Dear John
Funny subject lines aside, I do have something I want to share with you all. Last week I underwent surgery to replace my previously replaced left hip. There’s no need to panic - I’m feeling okay! My old hip replacement had simply run its lifespan, and now I have a new and improved bionic hip that should last me the rest of my life. As painless as this was, going under the knife has never been easy, no matter how many times I’ve done it. My recovery should take a few weeks, but my only ask is that you give me and my staff some patience while I get back to 100%. Thank you to everyone who has offered their prayers of healing – I’m looking forward to being back walking through our neighborhoods very soon.
Now I want to talk about our Immigration Committee’s first hearing.
This Monday, the New York City Council Immigration Committee will be investigating troubling allegations of abuse at the ICE facility in Orange County, New York. Our office has been working with advocates, immigration lawyers, and detained immigrants at the facility to hold officials accountable. From disregard of COVID-19 precautions to outright racist abuse (that got two of the jail staff recently reassigned), ICE’s contempt for human rights at this facility must be brought to light (we’ve been running a Twitter thread on the allegations against the jail if you want to learn more). While Orange County is very much outside of the five boroughs, this is our Council’s fight because this is where almost every single one of the New York City residents detained by ICE are held. Our neighbors are hundreds of miles from home in a dangerous situation, so it’s our job to fight for them.
This hearing is part of a whole week of action led by immigrants and activists to pass the Dignity Not Detention Bill in Albany. This legislation would prohibit the state from contracting with ICE and would close facilities like Orange County. We will be voting on a resolution at the end of our hearing to call on the State Legislature to pass this legislation and end the torture of our immigrant neighbors. If you want to join our week of action, stop by our rally on March 3rd at 11:00am at Federal Plaza to send a clear message to the State Legislature that immigrant rights are very much human rights.
As the proud daughter of two working-class Bangladeshi immigrants, being the chair of this committee is a great honor. And with the incredible coalition we are working with, I genuinely feel we are using the power of government for the people. If you have time on Monday, tune in when our hearing starts at 10 AM! We will also share a recording later in this newsletter.
COVID-19
I think it’s safe to say we are finally past the Omicron surge. Caseload over the past week has been the lowest since November of last year, and while news of the BA.2 subvariant is keeping health officials on notice, it seems we’re returning to a period of relative calm.
That being said, I want to express my concern that some elected officials are racing to drop public health guidelines. This past week, the CDC and New York State dropped several mask guidelines while the Mayor expressed his desire to drop the vaccine mandate very soon. The situation is improving, but vaccine mandates and mask guidance are simple and non-invasive public health measures that could very well prevent the next variant and save thousands of lives. These measures are also about more than just protecting the vast majority of New Yorkers — we also have thousands of immunocompromised people in our City who will suffer if we drop these measures too soon. I’m worried we’re rushing too fast to “get back to normal” before we’ve seen extended periods of low community transmission.
This is an undoubtedly highly complex issue and it is my hope we follow science and public health guidelines. I’ll continue to voice these concerns in the Council whenever possible.
Community Bulletin
- Join a Participatory Budgeting Working Group! Our PB District Committee has three volunteer working groups that will imagine and implement strategies to get out the vote, plan events for our neighbors, and write and share important communications. You can join the Design & Communications Team (assisting with ballot language, flyers, and social media), the Events Team (plan community events for Vote Week), and the Get Out the Vote Team (prepare a strategy to get the most votes of any cycle)! If you can’t commit to a working group just yet - you can still sign up to help out during vote week here!
- The Prospect Park Alliance wants to hear from you! Join the Alliance on 3/15 for a community workshop on how our City should restore the Vale of Cashmere. RSVP to help shape this community-driven process and share your ideas.
- Please join me for the Care Forward Community Roundtable on March 2nd! I’m very excited to hear from domestic workers, employers, and community members to discuss how to build fair and healthy labor relationships in the care industry. For those that don’t know about Care Forward, it’s an initiative from The Domestic Employers Network, Carroll Gardens Association, and The Worker Institute at ILR Cornell that takes a neighborhood-based and restorative justice approach to address worker violations in the domestic work industry through organizing, education, and political advocacy. Spanish interpretation will be available!
- A friendly reminder to update your email settings to get our education updates! We’ll be sending out regular updates on schools and City education policy that you won’t want to miss.
Send me some healing prayers or just good vibes if you're one to do so.
In Solidarity,
Shahana
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