La Fuente Updates

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!

NYCPP members traveled Washington DC this month to lend their voices and experiences to a national campaign for Sustainable Success in public education. For Constantino Tejeda, it was his first visit to our nation's capital. Upon returning from DC, Constantino has thrown himself into the work, phone-banking Bronx residents to get them involved and speaking at a recent action for the millionaires' tax.  NYCPP parent organizing was also featured in a documentary film Parent Power, which was screened this month at NYU. The film chronicles parent organizing in New York City from the mid-90s to the present and the important work of the Coalition for Educational Justice.

As the gap between the rich and the poor grows in New York and the country, NYCPP members are doubling their demands for job creation and a living wage. Members marched with thousands of New Yorkers in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. We're going door-to-door in the Bronx to recruit more unemployed and underemployed community members into the fight for a fair economy and have hosted local actions in the Bronx and Washington Heights to highlight hunger and other results of unemployment.

We're continuing our redistricting work to ensure that residents of low income communities of color understand and are included in determining how the lines are drawn. We hosted a workshop for our Long Island members to lay out the process and some of the issues specific to Nassau County. In November, we're hosted a summit of community-based organizations and advocates from the City and Long Island to discuss the proposed maps, share across communities, and coordinate to better protect the interests of diverse communities of color. For more information on our redistricting work, contact Lucia at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
 

NYCPP members have been working hard to ensure the extension of the millionaires' tax, which is set to expire in December. Members have marched to Governor Cuomo's Manhattan office and hosted local actions in Washington Heights and the Bronx, highlighting the impact of budget cuts to education and other necessary public services and demanding that millionaires pay their fair share. Check out news stories featuring NYCPP members as spokespeople: Telemundo 47: Featuring Paola Martinez, NY1: Featuring Jose Hernandez, NY1: Featuring Elias Garcia, Rosario Cepin, and Organizer Teresa Arieta, Univision 41: Featuring Rosario Cepin.

Thank you to all of our supporters, allies, and members who helped make our 2011 Bridge Builders Awards Reception a success. With your help, La Fuente will continue to uphold progressive values and make our communities stronger. We are especially grateful to our honorees: Lee Saunders of AFSCME, September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and Edison Severino of the LIUNA Latino Caucus Citizenship Drive. Thank you for working with us!

Please take a second to check out some new videos on our youtube page! We have a great clip from Channel 12 Long Island's coverage of our campaign for more bilingual police officers in Nassau County, as well as a fun video from our 2011 Leadership Development Institute. You can find these and other videos about our work at: youtube.com/LaFuenteInc.