November Club Meeting

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024

The Youth Hostel, 891 Amsterdam Ave. at

W. 103rd St., Ballroom

 *** 7:30 pm ***

The 2024 Election

Lessons from the Vote and

the Way Forward

President's Report

By Lorraine Zamora

The Democratic Victory 2024 Campaign Center at W. 105 Street and Broadway, staffed by Three Parks Independent Democrats and Broadway Democrats, has been operating Tuesdays-Sundays from 12:00 PM to 7:30 PM through Election Day.

After nine weeks, it’s still a glorious sight: Upper West Siders making phone calls, writing postcards, making GOTV trips to LI, Upstate NY and PA, and supporting all these activities by making donations for some of the snappiest and most heartwarming buttons they’ve ever seen.

But by the time you read this it will be Election Day, and we’ll soon know whether our determined and tireless efforts did the job. As I write this, it’s still a tight race–but we’re optimistic Kamala and Tim will win. They’ve got to.

Perhaps the most frequent question I’ve been asked is: “Why aren’t there other Democratic Clubs in the city doing what Three Parks Dems is doing?” The answer: There may be one or two, but no other club provides such a full range of opportunities to get-out-the-vote…accessible directly from the Campaign Center. Three Parks has spent the last 49 years building a membership that works together as a whole and does not divide itself among other political organizations. For instance, instead of sending our members to campaign with Vote Blue or Swing Left, both of which are legitimate political movements, we prefer to organize our own activities for our members to participate in. That includes buses to PA, trains to LI, and cars and buses to Upstate NY, as well as postcard writing and phone banking. With each activity, our membership grows, our members get to know each other, and our shared dedication to the progressive cause is strengthened. That is why Three Parks is able to organize and activate its members to volunteer on such short notice and in such large numbers.

This Presidential Election year, Three Parks has conducted one of its most intense Campaign Centers in recent history. A small core of Three Parks board members and key volunteers have been at the storefront six days a week, every week, totaling 300-450 hours each. I am proud to name them: Corinne Constantine, Lynn Max, Steve Max, Chuck Wall, Mary Ann Marks, Faye Schneier, Roger Schneier, Jamie McNeil and Michael Feinberg. Of course, there have been many others—300 or more— who have showed up whenever possible to help, and for whom I am very grateful, especially those who have also helped to clean the bathroom, wash the floor, and throw out the trash. The storefront became more than just a destination: it became a temporary home for which we all were responsible.

The storefront also became a place where all members of our Upper West Side community could come to feel involved, useful and part of the Election Process. As Faye Schneier, our diligent Desk Captain, puts it...from the teenager using the paper cutter to help produce informational flyers, to the folks who schlepped laptops and cell phones to our phone banks...to the bus loads, car loads and train travelers who canvassed in nearby swing areas....to the scores of volunteers who sat at our outside tables, asking for donations for buttons, t-shirts and hats to help offset our storefront costs, each and every person played an important part in helping to ensure a Democratic win!

Thanks to all for all you’ve done. Regardless of the outcome, you all did your most and best to ensure a win for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and to maintain the sanity of our country.

Thank You to All Volunteers!

After Weeks of Intensive Campaigning, Election Day Is Finally Here.

(above) Volunteers prepare to depart from the Campaign Center for a third canvassing trip to Pennsylvania in support of Democratic candidates. NYS Assembly candidate Micah Lasher (front row, left) is there to see them off.

From mid-September to Election Day, the 105th Street Democratic Campaign Center, staffed by Three Parks Independent Democrats and Broadway Democrats, was the busy hub for campaign activities in our neighborhood and beyond. Every day except Mondays from Noon to 7:30 PM, dedicated volunteers set up sidewalk tables in front of the Campaign Center and elsewhere in our neighborhood, reaching out to voters and boosting support for the Harris-Walz ticket and for down-ballot candidates. The tables provided useful voting information, registration forms, and mail-in ballot applications, as well as a wide array of campaign buttons, rally signs, t-shirts, hats, and much more.

The Campaign Center was also the headquarters for a wide range of out-of-district campaign activities. Here is just some of what our volunteers achieved:

Phonebanking:

• for the Harris-Walz ticket on Wednesday and Thursday evenings
• for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) on Saturday afternoons
• for Josh Riley, Democratic candidate for Congress in the Hudson Valley, on Monday evenings

Postcard Writing: Thank you to the 243 volunteers who wrote more than seven thousand postcards on behalf of Rep. Pat Ryan (Hudson Valley), Rep. Tom Suozzi (Long Island). and Congressional candidate Josh Riley (Hudson Valley), and who contributed generously for postage.

Canvassing Trips:

• Three trips to Pennsylvania to canvass for the Harris-Walz ticket, Sen. Bob Casey, and Rep. Susan Wild
• One trip to Newburgh and another to Poughkeepsie in the Hudson Valley to canvass for Rep. Pat Ryan, Democratic incumbent in a swing district
• Two trips to Nassau County, Long Island to canvass for Democratic Congressional candidate Laura Gillen
• A trip to Rockland County, NY to canvass for Democratic Congressional candidate Mondaire Jones

More Scenes from the Campaign

(above) Volunteers depart the Campaign Center for a canvassing trip to Easton PA. Council Member Shaun Abreu (second from right) is there to see them off.

(above) In Freeport, Long Island, volunteers prepare to knock on doors for Democratic Congressional candidate Laura Gillen.

(above) On Oct. 27, volunteers depart for a canvassing trip to Poughkeepsie in the Hudson Valley on behalf of the Harris-Walz ticket and Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan. NYS Assembly candidate Micah Lasher (front row, second from left) is there to see them off.

(above) At the Poughkeepsie Democratic campaign office, volunteers prepare for canvassing.

(above) Canvassers prepare to travel to Rockland County, NY to knock on doors for the Harris-Walz ticket and for Democratic Congressional candidate Mondaire Jones.

(above) Club members and friends campaign in favor of Ballot Proposal 1 at the W. 96th St. subway station. They are joined by Rep. Jerry Nadler and NYS Assembly candidate Micah Lasher.

Honoring the Memory of Cynthia Doty

On the sunny fall day of Sunday, October 20, a crowd of neighbors, friends, family, and elected officials gathered at West 103rd St. and Riverside Drive to honor the memory of our District Leader and neighborhood activist Cynthia Doty, who resided on that block. In a ceremony organized by the West 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association, Three Parks Independent Democrats, and Bloomingdale Aging in Place and facilitated by City Council Member Shaun Abreu, the block of W. 103rd St. from West End Avenue to Riverside Drive was co-named Cynthia Doty Way, and a plaque was dedicated on a Riverside Park bench in Cynthia's honor.

(above) Those honoring Cynthia Doty included (from left to right) Cynthia's brother John Doty, NYS Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, NYS Assembly candidate Micah Lasher, Rep. Jerry Nadler, Council Members Gale Brewer and Shaun Abreu, and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. Also present but not visible here: Assembly Member Danny O'Donnell.

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