President's Report
Breaking News: No Primary Challengers for Council Members Gale Brewer and Shaun Abreu
Join Us on May 21! Three Parks Independent Democrats
Annual Benefit
Welcome Back to In-Person Three Parks Club Meetings
State Committee Report
West Side High School Faces Relocation to the East Side
Thanks to All Our Great Petitioners!
There Is No Second Amendment Right to a Gun
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NOTE! This Month's Club Meeting Is the
THIRD Wednesday of the Month
IN-PERSON CLUB MEETING
The Youth Hostel, 891 Amsterdam Ave. at
W. 103rd St., Ballroom
Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at 8:00 pm
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The NYC 2024 Budget: Policies, Programs,
and Progressive Priorities
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New York City Comptroller
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Masks are required and will be available for free
at the Hostel.
IDs are also required for all attendees.
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AGENDA
8:00 pm: Call to Order
Speaker: Comptroller Brad Lander
Questions and Answers
District Leader Report
State Committee Report
Adjourn
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President's Report
By Lorraine Zamora
Three Parks is back!
On Wednesday evening, April 12, we conducted our club meeting in person at the hostel on West 103rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue for the first time since the spring of 2020. It was wonderful to see one another again in the same room! We asked everyone to wear a mask and we had extras on hand for those who needed one. Helping Three Parks celebrate its return were Congressman Jerry Nadler, Council Member Shaun Abreu (District 7), and our good friend Council Member Gale Brewer (District 6), who popped in to say hello.
The attendance (more than 100 members and guests) was wonderful, and the enthusiastic reception of club members was heart-warming. Many thanks to Board members who helped ensure a smooth operation, including check-in registration, payment of dues, welcoming guests, managing our new sound equipment, handing out masks, and passing the mike to those who asked questions.
Our next club meeting is Wednesday, May 17 at 8:00 pm. This is a week later in the month than usual, so please mark your calendars now so you don’t forget! And mark down Sunday, May 21, too. That’s the date of our 48th Annual Fundraising Benefit being held at the Ellington Café on West 105th Street and Broadway from 4:00-6:00 pm. We’re honoring NYS Sen. Cordell Cleare, Council Member Gale Brewer and the Franciscan Center. Get tickets and all the details at www.threeparksdems.org. And while you have your calendar out, mark down Wednesday, July 19: that’s the date of Three Parks Picnic in the Park! Details to come.
Thanks to all and see you soon.
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No Primary Contests for Council Members Gale Brewer and Shaun Abreu.
In the 6th and 7th City Council Districts, which together cover our neighborhood, Three Parks-endorsed Democrats Gale Brewer and Shaun Abreu have no Primary challengers. Consequently, Brewer and Abreu will be the Democratic nominees for City Council, and their names will not appear on ballots on Primary Day, June 27.
Likewise, in the 67th and 69th Assembly Districts, the Club’s endorsed candidates for local Democratic Party posts -- District Leaders, County Committee members, Judicial Delegates – also face no Primary contests. There will, however, be contests in the 70th and 71st Assembly Districts.
Civil Court Judge nominee Dana M. Catanzaro also has no Primary challenger.
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Join Us on May 21!
Three Parks Independent Democrats
Annual Benefit
Celebrating 48 years of championing progressive causes and city, state, and national Democratic leaders. Join us at:
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Sunday, May 21, 2023
4:00 to 6:00 PM
W. 105th St. and Broadway, NW corner
Honoring:
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For Her Many Years of Service Representing the Three Parks Neighborhood
Hon. Gale A. Brewer
City Council Member, District 6
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Ted Weiss Public Service Award
Hon. Cordell Cleare
New York State Senator, District 30
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Jesse Crawford Community Service Award
The Franciscan Community Center
214 W. 97th Street
Become a sponsor and have your name
on the invitation.
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To contribute online by PayPal or credit card, click here. Follow the online instructions.
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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.
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Welcome Back to In-Person Three Parks Club Meetings!
On April 12, Three Parks held its first in-person Club meeting since 2020--and it was great to be back at last! At the Youth Hostel, a big and lively crowd greeted friends and neighbors, renewed our spirited political discussions, and warmly welcomed Rep. Jerry Nadler, City Council members Gale Brewer and Shaun Abreu, and other friends of the Club. Below are some photos from the meeting.
