Happy holidays from your District Leaders
By: Derek Evers
Tags: Covid 19, New York City, Holidays, Elections, Queens

The Ridgewood “Christmas House”. Photo by Derek Evers.

First and foremost, we would like to wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season. As we bring a close to what has been a strange year (to say the least) we can look ahead to 2021 with some optimism. A Covid vaccine is on the way, community organizing efforts are in full swing, and Democrats have a chance to take home the Senate in a Georgia runoff on January 5. And though the city will be facing enormous decisions around the budget, the upcoming 2021 elections will provide an opportunity for voters to tell our leaders what they want as the makeup of the City Council is sure to change, alongside a new mayor and comptroller.

Along with our holiday wishes, we’d like to provide you with a quick rundown of events and upcoming dates to look forward to. Below is what this post will cover, feel free to jump ahead.

Georgia Runoff and how you can help 2021 Elections Ranked Choice Voting education Food pantries and community outreach Covid updates + vaccine Open Culture bill Dutch Kills Loop Build Back Circular

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1. Georgia Runoff and how you can help

With the Senate majority teetering, the Georgia runoff on January 5 will determine who has control of Congress for the next two years. This is the difference between President-elect Joe Biden having a congress to work with or more years of gridlock and inaction.

As it’s obviously such a big race, many Democratic groups are organizing Get Out The Vote efforts to make sure Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock win their races. Below is a short list of efforts we’ve been contacted about. If you would like to get involved please feel free to reach out to the organizer or directly to us and we can connect you.

Georgia Democrats are hosting multiple phone and text banking events, as well as canvasser support. Visit them here for more information.

You can volunteer with Queens Democrats for Georgia.

The Outreach Team is looking for canvassers in Atlanta, Athens and Macon Georgia. Visit them here for more information.

The Working Families Party is hosting multiple text and phone banking events, as well as providing canvassing support. Visit them here for more information.

And if you’d simply like to donate, you can do so here.

2. 2021 Elections

While the 2020 Presidential election was one for the history books, New York City now faces it’s own unprecedented election, and our district will see two of the more unique races. The battle for Jimmy Van Bramer’s seat in Council District 26 has no fewer than 18 declared candidates in the Democratic primary alone. And in District 30, Democrat Juan Ardila will face off against incumbent Robert Holden who, though winning on the GOP line in 2017, is registered as a Democrat and may yet still face off against Ardila in the primary. Meanwhile, the race for Costa Constantinides’ seat in District 22 features 8 candidates including a former Queens DA candidate, while District 34 currently has 3 candidates.

Needless to say, as Democrats we have a busy 2021 ahead of us and nearly every candidate in our district will be seeking support. Many of the candidates will spend the next month rounding out their fundraising ahead of the January 15 public matching funds deadline and then will hit the ground running with petitioning and promotion. If you would like to get involved in any of the City Council campaigns in our district, you can reach out directly to the campaign themselves, or through us. We would be happy to connect you.

3. Ranked Choice Voting education

As you’re probably aware, Ranked Choice Voting is supposed to debut during the 2021 elections. Despite being approved by nearly 75% of NYC voters, a handful of lawmakers have filed a lawsuit with the State Supreme Court in Manhattan seeking a stay against implementation before the February 2 City Council special election. The six City Council members and 10 community groups represented by Frank Carone — an attorney with vested interest in the Brooklyn Democratic Party — are arguing the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) and the Campaign Finance Board (CFB) have failed to meet their obligations mandated by the City Charter to educate communities about the new system.

Ranked Choice Voting will allow voters to pick up to five candidates in order of preference during the primary and special elections. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the total, the last place finisher is eliminated. The voters who picked the eliminated candidate as their first choice will have their second choice counted, with the same process repeating until one candidate surpasses 50%.

Regardless of the lawsuit, groups like Rank The Vote have been educating New York City voters since the end of the November general elections. To learn more about Ranked Choice Voting and the candidates, visit the Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center here.

4. Food pantries and community outreach

While we’re looking ahead to the New Year with optimism, the sad reality is Coronavirus — and more specifically, the lack of action from our federal and state government to provide any financial relief to working families — has left many of our neighbors in dire situations. The ongoing pandemic has pushed thousands of families to the brink of homelessness and food poverty is reaching levels unseen in New York City since the Great Depression. Luckily, community organizations and mutual aid networks have helped pick up the slack left by the inaction in Albany and Washington.

