Dear John
Quick update on my healing, my body is still slow, but my mind is sharp! This past Monday, I chaired a six-hour budget hearing for the Immigration Committee (you can read our live-tweeting saga); it was great to hear from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) about the amazing services they provide to New York City immigrants. While MOIA assured the committee that the Mayor’s Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) cuts wouldn’t cause serious service reductions, these cuts mean MOIA can’t fill three open positions and that some vital pilot programs will be cut short. In a City made of immigrants, I want our City’s immigrants to have more services and programs, which won’t happen without more funding. We have a long way to go until the budget is passed, but my priorities have been clear since day one, and I won’t stop fighting for them. A quick shout out to all of the organizations and members of the public who signed up to testify! Your determination and commitment to this work gives me strength.
Constituent Services
I know there is a lot of “reacting” and “catching up” in this newsletter, but I want to try and take more time to delve into issues! I know you’re busy, so don’t worry, I’ll try and keep it short and sweet.
One of the critical services my office provides is constituent services! We’ve opened close to a thousand cases (here’s a recap of the first 300) and have closed well over half of them. Right now, the top three issues coming across our desks are housing, COVID-19, and street safety. In regards to housing, we’ve been on the ground, sometimes literally helping people find ways to make rent as well as fielding dozens of calls about tenants' rights in the aftermath of the eviction moratorium expiring. For COVID-19, our office has been a hub for up-to-date, accurate, and free testing information during Omicron and will continue to be so if cases rise again. And last but seriously not least—street safety. As our City rebounds from one of the deadliest years for traffic violence since Vision Zero began in 2015, our office is working with the community on how we can make our streets safer. We are working directly with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and constituents to identify dangerous streets and intersections so we can work on design improvement to reduce traffic violence.
Behind every case is a story, and today, I want to share one with you. Greenbrook Partners, a private equity firm, has been buying up buildings across the City, especially in District 39, and refusing to renew the leases of dozens of tenants. Our office has been organizing with impacted tenants since Brad Lander was in this seat, starting with the tenants at 70 Prospect Park West and expanding to other buildings as the firm has grown its footprint in our district. One woman came to our office distraught - Greenbrook bought her building, didn’t give her a lease renewal, and she was worried about being evicted. Our tools are limited in this situation, but we’ve been working with the housing organizers at the Fifth Avenue Committee to help organize tenants like her with people in her building and tenants in similar situations across the City. When we connected her with the Fifth Avenue Committee, she had hope for the first time in months. Constituent services isn’t always about finding the perfect solution, sometimes it’s a launching pad for organizing and community engagement. We can connect people with organizations relevant to the issues they're facing, and also use our office as a base for organizing. With housing, we’re meeting biweekly with all of our Greenbrook impacted tenants not only to get updates on their cases but to strategize for how we can push for Good Cause legislation on the state level. Our office will always do all we can to solve issues facing our constituents, and sometimes that means helping neighbors organize to find solutions beyond what the government can do.
COVID-19
We recently discussed the false rumors of a dual Delta-Omicron infection, but there is now evidence of a combined variant that exhibits traits of both Delta and Omicron. It does not seem to be spreading rapidly and has already been in the United States for months, but it is good to have on your radar. Additionally, we are seeing a concerning rise in infections in Europe after their winter Omicron surge. We’re not sure what this means for the United States, with conflicting information about whether or not we will see another wave fueled by the BA.2 Subvariant, but the recent ending of COVID-19 precautions may put us at an increased risk.
Community Bulletin
- Join our office and the talented legal service providers at CUNY Citizenship Now! on Saturday, 3/26, from 10 am-2 pm at MS 839 for a FREE immigration clinic! If you need help or have questions about applying for citizenship, make an appointment by calling 646-664-9400 or texting 929-334-3784.
- There are almost 1 million Muslims in NYC. On March 30th, we’re co-hosting Muslim Day at City Hall with Emgage and several of my colleagues to learn about the issues facing Muslim communities and the solutions we're fighting for. Members of the public are welcome to attend and can RSVP here.
- We’ve got some District 39 filming on March 22nd! There will be limited parking on Argyle Road between Church and Caton Avenue and between Beverly Road and Church Avenue.
- Some of our neighbors will be holding a stoop sale on March 26th and 27th to support organizations on the ground providing aid in Ukraine. Sign up to get involved here.
- Gowanus Mutual Aid is holding a Spring Cleaning Donation Drive at six locations on 4/27, including Camp Friendship and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon’s Office. Find the entire list with times on their website.
- Participatory Budgeting Vote Week, which runs from April 2nd to April 10th, is almost here! We will be having in-person voting events and need your help - get involved today by signing up to volunteer here.
- Our friends over at Spoke the Hub are hosting a “Dancing For Ukraine” social on March 26th to raise money for CARE’s Ukraine Crisis fund.
A belated Purim to our Jewish friends and neighbors! Send us some hamentashen pics if you have them.
In Solidarity,
Shahana
P.S. Thank you for all of the lovely feedback on this newsletter! My staff and I appreciate it.
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