PlaNYC, Food, and You...in the Bronx!

The NYC Mayor's office is traveling around New York City to discuss PlaNYC, the plan for updating the city's infrastructure to ensure long-term sustainability.

NY Faith & Justice, along with many other organizations, are trying to get food on to PlaNYC. You have a chance to tell your story to the Mayor's office. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in the Bronx next week. Please come out and share your story of how food access affects you and your community and the health problems this lack of access causes you, your family and/or your community!

Below, get all of the information for the upcoming meeting and see how past meetings have gone.

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Community Conversations in North Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Lower Manhattan generated great ideas earlier this month, and additional events in Northern Manhattan and South Brooklyn will be announced as the logistics are finalized.

Click here to see how the event went in North Brooklyn!

PlaNYC Community Conversations are public town-hall style events designed to generate community input on the PlaNYC update and the priorities of New Yorkers. They are open to the public, and we encourage individuals to bring their friends, family, and colleagues.

WHAT THEY INCLUDE:

The Community Conversations include a brief presentation by PlaNYC staff and a local partner organization working to create a greener, greater community. After those brief presentations, participants break into smaller discussion groups about each area of the plan and work together to develop their own goals and recommendations for consideration as PlaNYC is updated.

Please join us if you can, and please let others know about this upcoming opportunity to help shape the next PlaNYC and the future of our city. Tomorrow I will be calling Community Boards and reaching out to organizations specifically to help get out the word and address concerns. Please spread the word and help pack this session!

If we do not hear it from you who will tell us?

Bronx
October 26, 6-8 pm
Lincoln Hospital, Bronx
First Floor Conference area, Main Entrance
234 East 149th Street, Between Morris and Park

Co-Sponsored by Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice

Transit

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Make NYC a National Leader

NYC has a unique chance to be a leader in immigrants rights. Check out this rally on Tuesday to stop the city's collaboration with Immigration Enforcement at Rikers Island.

WHAT: DEMOCRACY DAY March Across the Brooklyn Bridge to Demand City Council Ends Our Collaboration with Immigration Enforcement at Rikers Island.

WHEN: TUES OCTOBER 19th 10;30 AM

WHERE: CADMAN PLAZA BROOKLYN

WHO: Over A Thousand Immigrant New Yorkers from Make The Road New York
Over a Hundred New Sanctuary Clergy and Congregants
Your City Council member *Call Them to Make Sure they Attend Democracy Day and Stand for Justice*

WHY: New York says it’s a city of immigrants but each year it hands over more than 3,000 people to Immigration for deportation proceedings

• There is no law that says that NYC has to collaborate with Immigration, it’s happening simply because NYC is willing to collaborate with Immigration
• If NYC passes this law, it would be the first time a local municipality has done something like this anywhere in the country. NYC would become a national leader in defending immigrants’ rights.It would be a powerful counter-weight to SB1070 in Arizona and all the other local anti-immigrant laws around the country

PlaNYC, Food, and You!

PlaNYC is a response to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2006 challenge to achieve 10 goals to ensure NYC has a sustainable future. The challenge was primarily focused on land, air, water, energy and transportation and plans have been developed to meet the goals in those areas. Now, the Mayor's office is now considering adding food to PlaNYC.

Food disparity, access to fresh and affordable produce, is one issue that plagues under-resourced neighborhoods around NYC. Over 750,000 people live in what are considered food desserts throughout the city. Because of this, NY Faith & Justice is one of many organizations working to get food added to the Mayor's PlaNYC.

You now have an opportunity to let your voice be heard by the Mayor's office regarding PlaNYC. There are meetings scheduled throughout the city between now and the beginning of November. Check out a meeting that best fits your schedule and share your story of how food access affects you and your community and the health problems this lack of access causes you, your family and/or your community!

If you would like more information on PlaNYC, you can check out their website by clicking here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/challenge/challenge.shtml

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Upcoming Events

Community Conversations on PlaNYC have been scheduled in North Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, Western Queens, and Lower Manhattan. Additional events will be held in Eastern Queens, Upper Manhattan and South Brooklyn this fall.

TO RSVP please email: CountMeIn@cityhall.nyc.gov (and note which meeting please!)

North and Central Brooklyn

October 7^th, 6-8pm

Billie Holiday Theater at Restoration Plaza

1368 Fulton Avenue, Between Brooklyn and New York Avenues

Co-sponsored by Coalition for the Improvement of Bed-Sty

Transit: A/C train to Nostrand, B25 Bus along Fulton and B44 along Nostrand

Staten Island

October 13, 7-9 pm

P.S. 58

77 Marsh Avenue, Staten Island

Located behind the Staten Island Mall on Marsh Avenue

Co-sponsored by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce

Lower Manhattan

October 19, 6-8 pm

Theater 2, Enter through Main Lobby

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC)

199 Chambers, NY, NY 10007

Transit: http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/about_bmcc/page.jsp?pid=1056&n=Directions%20to%20BMCC

Bronx

October 26, 6-8 pm

Lincoln Hospital, Bronx

First Floor Conference area, Main Entrance

234 East 149^th Street, Between Morris and Park

Co-sponsored by Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice

Transit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/lincoln/html/patients/directions.shtml

West Queens

November 3, 6-8 pm

Frank Sinatra School for the Arts

Tony Bennett Concert Hall

35-12 35^th Avenue, Astoria 11106

Transit: http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/30/Q501/AboutUs/MapsAndDirections/default.htm

Additional events to come.

For additional information on the update process or to send us your ideas, questions, or comments, please email CountMeIn@cityhall.nyc.gov

Free Immigration Clinic

The NYC Immigrant Advocacy Initiative (NYCIAI) was launched in 2007 as a collaborative effort between the City Bar Justice Center and New York Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. NYCIAI holds immigration clinics throughout the city. On Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 6-9pmat the St. Lucia Community Center, 438 E 49th St (Btw Church Ave & Synder) in Brooklyn, residents will be given free 20-30 minute appointments with experienced immigration attorneys, who will consult them about their various immigration concerns. This Immigration Advocacy Initiative is in partnership with Brooklyn Center For Quality Life, Churches United to Save & Heal (CUSH) and St. Lucia House Foundation. Space is limited so please RSVP to (718) 284-1097 or flatbushevents@gmail.com.

Movement on Reform

On Wednesday, September 29th, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation to the Senate which would provide Comprehensive Immigration Reform and fix the broken immigration system we currently have in this country.

Co-sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) this legislation is a tough, fair and practical solution to one of our most serious national problems. As a part of this comprehensive plan, bills like the Dream Act and AgJOBS are included into this one bill.

Read about the bill here.

Senator Menendez and Leahy need your support for this bill. Please spread the word and let your Senator know that you want to see this bill become law!