La Fuente Updates

As part of the Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ), NYCPP has been fighting to push for checks and balances to mayoral control of the NYC school system.  While this campaign has faced a number of obstacles, it has provided important opportunities for members to exercise leadership and participate in public debate.  On May 5, a group of NYCPP members traveled to Albany as part of the Coalition For Educational Justice and the Campaign for Better Schools.  They met with elected officials, observed a legislative hearing and participated in a rally and press conference.  On May 18, NYCPP members participated in a rally outside of the Panel on Educational Policy (PEP) meeting to call attention to its rubber-stamp function given the mayor’s complete control of the panel and decisionmaking.

On May 30, NYCPP members participated in a rally and press conference on the steps of City Hall to protest city budget cuts to education.

On June 30, the New York City Council overwhelmingly passed Resolution 1281 calling on the New York City Department of Education to recognize the two holiest Muslim Holidays!  Prior to the vote, a number of council members spoke out in support of the resolution.

A diverse range of representatives from the labor, community, civil rights and faith based groups that make up the Coalition for Muslim School Holidays convened a press conference in the morning prior to the vote, urging the City Council to pass the resolution.  Speakers included parents, students, community representatives and religious leaders from different faiths.  Victor Perez, a member of NYCPP’s Washington Heights Committee and 32BJ SEIU spoke as a representative of the Coalition for Muslim School holidays. He talked about the importance of different ethnic and religious groups coming together to fight for children’s educational rights and concluded by saying: “Children from all backgrounds and faiths should have equal opportunities for education and be considered full members of our society.” 

The next step in this process is to work with the mayor and the Department of Education to ensure that children will not be forced to choose between educational opportunities and celebrating their holidays.

On Tuesday June 23, 2009, over 500 students from around the nation convened in Washington D.C. just outside Capitol Hill for the National DREAM Graduation and solidarity actions.  Claudia O’Brien and Renata Thakurdyal of NYCPP were among the 250 New York delegates who participated in the graduation, which included speakers such as Josh Bernstein, SEIU director of Immigration, Bill Kamela, Microsoft Senior Director of Education and Workplace Policy, representatives from the ACLU and College Board, and undocumented students.  The message was clear and poignant—to pass the DREAM Act this year so as not to let the vast reserves of talents go to waste because of immigration status and an outdated immigration system.  These students have lived in the United States nearly all their lives and can only call this land their home.  After the graduation, students met with their state senators and representatives to urge them to co-sponsor the DREAM Act and to truly champion this legislation so that its passage is made reality by year’s end.

Members of NYCPP’s Leaders Advisory Committee (LAC), a group of leader representatives from all three committees, developed a workshop for committee-members on grassroots fundraising.  Teams of 2-3 LAC members then facilitated the workshop for each of the three neighborhood committees.  This provided committee members with an educational experience and provided for cross-neighborhood collaboration.  Participant evaluations following the workshops indicated a high level of satisfaction by member participants.  The neighborhood committees will follow up on the workshops by identifying grassroots fundraising goals and plans at the local level. 

LICPP members have identified 33 street lights that are out of service, in just a small area of the Village where many LICPP members live. In May, we submitted a formal complaint to the Department of Fire Alarm. Rosa Romero, one of the members who went to submit the report, said “I have been living in Hempstead for 10 years and I didn’t know that this building was here. I’m learning about the places that I’m supposed to file a complaint.” We have been monitoring the Village’s progress and up to this date, only 3 lights have been repaired—we have also identified another 6 lights that don’t work. Our next step is to meet with the mayor to get to the bottom of this issue.

In LICPP's May meeting, members decided that an important element of safety is communication with the police department. We reached out the Hempstead Village Police Department to schedule a meeting. The goals of the meeting are: to establish a relationship between LICPP and the Department; to understand the process of reporting a crime; and to share community concerns directly with the police. After the meeting, members will report back to the rest of the committee and pass accurate information on to other community residents.

LICPP participated in the FIRM National Immigration Summit in Washington, DC, on July 3-5. At the summit, we shared experiences and strategies with other regional and national groups, focusing on how to work with the media and highlight the economic benefits of immigration reform. We also met with Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who represents New York’s 4th district, including the areas where most LICPP members live: Hempstead, Uniondale, and Freeport. She committed herself to support current and future immigration reform legislation. LICPP member Antonio Torres, a long-time Freeport resident, participated in the meeting and said, “For me it was a great experience. This is the first time that I meet with an elected official. We hope that she supports us when an immigration reform bill is introduced.” We will continue to pressure members of our congressional delegation to ensure they are doing all they can to promote immigration reform.

At LICPP's June meeting, members decided that in order to be better advocates for immigration reform, they want to learn more about the legislative process and how a bill becomes a law. LICPP is designing a workshop to fill this need and inform our advocacy for immigration reform.

On May 14th, LICPP Organizer Javier Gallardo participated in “Immigration on Long Island: New Directions and Opportunities for Civic Engagement” a forum organized by the Center for Social Innovation at Adelphi University. The forum focused on the trends in labor, integration, civic participation, citizenship policies and their impact on new immigrant populations. Javier explained LICPP’s work and many participants were excited to hear about our successful model for civic engagement on Long Island.

LICPP has partnered with the Workplace Project to push for comprehensive immigration reform.  LICPP members have collected over 200 postcards to Long Island elected officials to demonstrate community members’ support for immigration reform.  In conjunction with the postcard campaign, LICPP members also participated in the May Day March and Rally for Immigration Reform, held in Hempstead on May 1st.   LICPP and 32BJ member Rosa Figueroa spoke at a press conference on April 1st to announce the May Day March and Rally. José Marinero, also of LICPP and 32BJ, spoke at the rally itself. 

 José and Rosa both emphasized the importance of immigration reform for workers’ rights. In his address to the crowd, José said, “Immigration reform is necessary for all workers to be able to organize, join a union, and demand respect in the workplace. This will improve the situation for all working people, immigrants and non-immigrants alike.”

After 5 years with NYCPP, Project Director Zahida Pirani decided to move on.  Together with community, labor and faith-based partners, we recognized her work and wished her well at a party on February 26.  We are currently in the process of reviewing applicants for the Project Director Position.  We wish Zahida the best of luck in her future endeavors!

On Wednesday, January 21st members of NYCPP convened outside the Federal Building near City Hall to protest deportations and raids. About 100 people were present from various groups and we were featured briefly on Channel 41, Channel 47 and CUNYTV.