STAY HEALTHY! STAY SAFE!
For the latest official information from NYC
on the coronavirus, click
here
or text
COVID
to
692-692
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In This Issue
President's Report
District Leader Report
t
Mark Levine's Online Speech to TPID on How NYC Is Dealing With the Coronavirus
Make Sure to Complete Your Census Form!
Mark Your Calendar
Voting by Absentee Ballot
With Activities on Hold, the Take Back Congress Committee Takes Stock
Fighting Wage Theft
Visiting Florida This Year? Help Register Voters While You're There!
Three Parks 45th Annual Benefit
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ONLINE CLUB MEETING
Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2020
8:00 pm
Update: NYC and the Coronavirus
Speaker:
Mark Levine
Chair, City Council Health Committee
April 1 Is Census Day
Speaker:
Julie Menin
Director of the Census for NYC
Join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
If clicking does not work, paste this link into your browser:
You may also join by using your phone to dial in
.
AGENDA
7:45--8:00 pm: Log On / Dial in
8:00 pm: Call to Order
District Leader Report
Speaker
:
Mark Levine
Questions and Answers
Speaker
:
Julie Menin
Questions and Answers
Adjourn
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President's Report
By Lorraine Zamora
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We are now all aware that we are in a situation that will likely get worse before it gets better, and that is likely to continue for some time. In this situation, Three Parks has vital work to do. Our political activities must not stop: the next few months will be crucial, and the general election gets closer every day. Just as important, we need to be a focal point, a gathering place, and an information source for our club members, friends, and neighbors. Our job now is figuring out how we can best accomplish all of these goals.
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Our recent online club meeting on Wednesday, March 11 provides a template we can follow. For that meeting, we had scheduled City Council Member Mark Levine, chair of the Council’s Health Committee, to speak on how the city is dealing with the advent of the coronavirus. Right up until the day before, the plan was to hold the meeting at the Youth Hostel as usual. But suddenly, the indisputable gravity of the of the coronavirus outbreak started to hit home. On the very morning before the meeting, Jessica Haberstock, our recording secretary, had an idea: why not hold the meeting online? By 9:00 am, Daniele Gerard, 1
st
Vice President, who had initially invited Mark Levine to be our speaker, called Mark and asked if that was doable. After checking out the electronic capabilities, Mark agreed. Just five hours prior to the scheduled meeting, a series of eblasts went out, announcing that the on-site meeting was cancelled and an online forum would take its place. Three Parks was able to turn on a dime and adapt to the new situation, using the latest technology available.
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Mark Levine, Chair, City Council Health Committee
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District Leader Report
By Bob Botfeld
Nothing is normal amid COVID-19, but Three Parks
somehow collected 1279 signatures.
Nothing is normal. We are in lockdown, directed to remain in our apartments and maintain social distancing, a term no one knew three weeks ago but now universally understood to mean stay at least six feet away from any other person. It is physically impossible to maintain social distancing and petition. Petitioning, the most neighborly of our political activities, became the most dangerous thing each of us could do.
Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order that terminated petitioning prematurely on Tuesday, March 17, before some of our usual late-starting petitioners had even begun. Cuomo also reduced the required number of signatures to nominate a candidate by 70%.
We scrambled to collect and bind the petitions, but no one knew when they were supposed to be filed. The published petition filing dates were March 30 through April 2, but on the morning of Wednesday, March 18, Governor Cuomo signed into law joint NYS Senate/NYS Assembly bill
S8058/A10151,
which abruptly moved the filing period to Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20 only.
Yet, Three Parks collected and filed a remarkable total of 1279 signatures.
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Mark Levine's Online Speech to TPID on How NYC Is Dealing with
the Coronavirus
Mark Levine, Chair of the City Council Health Committee, spoke about the virus's impact on NYC at the March 11 online club meeting. He recommended the following municipal websites as sources of local information.
- Dedicated NYC health department website -- click here
- Text alert system – text COVID to 692692 to receive updates
- Mark Levine and Health Department (@nychealthy) are both active on Twitter
The following is an outline of Council Member Levine's remarks.
