations Roundtable. For any questions contact Safeeka Powell at 718-523-3069 or powell@nysenate.gov 

RSVP Here

Concert: Alice Di Micele with special guest Colleen Kattau

Thursday, April 19 at 7:00pm

First Unitarian Universalist Society, 109 Waring Road, Syracuse, NY 13224 

An acoustic folk concert reminiscent of Roberta Flack and Phoebe Snow, with an Environmentalist focus. 

Information and tickets

2026 Democrat of the Year Awards

Thursday  April 24, 2025

Rosamond Gifford Zoo Syracuse

Democrat Of The Year: The Hon. John W. Mannion

More Honorees To Be Announced

5:30 p.m. Cocktails 6:00 p.m. | Dinner

RSVP Online

Questions: 315-422-0345  Email: executivedirector@ocdemocrats.com

Building Beloved Community Beyond The Binary

Saturday April 26, 2025, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm

First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse, 109 Waring Rd, Syracus

A conference for transgender, nonbinary folx, and our allies to gather, learn, and grow.

More Here

Syracuse Street Heat is just one, very unencumbered way to work for peace and social justice. We’re part of a decades-long grassroots tradition here, in Ithaca and elsewhere. We stand out and stand up for what we stand for. 

A handful of us stand at busy intersections, for 45 minutes at rush hour, pivoting to the traffic with hand-held signs. We want to get the public thinking about issues often underrepresented in the media. We’re there weekly in almost all of Syracuse’s weather (we seldom cancel). Bring your own sign – or use one of ours. No meetings or committees, so participation time is minimal (yay!) Our Team:  Ann, Dick, Ed, Geoff, Jim, Julienne, Les, Leslie, Peter…. 

To learn more, call Ann or Ed: (315) 478 4571.      

2025 Spring, Summer, And Fall Schedule

Year round: Every  Friday afternoon. 4   to 4:45 pm   justice for Palestine; no more U.S.  funding Israeli genocide;  U.S.: stop terrorizing  families in Gaza; and so on.

West sidewalk of the intersection of Erie Blvd. East Genesee St, Dewitt (across from the Fire Dept.)

Beginning first Saturday in April: 4/5/25

Every Saturday 9 to 9:45 am with a variety of issues : anti-militarism, racism, Palestine genocide, Anti-nuke, climate disaster, etc.

Across from the main entrance to the Syracuse regional market, 2100 park st    

Stay in touch for anti-killer drone actions at Hancock National Guard Base

upstatedroneaction.com                           spc@peacecouncil.Net 

Watch past meetings about Micron, Good Jobs Town Hall, Rallies and more on our YouTube Channel.

 

Donate to the CNY Solidarity Coalition

CNY Solidarity Coalition contributes regularly to local progressive organizations: Syracuse Peace Council, National Action Network, & Urban Jobs Coalition. We also make occasional donations as needed to other local groups. We depend on your donations for this. 

 

Donate Online through PayPal

 

Mail donations to: 

CNY Solidarity Coalition

P.O. Box 6137, Teall Post Office, 226 Teall Ave., Syracuse NY 13217

 

Our Committees

To sign up for each of the committee mailing lists, contact the person listed. 

Indivisible Onondaga County: Contact: Tom Keck

Climate Justice: Contact: Dick Kornbluth

SLAT (State/Local Action Team) Contact: Peter McCarthy  

Beyond War and Militarism: A joint committee of CNY Solidarity Coalition and the Syracuse Peace Council. Contact: Ron Van Norstrand

 

Elaine Denton

Peter McCarthy

Coordinating Committee

CNY Solidarity Coalition