The Ridgewood Tenants Union has grown into one of the largest, and most organized community efforts to help stave off evictions in our neighborhoods, as well as helping feed and clothe them. Here’s a quick rundown of the monthly events they’re hosting:

Eviction Defense Project: Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale neighbors who are working to support our most vulnerable neighbors from the pending waves of potential evictions meet virtually on Mondays at 5:30pm. Please fill out this form if you would like to join.

Monthly Tenant Assemblies: The Ridgewood Tenants Union holds monthly tenant assemblies every first Saturday of the month. Sign up here if you would like to join them on Zoom.

Tenants Rights Questions: If you have a housing question and live in Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village or Glendale, you should feel free to e-mail ridgewoodtenantsunion@gmail.com with your question and one of their legal service partners can try to answer them. You should send your address, any necessary documents, how long you have been in your apartment and a phone number if we might need to get in touch with you through the phone.

If you are in another neighborhood, there are many resources you can tap into, such as the Met Council on Housing, Housing Court Answers, Queens Legal Services or Mobilization for Justice.

Mutual Aid Work and joining: Aside from their tenant work, RTU’s Mutual Aid Work is ongoing, and includes direct food and clothing distribution to neighbors in need as well as a community fridge on the corner of Seneca Ave and Weirfield St (next door to King’s Juice Bar). If you would like to join their efforts, or simply donate to the cause, you can do so here.

The Woodbine NYC collective is another local organization who has transformed their work from an events, meetings and rental space into a full-time emergency response center providing groceries, hot food and deliveries to our neighbors. In fact, their work has become so large that they’ve recently moved into a bigger location. They are currently seeking donations to help build out their new space and maintain their community services. If you would like to donate to their efforts, you can do so here.

Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center has compiled a free database of food banks, including faith-based groups, listed by neighborhoods. You can view the Ridgewood/Maspeth list here.

You can view Long Island City and Astoria food banks here.

You can view Woodside/Sunnyside food banks here.

View the full list of city-wide neighborhoods here.

5. Covid updates + vaccine

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York’s first Pfizer vaccine delivery is expected to come on December 15, and will be enough doses for 170,000 New Yorkers. Per CDC recommendations, New York’s vaccination program will prioritize healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in phase one.

If you have the opportunity to get a vaccine, we strongly encourage you to do so. Not only will be helping yourself, you will be helping your community. And while you may have trepidations, it’s important to remember that the work for this vaccine began during the 2003 SARS outbreak, so it’s at least 15 years in the making.

For the millions of us who will not have access to the first round of vaccines, it’s important to remind your friends and family of the dangers of this pandemic, which is now killing more people than 9/11 every day. Please continue to adhere to social distancing measures, wear a mask, and only gather indoors for essential activities. The City continues to provide free testing throughout the five boroughs. You can find a testing site near you here.

And with that, let’s finish with a couple of good news items…

6. Open Culture bill

Last Thursday, the New York City Council passed legislation introduced by Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer permitting cultural institutions to use public outdoor space for events and performances.

Modeled after the outdoor dining initiative, which lets restaurants set up seating on sidewalks, the bill will allow performing artists and venues to line our streets with stages much the same way. Included alongside the bill was a second that would establish a website with information about those participating in the program as well as a map feature. The program is set to be established by March 1, 2021. You can read more about the Open Culture bill here.

7. Dutch Kills Loop

The Newtown Creek Alliance has proposed a 1.4 mile circuit of public walkways, bridges, and park spaces that enlivens and connects a restored Dutch Kills — an inlet of the Newtown Creek in Long Island City. Likened to Manhattan’s Highline, the Dutch Kills Loop is one of 85 proposed projects the NCA has been working on with their partners at Riverkeeper and Perkins+Will as part of the Newtown Creek Vision plan to address Remediation, Restoration, Recreation and Resilience. You can read more about the Dutch Kills Loop here.

8. Build Back Circular

Finally, the Community Land Trust and Long Island City Coalition are finalists in a competition to help design the public land around 44th Drive in a sustainable manner — but also using different shapes and forms. The competition is being led by BLOXHUB, a Copenhagen-based Nordic accelerator for sustainable urbanization. You can see more about the Open New York Call to “Build Back Circular” here.

Sincerely,

Derek J. Evers and Melissa Bieri

Democratic District Leaders in AD37B