La Fuente Updates

NYCPP joined New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), Queens Community House, and Voces Latinas to host a teach-in as part of the National Day of Action Against E-Verify on September 14th. In solidarity with activists throughout the country, members learned about the electronic verification program and H.R. 2164, proposed legislation that would make E-Verify mandatory for all employers, and discussed the devastating impact the implementation would have on immigrants' and workers' rights. We also joined our Long Island allies for a rally outside of Congressman Peter King's office on the same day as part of the National Day of Action.

Our Washington Heights Committee hosted a very successful Education Fair at PS 128 on September 17th, welcoming parents back to school and recruiting them into the fight for educational justice in NYC! Hundreds of parents and children stopped by the fair, picking up school supplies and sharing their thoughts about how to improve local schools. Thank you to the PS 128 Parents' Association, Laborers Local 78, La Aurora, and Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez for co-sponsoring!

NYCPP members joined with the Coalition for Educational Justice, Local 372 President Santos Crespo, and other advocates for public education to express their outrage about school budget cuts in actions on September 21st and 26th. Parents have been dismayed to hear that 700 school support workers are likely to be laid off, leaving our schools with less Check out articles on the recent actions:
http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/09/30/latest-offer-to-avert-layoffs-rejected-by-ed-department/
http://gothamschools.org/2011/09/27/city-council-comes-to-table-on-talks-to-avert-school-aide-layoffs/

This year, 142 union and community members graduated from our 2011 Leadership Development Institute, charged with the task of bringing their knowledge back to their neighborhoods and continuing to fight for racial and economic justice in New York and beyond.  On July 9th, participants discussed effective means of building community power through community organizing, voter mobilization, mass media, and grassroots lobbying. They shared their own experiences feeling empowered and learned from diverse examples of communities that organized to build power and win concrete changes in their lives.  On July 30th, participants re-convened for a second workshop focusing on the history of the Civil Rights Movement.  Members strengthened and exhibited leadership skills as they discussed and analyzed historic events that led to victories for racial equality. They identified parallels between struggles during the 1950s and 60s and the challenges we face in working class and immigrant communities today.  

Thank you so much to everyone who gave donations in response to our 4th of July appeal! Individual donors are an essential part of our team and we couldn’t sustain the work without you. Thank you to: Bianca Agustin, Melissa Amernick, Ann Bastian, Lecia Brooks, May Chen & Rocky Chin, Federico Echeverria, Angeline Echeverria & Fernando Martinez, Ron Hayduk, Isabel Hernandez, Armando Monterrosa, Jim Perlstein, Elena Petroukhina, Kate Pfordresher, Sarah P. Reynolds, Maria Rojas, Cristina Rojas, Annette Shead, Amy Sugimori, Eugenio Villasante, and Connie Wilkins. If you haven’t gotten a chance to send in your donation, you can still donate online through our website http://nycpp.org.

LICPP members have built a strong campaign for more bilingual police officers in Nassau County. On June 18th, we hosted “Keeping Our Communities Safe” a town-hall forum to highlight community members’ concerns and propose productive solutions. We were joined by Assemblyman Phil Ramos; Acting Commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department Thomas Krumpter; Hempstead Village Trustees Pettus, Rosario, and Ryan; Freeport Trustee Carmen Piñeyro; Town Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby; as well as representatives from the Hempstead Hispanic Civic Association, LI Language Advocates’ Coalition, LI Jobs with Justice, LI Immigrant Alliance, LI Progressive Coalition, National Association of Latino Officers, NY Communities for Change, NYCLU, SEPA Mujer, Strong Youth, and our major co-sponsor the Workplace Project. Shortly after the forum, the Hempstead Village Board of Trustees passed a statement in support of our campaign! LICPP member Pedro Reyes, Hempstead resident of 20 years, said, “I’ve had a lot of experiences with crime in the community—assaults and robberies. I’m very happy with the Board of Trustees’ decision to support our campaign.” While LICPP members are excited for the show of support, they’re also continuing to pressure other elected officials to take a stand.  Check out recent articles about this campaign from Newsday, La Tribuna Hispana, and Noticia on our website: http://nycpp.org/en/index.php/site/media/.