It is no longer possible to track cases back to their origin.
Practicing “social distancing” to limit the spread of infection
- Encouraging telecommuting
- Encouraging groups to cancel non-essential public events
Virus testing
- Failures at federal level; restrictions and mobilization continue to lag.
- Only about 5,000 tests have been administered nationwide, but the number seems to be increasing due to private labs.
- Prioritizing people who are more severely ill.
NYC public schools
- Currently assessing losses to kids (meals, access to nurse, etc.)
- Currently assessing risks
NYC employees
- City council essential staff are now working remotely; sets an example for all agencies
- Keep first responders healthy
- Personal protection equipment to be provided for health care workers
Managing “common touch” areas
- Many of the city’s public areas are being deep cleaned daily
- Any positive testing at a school will lead to school being closed for 24 hours and deep cleaned
- Instructing people to wash hands regularly and avoid touching the face
- Most cases are thought to be transmitted through immediate touching of another person
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Make Sure to Complete Your Census Form!
The 2020 Census has been officially launched, and it is vitally important that census forms be completed and filed so that everyone is counted. The census numbers affect federal funding that New York will receive in the years to come for education, Medicaid, hospitals, children’s health insurance, senior care, affordable housing and more. The NYC Health Department uses census data in emergencies to determine responses.
The Federal Census Bureau mailed letters to all U.S. households on March 12 explaining the census and the various ways of responding. The census asks for basic information about each person living at your address. The census does NOT ask about citizenship status or income, and it does NOT request social security numbers. All information is confidential and cannot be shared with any other entity.
You can complete the census online or on the phone from the safety of your own home. You can fill it out online by clicking
here
or over the phone by calling 844-330-2020.
Julie Menin, Director of the Census for NYC, says, “Together, as we weather this [coronavirus] crisis, we can help New York City during its time of need.”
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Mark Your Calendar
New York Democratic Presidential Primary
Tuesday, April 28, 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Early Voting:Saturday, April 18 through Sunday, April 26.
Polling places and hours to be announced.
New York Democratic Federal/State Primary
Tuesday, June 23, 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Early Voting:Saturday, June 13 through Sunday, June 21.
Polling places and hours to be announced.
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Voting by Absentee Ballot
If you are ill or cannot get to a polling place on Election Day, you can cast an absentee ballot by mail.
When is it due?
An absentee ballot must be postmarked by the day before election day: for the NY Democratic Presidential Primary: April 27; for the NY federal/state primary: June 22.
Qualifications to Vote by Absentee Ballot
- Absent from New York City on Election Day.
- Unable to appear at the polls due to temporary or permanent illness or disability; or because you are the primary care giver of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled.
How to Get an Absentee Ballot
The application must be received not later than the day before the election, or postmarked by a governmental postal service not later than the 7th day before election day (for the NY Democratic Presidential Primary: April 21; for the NY federal/state primary: June 16).
You can also get an absentee ballot application by visiting a Board of Elections office or by calling 1-866-VOTE-NYC (1-866-868-3692). You will receive a postage-paid application form in the mail.
For more information, click
here.
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Congressman Jerrold Nadler joins Three Parks members at petitioning tables set up on Broadway at 97
th
Street
Club members were gathering petition signatures on Saturday, March 7, to put Nadler, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, State Senators Robert Jackson and Brian Benjamin, Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell, and other candidates on the ballot for the Democratic federal/state primary scheduled for June 23.
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With Activities on Hold,
the Take Back Congress Committee Takes Stock
By Chuck Wall
Since last fall the TPID Take Back Congress team has called nearly 1,700 phone numbers and written more than 1,100 postcards to voters.But now the team’s monthly gatherings for phone banking and postcard writing are on (we assume) temporary hiatus due to concerns about the coronavirus.So now is a good time to take stock and make plans for the remainder of this momentous election year.
