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November 2012 Update
Following Sandy it was hard for many to return to normalcy, and some still haven't or never will. The outpouring of support from the community was both humbling and amazing. In my own volunteering I was struck by portions of the population displaced by Sandy as well as before by the economy or other factors. As we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday please take a moment to pause and reflect on how lucky we are, give thanks, and lets figure out how to make things better for all of us.
- Supporting Israel
- Election Day Victory, Voter Protection, and Youth Voting
- Sandy Recovery and Emergency Preparedness
- Resources for Seniors with Lenox Hill
- Tech Tools for 2013
- Free Meet and Greets, Better Laws, and Investing in Youth
- Upcoming Events
- A New New York: The Constitutional Dimension
- Holiday Party
I join our campaign in standing with Israel supporting Operation Pillar of Defense. Read our detailed position statement and see the live missile count.
My thoughts and prayers are with friends, family and those who live in Israel and Gaza as I hope we can achieve a lasting peace.
Election Day Victory, Voter Protection, and Youth Voting
Earlier this month millions of Americans re-elected President Barack Obama.
I for one was proud to play my part: VoterSearch.org, which I created five years ago continued to verify voter registrations, now more than 100,000; and New York Democratic Lawyers Council, where I serve as Statewide Coordination Chair, sent thousands of lawyers and law students throughout New York and battleground to do voter protection.
Project 2012 which combines registration of High School Seniors and Civics Classes, mentioned in our previous newsletter, continued with Mock Elections at Schools including one in City Council District 5.
VoteWithKids.org, the final piece of the puzzle, was launched in the weekend leading into Election Day to encourage parents to take their children to vote. As we worked with the United Federation of Teachers on rolling out Project 2012 throughout schools in New York City, their policy team was keen on sharing research from former Council District 5 resident and now Professor at Pennsylvania State University Eric Plutzer:
"The single most important factor in whether young people vote in their first or second eligible election is whether their parents vote.”
If you’ve got pictures from Election Day of you voting with your children on Election Day please post them on Tumblr or tweet them with #VoteWithKids. You can like the initiative at facebook.com/votewithkids or take the pledge at VoteWithKids.org.
Sandy Recovery and Emergency Preparedness
For those with businesses in Lower Manhattan that are still recovering from Sandy, I am proud to support Brainlink in announcing their generous donation of $25,000 in FREE IT services. Public/private partnerships such as these are essential to rebuilding, especially when government can sometimes fall short. Please email sandykallosforcouncil [dot] com if you have similar assistance to offer or if you need this assistance.
In addition a collection of City, State and Federal Government programs are available at NYC.gov’s Severe Weather landing page detailing services including: shelters, warming centers, prepared food, FEMA disaster assistance and recovery centers, rapid repairs, gas rules, electricity restoration, temporary housing, business assistance, and how to volunteer or where to donate.
As Chief of Staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, I had the privilege of working on Emergency Preparedness legislation to create a tax free period before hurricane season on supplies for Go Bags - a collection of items you may need in the event of an evacuation.
As we accept the reality of global warming and prepare for a future where storms like Sandy are the new normal, there are many ways you can prepare yourself and your family. You can learn more about Go Bags and shelter in place Emergency Supplies at Ready New York. You can also sign up for official emergency events and announcements at NotifyNYC. If you are interested in taking a more active role in supporting the community please consider joining the Medical Reserve Corps if you have a medical background or joining your local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to receive a 10 week training to support the efforts of New York City's first responders.
Resources for Seniors with Lenox Hill
Just in time for the Holidays, where many of you may be surrounded by family, friends and loved ones in need, I was happy to co-host a special two part episode of Community Board 8 Manhattan Speaks on Older Adult Services with Ellen Polivy, Co-Chair and Founder of CB8M’s Health, Seniors and Social Services Committee and our special guests Laura Lazarus and Carolyn Silver from the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House.
Watch the show to learn about FREE:
- Senior Services including healthy meals, physical activities, health screenings, arts, transportation and education, etc.
- Case Management from Social Workers to get free home delivered meals, health care, and government assistance, etc.
- Legal Advocacy from Attorneys to help with housing, unemployment, advance directives, government benefits and access to healthcare, etc.
After the Thanksgiving meal watch this episode in Manhattan at 9:30PM on Time Warner Channel 34, RCN Channel 82 or FiOS Channel 33 or watch online.
City and State News recently profiled a number of civic and political apps that I've developed in "Poli-Tech: The digital tools politicos need to gain an edge in 2013" touching on VoterSearch.org, its newest incarnation New York Counts and my most recent effort to enable any candidate, including my opponents, to run a sophisticated online fundraising as part of a new democracy platform, VotersGive.com.
Free Meet and Greets, Better Laws, and Investing in Youth
Politics should no longer be “pay-to-play” where most of us can’t get a meeting with an elected official unless we donate enough to meet them at a fundraiser or catch them off guard at a community appearance. You will never have to pay money just to meet me or to learn what was discussed at one of my events because this campaign is committed to transparency.
Last month we held two free community meet and greets, a discussion on better copyright laws, and sponsored the premier of Brooklyn Castle.
Our Community Meet and Greets were a huge success and we thank so many members of the community and media for joining us. You can read coverage or watch video of our Roosevelt Island Meet and Greet in the Roosevelt Islander Blog.
Discussion 0 in our ongoing Computer Code versus Legal Code discussion series focused on Copyright Law with Ray Beckerman and Aram Sinnreich at the Hive at 55. Watch the discussion for free online.
If you missed the premiere, tickets to the show are still available at the Film Society of Lincoln Center through the final showing on Thanksgiving.
Following the show our campaign called on the City to invest in education and after-school programs and added a new solution inspired by the movie to support chess in schools to promote better decision making in New York City’s youth to lower juvenile delinquency.
A New New York: The Constitutional Dimension
As Executive Director of New Roosevelt it is my pleasure to invite you to a FREE conference we are sponsoring in Albany next week:
Learn more or register for FREE or get 3.0 CLE credits for $60.
