We took our concerns to Albany this month to lobby for better public education! In his State of the State address, Governor Cuomo claimed that he wants to be the "students' lobbyist". As Evelyn Feliciano mentioned in this video, "We ARE the lobbyists for our children!" This is just the first Albany Day of the legislative season, so please contact us to get on the bus for the next one!

On Long Island, we spent the month of December collecting much-needed food and clothing donations to help residents of local shelters. Just before the new year, we delivered the donations to the very grateful residents of the Sunshine Residence in Freeport and the Peace Valley Haven in Hempstead. The food and clothing drive is part of our "Good Neighbors" program on Long Island, which highlights the positive contributions of immigrants to the greater community.

This month, we celebrated a partial victory on the millionaires' tax. We have collected hundreds of petitions to Governor Cuomo, organized local rallies, marched for miles, and participated in the National Day of Action (#n17) to highlight income disparity and the need for a fairer economy for New Yorkers. While Governor Cuomo's deal with the legislature will not ensure adequate funding for our schools and communities, we know that the millionaires' tax would have expired with no alternative if it weren't for our efforts in coalition. Our members are energized to keep organizing: serving as spokespeople, recruiting their neighbors to get involved, and learning about budget processes and political structures.  The struggle continues!

In December, we traveled to Washington DC to join with people from all over the country to Take Back the Capitol. We rallied on K Street, where many lobbying firms that represent corporate interests have their offices. We let politicians and lobbyists know that we're fighting for good jobs and quality public services!

We joined with Council Member Daniel Dromm and New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) this month to announce the pilot program for interpretation at Queens Community
Board 3 meetings.  NICE will be administering the program and we're working together to get the word out to local residents that this new service is becoming available.
Check out recent articles describing the program: El Diario, Queens Tribune , QueensLatino.com.

This month, we held two parties to celebrate our 2011 accomplishments.
At our NYCPP party, we recognized significant contributions from leaders Sergio Hernandez, Victor Perez, and Kristian Reyes. We also formally thanked some of our allies who have partnered closely with us this year, including the Bronx Youth Chapter of the Muslim American Society and the Dominico-American Society of Queens. On Long Island, we shared home-made food, music and dancing after we reviewed our strategic action plan for the coming two years. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re motivated to continue growing as an organization and a movement. Yes we can!