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Left: Three Parks President Lorraine Zamora introduces Rep. Jerry Nadler, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee and longtime friend of the Club.
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Right: Rep. Nadler takes questions from Club members.
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Left: City Council Member Shaun Abreu reviews the aims and priorities of the City's 2023 budget.
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Right: Local restaurant workers and a labor organizer explain the wage theft problem they face and what neighborhood residents can do to help them combat it.
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State Committee Report
By Daniel Marks Cohen
Last month Jay Jacobs, the NYS Democratic Party chairman, called a meeting of the executive committee and county chairs in Kingston, NY. The purported justification for the gathering was about his recently released plan for improving the party following last year’s election losses of several congressional seats, along with scores of county and state legislative spots as well. The plan is a doozy, calling for an orgy of hiring and staff allocations, none of which is budgeted, and there was precisely zero talk about how this was all going to be paid for. Which raises the question that if we had money to do this before, why didn’t we do so, and if we don’t have money to do it now, how will this plan be implemented? It should be noted that the plan was not new ideas. It was full of suggestions that have been made for YEARS by my colleagues in the State Committee about how to move us into becoming a 21st century political organization, instead of what feels like a 19th century one. The plan feels way too late; the metaphorical cow has not just left the barn, it has moved away to New Jersey and the barn has burned to the ground. What exactly are we doing?
In reality, it felt more like a chance for Jacobs to try to get some positive optics – party leadership rallying together in support of him and his plan – rather than a step forward in making the party more transparent, responsive and responsible. I renew my call for Jacobs to resign or be replaced.
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West Side High School Faces Relocation to the East Side
West Side High School, New York City's first alternative high school, has lost its fight to stay in its building on West 102nd Street. In what is described as a “swap,” West Side High will be relocated to a converted office building in East Harlem, while the current occupant of the East Side space, the Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS), will move into the West Side High School building.
The decision came at a public meeting on May 1, when the city’s Panel on Education Policy (PEP) heard hours of testimony from teachers, students, and others who pleaded to keep West Side at its current site. At the end, Schools Chancellor David Banks urged the PEP members to support the move of the two schools. There were 9 no votes, 1 abstention, and 1 absence. So with just 12 of 23 votes, the PEP voted to proceed with the move.
Numerous West Side and East Side elected officials had also previously expressed opposition to the relocation of West Side High ...
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Thanks to All Our Great Petitioners!
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During the month of March, 53 members and friends of Three Parks Independent Democrats took part in a spirited petitioning drive, collecting almost 1,700 signatures to earn the Club’s endorsed candidates a place on the June 27 Primary ballot. We petitioned for our endorsed City Council Members Gale A. Brewer and Shaun Abreu, as well as for Civil Court Judge candidate Dana M. Catanzaro. Petitioning was also essential to qualify our volunteer Democratic Party officials: District Leader Cynthia Doty, District Leader candidate Daniel Marks Cohen, County Committee members, and Judicial Delegates.
It was a strong club effort that included five weekends of sidewalk tabling, as well as individuals combing through their buildings for signatures. There were many exceptional efforts.
This Year’s Petitioning Champions: The top honor goes once again to all-time champion Mary Ann Marks, who collected 168 signatures. In second place was newcomer Russell Taylor, with a very impressive 160 signatures. And in third place was Club Second Vice President Lynn Bender, with 80 signatures.
Fourth on this year’s list with 78 signatures was Corresponding Secretary Chuck Wall. Fifth with 65 signatures was Miriam Rabban, a tireless advocate for local issues who also led voter canvassing trips upstate last fall. Sixth with 60 signatures was Lois Safian, who as Programs Director is also managing our upcoming Annual Benefit. And seventh with 58 signatures was Club President Lorraine Zamora.
They were followed by State Committee Member Lynn Thomas with 49 signatures, new Board member Michael Stearns with 45 signatures, and longtime Club members Anthony Zak, also with 45 signatures, and Mary Jane Thompson, with 41 signatures.
