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Monthly Newsletter
April 2023
In This Issue
President's Report

Save the Date! Three Parks Independent Democrats
Annual Benefit

Show Support for D.A. Alvin Bragg

TPID-Endorsed Candidates for the June 27 Primary

Democratic Primary Election Calendar

Petitioning for the June Primary Is Now Complete

Three Parks to Lawmakers: Vote No on Increasing the Number of Charter Schools

Boycott to Oppose Unfair Treatment of Local
Restaurant Workers

"I Love Social Security, but It's Going Broke"

Voting Results for the 2023 TPID Board of Directors
IN-PERSON CLUB MEETING
The Youth Hostel, 891 Amsterdam Ave. at
W. 103rd St., Ballroom
Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 8:00 pm

Helping Three Parks celebrate its
in-person meeting will be ...

Getting the Job Done in a Divided Congress
Rep. Jerry Nadler
District NY-12




The State of the City Budget
Hon. Shaun Abreu
City Council Member
District 7

Unfair Treatment of Local Restaurant Workers:
What You Can Do

Masks are required and will be available for free
 at the Hostel.
IDs are also required for all attendees.

AGENDA
8:00 pm: Call to Order
Speaker: Cong. Jerry Nadler
Questions and Answers
Speaker: Council Member Shaun Abreu
Questions and Answers
Speakers: Restaurant boycott organizers
Questions and Answers
District Leader Report
State Committee Report
Adjourn
President's Report
By Lorraine Zamora

Three Parks is back in person!
On Wednesday evening, April 12, we will conduct our club meeting at the hostel on W. 103rd street and Amsterdam Ave. for the first time since the fall of 2020, two-and-a-half years ago. It will be wonderful to see one another again in the same room! We ask that everyone wear a mask at the meeting, and we will have masks available for anyone who needs one. Helping Three Parks celebrate its return to the hostel will be guest speakers Congressman Jerry Nadler and Council Member Shaun Abreu (District 7).
 
Many thanks to everyone who helped gather petition signatures over the past five weeks so that our endorsed candidates could get on the Primary ballot in June. As of the start of this week, we had collected more than 1,650 signatures and were looking forward to wrapping up this past weekend in time for the April 8 deadline.

Three Parks Independent Democrats
Annual Benefit
Celebrating 48 years of championing progressive causes and city, state, and national Democratic leaders. Join us at:
Sunday, May 21, 2023
4:00 to 6:00 PM
W. 105th St. and Broadway, NW corner

Honoring:
In Gratitude for Her Many Years of Service Representing the Three Parks Neighborhood
Hon. Gale A. Brewer
City Council Member, District 6

Ted Weiss Public Service Award
Hon. Cordell Cleare
New York State Senator, District 30

Jesse Crawford Community Service Award
The Franciscan Community Center
214 W. 97th Street



Become a sponsor and have your name
on the invitation.
  • To contribute online by PayPal or credit card, click here. Follow the online instructions.

  • To contribute by check, click here. You will get a form to print and mail with your check.

The minimum contribution to attend this event is $50.

Watch your e-mail for more details.
Show Support for D.A. Alvin Bragg

It seems at this moment, Republicans will say just about anything attacking Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg -- and we can expect it to get even worse. With this in mind, here are three articles that will counter the waves of disinformation that we expect. Circulating this information on social media and elsewhere can help set the record straight.
 
In New York Magazine, Errol Louis wrote, "So Trump is in serious legal jeopardy, not least because his adversary, Bragg, is a dogged and meticulous litigator who has proved he can build complex white-collar cases. Years ago, as an assistant U.S. Attorney under Preet Bharara, Bragg successfully prosecuted misconduct by elected officials, including former State Senator Malcolm Smith, who ended up in prison. Bragg also prosecuted a slew of white-collar criminals as the state’s chief deputy attorney general, and he prides himself on not bringing frivolous cases." Link on twitter here.

In the New York Times, Jonah E. Bromwich, Ben Protess and William K. Rashbaum provide background on how the case was built, detailing what those of us who know Alvin knew: he’s a smart and experienced prosecutor who relentlessly follows the facts and the law. Link on twitter here.

In Just Security, Ryan Goodman, Norman L. Eisen, Siven Watt, Joshua Kolb and Joshua Stanton provide a more technical analysis of the anticipated legal case, writing, "As we explain in this essay, the law is firmly on the side of the DA, and we do not think this question will give the DA’s office or Justice Juan Merchan much pause." Link on twitter here.
TPID-Endorsed Candidates for 
the June 27 Primary
Here are the candidates whom Three Parks has endorsed for the June 27 primary:
New York City Council
Gale A Brewer, Council Member District 6
Shaun Abreu, Council Member, District 7

Democratic District Leaders
Cynthia Doty
Daniel Marks Cohen

Civil Court Judge
Dana M. Catanzaro

Judicial Delegates
Delegates
Alan Flacks
Elizabeth Kellner
Aaron Mendelsohn
Josh Pepper
Deborah Thomas
Alternate Delegates
Sam Bartos
Elaine Hazzard
Susan Maderer
Stephanie Tegnazian
Doug Whelan
Democratic Primary Election Calendar

June 12: Deadline for Board of Elections to receive absentee ballot applications
June 17: Deadline for Board of Elections to receive applications for first-time voting registration in NYC and change of address
Early voting: Saturday, June 17, though Sunday, June 25

June 27: Primary election day
Petitioning for the June Primary Is Now Complete
Three Parks volunteers have now completed the petitioning process for this year's June Primary. This year's petitioning was to get the full slate of TPID-endorsed candidates for City Council Member, District Leader, Civil Court Judge, County Committee, and Judicial Delegate on the June 27 ballot.