Our efforts thus far have focused on the all-important races to unseat Senator Mitch McConnell in Kentucky and Senator Susan Collins in Maine. Kentucky holds its Democratic primary on May 19. Maine holds its Democratic primary on June 9. Once there is a Democratic Senate nominee in each state, we can adjust our voter-reachout strategies accordingly. Also, all relevant information that we have gathered about Kentucky and Maine voters can be shared with the Democratic campaigns in those states.
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Fighting Wage Theft
By Miriam Rabban
Did you know that wage theft amounts to $1 billion in wages illegally withheld each year from workers in New York State, according to the U.S. Department of Labor? Wage theft occurs when employers do not pay workers for all the hours that they have worked, or fail to pay the minimum wage or overtime as required by law.
Employers get away with wage theft because labor laws have loopholes that make them difficult to enforce. Even when workers win court judgments for owed wages, too many employers fraudulently transfer assets, shut down and re-open under a new name, or declare bankruptcy to avoid payment. Wage theft also hurts law-abiding businesses, which struggle to compete with scofflaw businesses that can charge less by cheating their workers.
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Visiting Florida This Year? Help Register Voters While You’re There!
By Laura Tavormina
If you are traveling to Florida later this year, do something great while you're there: register voters– where it really counts!
HelpFloridaRegister.org
is a new website that tells visitors to Florida how to join local voter registration drives while they are in the state. Just select the location where you will be staying, and you will get a list of community-based organizations that are running registration drives in the area. You’ll get contact information and learn how you can volunteer. (The Spanish version of the site is at
RegistremosaFlorida.org
.)
Florida will play a key role in 2020,and Florida’s elections are often decided by very narrow margins. In 2018, the election for governor was decided by 30,000 votes, or 0.4% of more than 8 million ballots cast. Today more than 3 million Floridians are eligible to vote but are unregistered. .
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POSTPONED UNTIL RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC EVENTS ARE LIFTED
Three Parks 45th Annual Benefit
✽
Honoring:
Michael N. Gianaris, NY State Senate
Deputy Majority Leader
Ted Weiss Public Service Award
Dominicanos USA
Jesse Crawford Community Service Award
Three Parks needs you to support Democrats who are fighting to restore our democracy
.
Please contribute at one of these levels:
$1000 Angel
✽
$500 Benefactor
✽
$300 Patron
✽
$200 Sponsor
Admission:
$175 Guest
✽
$50 Member
If you would like to submit your payment online, please click on
Fundraiser
at our website,
ThreeParksDems.org
.
You can also call Lois Safian at (917) 453-5910 or email her by clicking
here
.
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Wednesday, Apr. 1,
8:00 pm
Three Parks Online Club Meeting
Wednesday, Apr. 22
, 8:00 pm
Three Parks Online Board Meeting
Wednesday, May 13
, 8:00 pm
Three Parks Online Club Meeting
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Wednesday, May 27
, 8:00 pm
Three Parks Online Board Meeting
Wednesday, June 10
, 8:00 pm
Three Parks Club Meeting
Wednesday, June 24,
8:00 PM
Three Parks Board Meeting
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President
Lorraine Zamora
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Editors
Chuck Wall
Corinne Constantine
Richard E. Luna
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District Leaders
Bob Botfeld
Cynthia Doty
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State Committee
Lynn Thomas
Daniel Marks Cohen
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Cathedral Station P. O. Box 1316 New York, NY 10025 (212) 539-7602
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Print, cut out, and mail this form.
2020 MEMBERSHIP FORM
New Member __________ Renewal __________
Membership Category
(
check one
)
Individual ($25) __________
Family: two adults in the same household ($40) __________
Low Income ($15) __________ Low Income Family ($20) __________
Sponsor ($50) __________ Patron ($100) __________
Name _____________________________________________ Date __________________________
Address ____________________________________________________ Apt. # _______________
City _______________________________________ State ____________ ZIP _________________
Phone (Home) ________________________________ (Cell) ____________________________
Email _______________________________________________________________________________
Check here ______ if you prefer to receive the newsletter
solely
by email.
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
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