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Tired, Not Sleeping
Tavonna Lewis stood last Sunday at the edge of the plaza at the Grand Concourse and Fordham Road, where a protest march was about to start. It was her first ever demonstration. She said she was excited—and exhausted. The long lists of names on T-shirts and signs, some with writing so small they conveyed an impression of pain rather than a precise roster of those murdered, were stacks of weight that accumulated and slowly crushed. “Everyone is tired,” Lewis said. “It has to stop.”
All around there was evidence of exhaustion. One marcher's black t-shirt read “I'm tired of being tired.” A few blocks into the demonstration, a city bus pulled up and the driver held out an “I can't breathe” sign. A roar of approval came from the crowd for his act of defiance and solidarity. There was hope in the fact that he was tired enough to do something. So were they.
During times when I was not reporting, I've marched against a lot of things in my life—the 1994 Contract With America, Rudy Giuliani's budget cuts, the 1996 immigration law, the Iraq War—but there was always a sadness in those events. Maybe it was realizing that we wouldn't win, and were just going through the motions.
This stuff is different. At the rallies and marches I have covered in recent weeks, there is pain, fury and sorrow. But there is also a shocking, joyful presence of optimism. It seems to come from a sense that, this time, there is a chance—and that, after all this time, there's no choice.
“Do not go home satisfied. This doesn't end here,” a protest leader, Justin Pando, told the crowd at a Van Cortlandt Park sit-in on Saturday. “Now is the chance to stand on the right side of history, to take control of the system we built and the people we employ. Let us demand basic decency for Black people that has never existed in a country we built for free.”
When I was growing up, schools had only recently begun observing Black History Month in February. But my second-grade teacher, Ms. Olga Calendar (the only Black teacher I ever had) kept the Black history posters and Black heroes' portraits up all year. In retrospect, the message seems clear: This isn't part of the story. This is the story. She must have been tired, too.
Jarrett Murphy
executive editor
** Policing & Protest
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How Widespread Was Violence on New York’s Nights of Unrest? ([link removed][UNIQID])
To get a better sense of what was seen around the city last week, City Limits surveyed all the city’s 59 community boards to ask what violent unrest—and peaceful protest—they had seen.
Visuals: A Weekend of Protest ([link removed][UNIQID])
At peaceful gatherings in Brooklyn and the Bronx, the signs, scenes and shouts spoke for themselves.
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** 2020 Primary
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Audio: Breaking Down NYC’s Key Primary Races ([link removed][UNIQID])
The Max & Murphy team talks with WNYC about the races to watch on June 23.
Your Voters’ Guide for the 2020 Primary ([link removed][UNIQID])
Twelve of the 13 Congressional seats that fall within the city are being contested, as are 10 State Senate districts, 27 Assembly posts, five judicial positions and the borough presidency of Queens.
Who Are Those Judges You’ll See on the New York Primary Ballot? ([link removed][UNIQID])
Judicial posts, important though they are, rarely see much campaigning or media coverage and are usually omitted from voters’ guides.
** The COVID-19 Crisis
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A Wave of Legislation Aimed at Renters and Small Biz ([link removed][UNIQID])
As much as the reopening is testing whether or not New Yorkers can avoid a second wave of illnesses, it will also reveal whether the steps taken so far are all the help that’s needed.
Budget Axe and Pandemic Padlocks Have Put City’s Parks Under Pressure ([link removed][UNIQID])
The mayor's decision to open parks but ban swimming has prompted an outcry. Meanwhile, proposed budget cuts to the already underfunded Parks Department threaten to strain the system during a summer when New Yorkers will likely flood to those spaces.
Advocates: Cuts to NYC’s Housing Plan Will Have Deeper Costs ([link removed][UNIQID])
Reacting to the drastic drop in city revenue, Mayor de Blasio has proposed shifting $1 billion in capital spending on his housing plan from this fiscal year and next to later years.
City’s Volunteer Sector Swells But Faces New Challenges in Coronavirus Pandemic ([link removed][UNIQID])
COVID-19 prompted a huge surge in volunteering. It also posed a number of new challenges both for the volunteers and the organizations they serve.
** Voices of New York
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Amplifying NYC's Ethnic and Community Press
Heartbreak for Hispanic Businesses Impacted by Looting ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘I made a big sacrifice when I got into debt two years ago to start this business,’ one bodega owner whose shop was ransacked told El Diario. ‘I did it for my family’s well-being, but also for the community.’
The daily death tolls are dropping. But COVID-19's impact on our city has just begun. From hospitals to housing, education to the economy, there are tough questions to be answered and important stories to be told. With your help, we can tell them.
Help City Limits cover this crisis. Become a member. ([link removed][UNIQID])
** City Views
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Opinions on Policy and Politics
’Opinion: Now is the Time for the New York Health Act ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘We have seen enough shortages of PPE equipment, testing kits, and hospital beds to convince us all that something different is needed. We need a unified approach to the delivery of healthcare, as well as its costs. ‘
Opinion: Want Young People to Vote? Let Them Organize Themselves ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘In our conversations with Gen Z New Yorkers about what keeps them from the polls, they cite three main factors: socioeconomic barriers, a sense of personal or community disenfranchisement, and a lack of civic education.
Opinion: Prevention Services Can Help NYC Avoid a Feared Foster-Care Surge ([link removed][UNIQID])
'Building on the great work these prevention services workers have done, why not surge the opening of new services to meet the expected demand?'
Opinion: It is Time for NYC to Reimagine Maternal and Newborn Care ([link removed][UNIQID])
'Worldwide movements are underway to create a better post-pandemic world. We must also reimagine maternal and newborn care so that both are delivered more equitably and holistically.'
Opinion: New York City Nonprofit Leaders of Color Call for Action and Reform ([link removed][UNIQID])
'Like all New Yorkers, we look forward to a return to normalcy. However, we do not seek a return to injustice, inequity, unfairness, marginalization, hatred, privilege, or contempt.'
Opinion: Fix 50-a, the Right Way ([link removed][UNIQID])
'Repealing Section 50-a is the easy part; the hard part will be in creating a new system that ensures police officer discipline is transparent to the public.'
Opinion: Invest in Human Services, Not Over-Policing Our Communities ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘The decision to decrease funding for social services while maintaining funding for the NYPD is the opposite of what our values should be.’
Coronavirus Resources
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ([link removed][UNIQID]) • New York State Department of Health ([link removed][UNIQID]) • U.S. Centers for Disease Control ([link removed][UNIQID]) • World Health Organization ([link removed][UNIQID])
Need help or info? Check out our resource library. ([link removed][UNIQID])
Job Board
** City Limits
Executive Director
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City Limits, a nearly 45 year-old New York focused award winning digital nonprofit digital news outlet is seeking an Executive Director to help lead the organization’s growth.
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Our job board is full of positions in New York's public sector. Explore more jobs here ([link removed][UNIQID]) .
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** Support our non-profit journalism
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