02.14 For the Culture
Remove NYPD from schools, Jordan Casteel, & 10 things we hate about Cuomo
Removing qualified immunity for NYPD? Watch City Council hearings this week about 11 new laws to expand police reform. Voting for CD-31’s Special Election begins this weekend (Southern Queens including Far Rockaway et al), to fill the seat vacated by Donovan Richards, now Queens Borough President. This is the second of four Special Elections planned before the June Primary. Why not have all special elections on the same day you ask? Apparently, it’s written in the City Charter to host specials “x amount of days” after an office is vacated. Hella special elections mean dismal voter turnout AND a waste of public $$$, so let’s update the City Charter!
Don’t forget about SPV Community Folder! Wanna put something on our radar? Leave a comment or email us at softpowervote@gmail.com
ON THE RADAR
DEADLINE TO UPDATE YOUR PARTY AFFILIATION IS TODAY, 02.14.
All remaining updates must be made in person! Paperwork can be dropped off at the BoE General office at 32 Broadway, 7th floor, NY, NY 10004. (This is bc the BoE doesn’t have an online voter registration system & the DMV is closed on the weekends! TL;DR: OVR is on the table, stay tuned!)
WATCH: Tuesday, February 16, 10:00 AM City Council Hearing to Require City Council Confirmation of the Police Commissioner, Give the CCRB ACTUAL Discipline Authority, & End Qualified Immunity for Police Officers… THIS IS HUUUUGE! DON’T MISS IT!
(S/O to CD-33 candidate Elizabeth Adams who helped to draft this legislation!)
WATCH: Tuesday, Feb 16, 6:30-8:30 PM Follow Black Woman Mayoral Town Hall
Community Voices Heard hosts a mayoral forum by and for Black women. RSVP HERE
Tuesday, Feb 16, 8-9 pm. Cooking/Cocktail class for Dianne Morales with Lauren Ashcraft & Shaniyat Chowdhury. Progressive candidates getting creative! Tickets start at $25
WATCH: Thursday, February 18, 10:00 AM City Council Hearing to Remove NYPD from Schools & Protect Students in Emotional Crisis
This hearing is to remove NYPD from schools beginning in June 2022 & to regulate the NYPD’s response to children in emotional crisis within public schools. Will be heard by the Committee on Education.
ACTION: February 18-23 Call Out To Vote for the City Council District 31 Special Election
We’ve got to mobilize for our neighbors as we did for Georgia! Action hosted by DemocracyNYC. RSVP HERE
WATCH: Wednesday, February 24, 6-7:30 PM Black History Month Voter Education Workshop
Learn about the 2021 City-wide election with DemocracyNYC and Medgar Evers Public Administration Club RSVP HERE
ACTION: @Riders4Rights 28 Days of Action includes a Stonewall march, Movie Night, and Warm Clothing Drive!
CULTURAL WORK
Spotlight of some Black food writing and stories!
For the Culture is a biannual print mag that celebrates Black women and femmes in food and wine by cookbook author, Klancy Miller. GRAB A COPY!
A Critic for All Seasons: on why we need food critics of color by Korsha Wilson (2019).
Whetstone Magazine is a Black-owned platform that explores food through an anthropological lens to expand human empathy. Print, digital, and podcast!
#MakeFarmersBlackAgain the story of Triple J Farm in Windsor NY and farming while Black.
“At the start of the 20th century, one in seven farmers in the United States was Black. In the decades that followed, however, Black Americans were dispossessed of an estimated 13 million acres of land.” Triple J Farm in Windsor NY & Black Farmer Fund
Black Hair Care in Color, a new book and “digestible way for people to educate themselves.” by Arial Robinson
Unmasking Yellow Peril: a free downloadable zine outlining the intersectional history of violence against Asian Americans
Black Led Trans org G.L.I.T.S. creates affordable housing building solely for Black and Brown members of the trans community in Queens READ
Donuts Forever: Feb 15, 2 PM. Rare Form’s annual J Dilla tribute and fundraiser for Building Beats on Twitch
SOFT POWER VOTE
CD-31 Special Election
Important Dates
02.14 Deadline to update your party affiliation and must be done in-person.
02.13-02.21 Early Voting for Special Election, CD-31 (Queens)
02.23 Election Day for Special Election, CD-31 (Queens)
03.23 Special Election: CD 11 & 15 (BX)
Mayoral forum hosted by UWS Open Hearts and Sham Tha Homeless Hero w/questions from those experiencing houselessness—a first in NYC history!
On police intervention: Maya Wiley says she would not rely on NYPD as first-responders for un-housed people (Eric Adams of course still down with NYPD), Dianne Morales says, "If we have the political will to make it happen, we can house everyone in a permanent home,” (housing justice!), while Eric Adams gets called out for not showing up to the Lucerne hotel when our leaders were needed. Moderated by Corinne Low who keeps the pace and Sham.
We have more than 10 things we hate about Cuomo, but at the top of our list is that Cuomo prioritized political optics, like choosing to cover-up nursing home death count, instead of preventing the deaths of our most vulnerable from Covid-19. He needs to resign. Act Up NY will live stream their gripes today (02.14) at noon.