Club volunteers were out in our neighborhood every weekend in March and ending last week. More than 1,650 signatures were collected. Right now, Board members are assembling the completed petitions into binders, which will then be delivered to the Board of Elections. Sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who braved the cold March weather to make this year's petitioning a success!

Three Parks carries petitions for endorsed candidates every election season, and as a result of those reliable efforts, the Club earns the candidates' attention to our local issues and concerns. Below are some photos from this year's petitioning.
Three Parks to Lawmakers:
Vote No on Increasing the Number of Charter Schools
 
Three Parks has reached out to NYS Sen. Cordell Cleare and Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell to urge them to oppose Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to lift the cap on the number of charter schools in New York City. For well over a decade, Three Parks has supported a moratorium on charter school expansion in the City. In a letter to the two lawmakers, we call on them to maintain the cap on charter schools, to fully fund, properly support, and reduce class sizes in all our regular public schools, and to advocate for equal access for all to a first-rate public education.

Read the complete letter here.
Boycott to Oppose Unfair Treatment of Local Restaurant Workers
By Miriam Rabban
 
Workers and supporters have called for a boycott of Swagat Restaurant at 411A Amsterdam Avenue between W. 79th and W. 80th Streets as part of a campaign for fair treatment of workers. The boycott extends to other restaurants with the same owners - Badshah-to-go (80 Nassau), Madam Ji (154 Bleecker,) and Rang (11-03 44th Avenue, Long Island City.)
 
The Three Parks Club meeting on April 12 will include a presentation from workers about their situation and what Upper West Siders can do to support them. 
 
Employees at Swagat Restaurant allege that they work as much as 80 hours a week and earn as little as $3.33/hour. A worker at Swagat states, "We make the restaurants run, without us, they are nothing. They want to keep workers poor while we raise them up? We say no!" 
        
“I Love Social Security, but It’s Going Broke.” 
By Steve Max

Social Security Should Be the Democrats’ Winning Issue
 When you hear, “I love Social Security, but it’s going broke,” watch out. The person you are speaking with may be a Republican or a Democrat, but one thing is sure, they don’t really love Social Security.

Ever since the Roosevelt Administration, when right-wingers claimed that Social Security was a fake and would never pay anyone a dime, Republicans and Democrats alike have prophesied its doom. Bill Clinton wanted to cut benefits, raise the retirement age and partially privatize the system. Even President Obama, as part of a larger budget deal with Congressional Republicans, suggested cutting benefits and raising the retirement age to 69.1 Fortunately, the deal broke down.

Social Security has well over $2 trillion in reserves, and operates far more efficiently than private retirement plans.2 Nonetheless, it projects that the reserves will be used up by 2035. That doesn’t mean Social Security is broke. It has regular tax and interest income, which if nothing is done, would still pay 80% of current benefits . The shortfall is largely a result of people living longer and a declining birth rate. Rising inflation and the loss of better-paying middle class jobs are also part of the problem. It is unfortunate that the Democrats didn’t solve this while they had control of both houses. 

Much More Than a Pension Plan
Until they need it, many people, especially younger people, don’t realize that Social Security is more than a pension. It is also disability insurance and a life insurance policy to benefit widow(er)s and children. For a young worker with average earnings, a spouse, and two children, that’s equivalent to a life insurance policy with a face value of nearly $800,000 in 2020, according to Social Security’s actuaries.

Social Security will be most peoples’ only source of guaranteed retirement income that is not subject to investment risk or financial market fluctuations.

_________________________________

1 At the suggestion of Congress member Nadler, Three Parks organized the Manhattan Democratic District Leader’s and Club President’s Committee for Social Security. Every club in Manhattan signed on to a strong statement designed to keep the Borough’s Congressional delegation from supporting the proposed benefit cuts.
2 Administrative costs of as a percent of benefits in the Social Security system are 0.6% compared to between 1% and 2% for private annuities.
Voting Results for the
2023 Three Parks Board
of Directors

Voting for the 2023 TPID Board of Directors took place following the March 8 online Club meeting. The following were elected:

Officers

Lorraine Zamora, President
Daniele Gerard, First Vice-President
Lynn Bender Max, Second Vice-President
Ellen Flax, Treasurer
Theresa Canter, Membership Director
Corinne Constantine, Recording Secretary
Chuck Wall, Corresponding Secretary
Wendy Diller, Programs Director
Lois Safian, Special Events Director

Members-at-Large
Raven E. Brown
Timothy Eckersley
David Lazarus 
Mary Ann Marks
Steve Max 
Josh Pepper
Miriam Rabban
Irene Shrier 
Michael Stearns
Daniel Tsadok
Doug Whelan
 Upcoming Meetings
Wednesday, Apr. 12, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Club Meeting

Wednesday, Apr. 26, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Board Meeting

Wednesday, May 10, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Club Meeting
Sunday, May 21, 3:00--5:00 PM
Three Parks Annual Event

Wednesday, May 24, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Board Meeting

Wednesday, June 14, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Club Meeting
Don't Miss Out! 
Renew Your Three Parks Membership Now 
  • Renew online by clicking here.
  • Renew by mail by printing out and returning the membership form at the end of this newsletter.
The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors of the articles and are not necessarily representative of Three Parks.
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2023 MEMBERSHIP FORM

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Please pay your dues with a check, money order or via PayPal by following this link to the Three Parks website. Please make out all checks to Three Parks Independent Democrats.

Mail to:  Three Parks Independent Democrats
                Cathedral Station, P.O. Box 1316
                 New York, NY 10025
                Attention: Treasurer