31-40 Signatures
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Marianne Barcellona
Margaret Beels
Theresa Canter
Wendy Diller
Timothy Eckersley
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Arlene Geiger
Jacob Gross
Elaine Hazzard
Hannah Leider
Susan Maderer
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Elizabeth Malcolm
Ilene Pfeiffer
James Schories
Irene Shrier
Deborah Thomas
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Isabella Calisi-Wagner
Frederick Churchill
Cynthia Doty
Ellen Flax
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Daniele Gerard
Marnie Hall
Madelyn Innocent
Brian Krist
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Joyce Mann
Josh Pepper
Elena Picinich
Judy Wood
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Robert Bardin
Leni Brown
Daniel Cohen
Corinne Constantine
Elizabeth Kellner
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Jonah Lowenfeld
Susan Meyer
Brenda Morgan
Doris Schrieber
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Roschel Stearns
Doug Whelan
Landon Wickham
Lauren Williams
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A great job and congratulations to all!
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In Memory of Juliet Diller
Juliet Diller, the mother of Three Parks Board member Wendy and her brother, Matthew Diller, passed away on April 26, 2023 after a long and full life. She leaves a grieving and incredibly grateful family, including, in addition to her children, her daughter-in-law Kit Kennedy and five grandchildren: Alexander Brill, Gabriel Brill, and Natalya Brill and Peter Diller and Michael Diller.
She graduated from Brooklyn College and earned her PhD at NYU, following a trajectory that was quite uncommon in those days, especially for women. She practiced psychology in Manhattan for more than 65 years. A loving mother and grandmother, she had a magnetic personality combining a general sense of justice and concern about the world with an ease and love of people that hopefully she has passed on to those who loved her.
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There Is No Second Amendment Right to
a Gun
By Steve Max
I wrote this article in 2013 in the wake of the Washington, DC Navy Yard shooting in which twelve people died. The Newsletter has reprinted it several times after subsequent major shootings. Mass shootings now occur weekly, with 160 so far this year. After each shooting, we hear the Second Amendment cited many times in opposition to even the most moderate gun control legislation. It is long past time for Democrats to stand up and proclaim that there is not, and has never been, a Second Amendment right to individual gun ownership.
S.M. 04/30/2023
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Every discussion of gun control starts with our side saying, “Of course I support the Second Amendment but, …” Having given away the argument right at the start, we then ask, “But must there be quite so many bullets in the magazine?” We saw something like this just recently in an April 19th CNN debate between Democratic Congressmember Jamaal Bowman and Republican Byron Donalds. After Donalds cited the Second Amendment, Bowman, in an otherwise excellent argument, responded with ”So, first of all, the Second Amendment also reads well-regulated. Right now, the guns, in this country, are not well-regulated... We need to deal with the well-regulated part of the Second Amendment, as well as the rest of it.” Of course, what the Amendment says is “A well regulated militia,” not well-regulated guns. Once again, after we acknowledge the validity of the Second Amendment, we have no place to go. It is time to take the strongest position. There is no individual right to own a gun. The Second Amendment guaranteed the right to have state militias. The gun ownership clause was there to make the militia possible. There have been no state militias since 1903, and there is no constitutional right to gun ownership. It doesn’t exist!
The Congressional debate over the Second Amendment is most instructive ...
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Wednesday, May 17, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Club Meeting
Sunday, May 21, 3:00-5:00 PM
Three Parks Annual Benefit
Wednesday, May 24, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Board Meeting
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Wednesday, June 14, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Club Meeting
Wednesday, June 28, 8:00 PM
Three Parks Board Meeting
Wednesday, July 19, 5:00 PM
Potluck picnic in Central Park
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Don't Miss Out!
Renew Your Three Parks Membership Now
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Renew online by clicking here.
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Renew by mail by printing out and returning the membership form at the end of this newsletter.
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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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President
Lorraine Zamora
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District Leader
Cynthia Doty
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State Committee
Daniel Marks Cohen
Lynn Thomas
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Read more about our grassroots activities.
Follow us on Facebook/Meta here
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Read the April Newsletter here
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Print, cut out, and mail this form.
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
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