We’re pleased to announce that Queens Community Board 3 is the second Board in the City that will provide interpretation!  Since our recent victory in Manhattan Community Board 12, NYCPP has been working to expand language access to other Community Boards throughout the City. Thanks to the efforts of our partner in this project, New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), and Councilmember Daniel Dromm, Spanish-speaking residents of East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Corona will be able to fully participate in their Community Board.  Queens member Guillermo Serna, who hopes to apply to be a Community Board member in the future, said, “This is an opportunity for us Latinos to make our voices heard at the local level and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.”

In the final month of NYC budget negotiations, NYCPP, together with the Coalition for Educational Justice, the Beyond May 12 Coalition, and other groups from around the city held continuous protests at City Hall. We got creative with the help of our allies!  When Mayor Bloomberg suggested that we should protest in Albany instead of City Hall, we arrived in a yellow school bus to invite the Mayor to come with us—pointing out the fact that we had been in Albany when the Mayor had been absent.  We brought a large net to symbolize the shredding of our social safety net.  Our “concert without instruments” highlighted the importance of vanishing music and arts programs in our schools. We presented petitions with thousands of signatures of New Yorkers who oppose education budget cuts and we marched to the “Bloombergville” encampment set up to protest the budget cuts 24 hours a day. Queens member Rosario Aguilar said, “It’s just not fair! We’re paying taxes on our small salaries and suffering from these budget cuts. At the same time, our elected officials refuse to make the big corporations and millionaires pay their fair share!” After the outpouring of protest, the City Council negotiated a reduction in the cuts to schools, saving the jobs of the 4,000 teachers who would have been laid off.  Although we have major concerns with the cuts that were implemented, we know that without our organizing in coalition, our communities would have been even harder hit.

The Bronx and Queens committees held family movie nights in June to raise money for committee expenses and discuss diverse immigrant experiences.  The film, “To the Other Side,” tells the story of three families, one from Mexico, one from Cuba, and one from Morocco, and the ways that immigration affected the children in each family. “Everyone loved the movie and we reached our goals as far as the fundraising, so I would say it was a success!” said Bronx member Santiago Diaz. So far, member leaders raised about $800. Our Washington Heights committee will also host a fundraising dinner on July 23rd, where they will honor NYCPP’s first Washington Heights organizer, Gladys Sanchez, for her commitment to immigrant and worker rights.  For tickets, please call Hannah at 347-858-3970.

NYCPP, together with Inwood Advocates Coalition for Tenants Rights, Community Action La Aurora, and Northern Manhattan Immigrant Rights Coalition held a workshop in Washington Heights about the redistricting process and its potential impacts for the neighborhood.  Lucia Gomez-Jimenez, our new Executive Director, represented the National Institute for Latino Policy and presented about the way the 2010 Census was conducted, its implications for Washington Heights, demographic changes, and the ways that regular citizens can get involved in the process.  “The presentation helped me to clarify certain questions that I hadn’t understood previously like how the districts are divided based on population and what we can do to maintain or develop our political power,” said new NYCPP member Carmen Perez.  “I liked the workshop because I was confused about the difference between the electoral districts and the zip codes.  From the point of view of fighting for our social needs, we have to be able to identify our district,” said Miguel Castillo, another new member of the Washington Heights committee.

Hundreds of our members and allies marched and rallied in New York City and Hempstead this Sunday. We called for respect for workers’ rights, immigration reform, and an end to Secure Communities and immigration raids. Leading up to the May Day action in NYC, we coordinated with a large coalition of union and community groups, hosted press breakfasts in each of our NYC neighborhoods and organized 10 buses to transport folks to Foley Square. In Hempstead, we supported the march and rally organized by the Workplace Project and other allies. Our members had the opportunity to take the stage at both events, expressing the need for solidarity among diverse immigrants and working people. The overall message is best summed up in the words of NYCPP and 32BJ member Donald McCaffrey: “We can’t sit back—we must fight back!”

On April 26th, immigrant community members participated in their first Community Board meeting with simultaneous interpretation. NYCPP worked with Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez to win funding for interpretation equipment for Manhattan Community Board 12. Thanks to our efforts, Spanish-speaking residents of Washington Heights and Inwood now can have full participation in their Community Board. “The interpretation is very beneficial, because it lets us find out about what’s going on in the community,” said NYCPP member Victor Guzman. “Without interpretation, we’re left hanging.”