Calendar
  • May 31: Attorney General candidates forum

    Forum for
    Attorney General Candidates &
    Democratic State Committee Candidates

    Thursday, May 31
    6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

    Gibney Dance Studio U
    53A Chambers Street, 2nd Floor
    (just east of Broadway)

    Following Eric Schneiderman’s sudden downfall and resignation 3 weeks ago, there are three candidates for NYS Attorney General seeking the Democratic nomination — Letitia James, Zephyr Teachout, and Leecia Eve. We will have a chance to hear from all three and vote afterwards for the GSD endorsement.

    In addition, the party position of (Male) State Committee Member is open this year following the announcement that Lee Berman will not seek re-election to that seat. Two candidates are running: Chris Marte and Joseph Garba.

    Any member with voting privileges who cannot make the meeting may designate an attending member to carry their proxy. No member may carry more than one proxy. Designations need to be in writing (email to hello@grandstreetdems.nyc will be accepted).

    Thank you to Downtown Independent Democrats for hosting this forum.

  • Put these important May dates in your calendar

    We’ll have two GSD meetings to hear from Democratic candidates for state office and to vote on GSD’s endorsements:

    State Candidates Forum

    Monday, May 7, 6:30 – 9:30 pm
    PS 41, 116 W. 11th Street

    State Candidates Endorsement Meeting

    Tuesday, May 15, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
    Location TBD (on Grand Street)


    Another two meetings are planned to discuss the traffic crisis in our neighborhood:

    L Train Town Hall

    Wednesday, May 9, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
    New School Johnson Hall, 66 W. 12th Street

    CB3 Transportation Visioning Workshop

    Wednesday, May 16, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
    Seward Park High School, 5th floor cafeteria
    Enter on Ludlow between Grand and Broome


    And, to celebrate LES History Month, two great events planned by LESPI:

    LESPI meeting with Kent Barwick

    Tuesday, May 8, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
    Tenement Museum, 103 Orchard Street

    Join a conversation with legendary preservationist Kent Barwick as part of LES History Month.
    RSVP required due to space constraints: info@LESPI-nyc.org

    Celebration of St. Mary’s Church

    Monday, May 14, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
    Rectory of St. Mary’s, 28 Attorney Street

    For almost 200 years, St. Mary’s has been serving the immigrant populations of the Lower East Side. The event will include a presentation on the church’s and area’s history, a tour of the church, and ringing of St. Mary’s Bell. Tickets required, $10 for GSD members. Purchase here.

  • May 12: Volunteer at Corlears Hook Park

    Corlears Hook Park

    Saturday, May 12
    8:30 am – 2:00 pm

    Corlears Hook Park
    Cherry Street & Jackson Street

    RSVP by May 4

    Join the New York Junior League’s Playground Improvement Project to help beautify and improve Corlears Hook Park.
    Lunch provided if you RSVP by May 4.

    Corlears Hook Park — our neighborhood’s entryway to East River Park — has undergone significant upgrades over the past five years thanks to local organizing by Friends of Corlears Hook Park.

    This year, the park has been selected as the subject of an intense month-long volunteer project by New York Junior League’s Playground Improvement Project. Working weekends since April 14, volunteers are gardening, landscaping, and renovating the park and playground.

    We will join them during the final weekend of park improvements, on Saturday, May 12. Volunteers should be ready to start working at 8:30 am. Lunch will be provided only if you RSVP below.

    Corlears Hook Park is a vital outdoor space for our community, with playground, outdoor grills, baseball and soccer field, a dog run, and one of the most vibrant displays of Chinese magnolias in New York City. It’s important that we do our part to make sure this park has the local resources necessary to keep it looking its best.

  • May 7: State Candidates Forum

    State Candidates Forum

    Monday, May 7
    Doors open 6:30 pm
    First speaker 6:45 pm

    PS 41
    116 W. 11th Street

    This year’s state primary is heating up! Hear from Democratic candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and Comptroller. Open to the public.

    We are grateful to Village Independent Democrats for arranging the event. GSD and other downtown clubs are co-sponsoring the event to make sure members of our community have a chance to hear directly from all these Democratic campaigns.

    PS 41 is close to the West 4th Street subway stop (D, B, F, A, C). From our neighborhood you can also take the M14A to 6th Ave. and walk down just three blocks.

  • May 3: GSD Spring Meeting

    GSD Spring Meeting

    Thursday, May 3
    6:30 – 9:00 pm

    Seward Park Coop Meeting Room
    387 Grand Street

    At our next regular meeting we will:

    • Discuss and vote on endorsements for NYS Assembly and NYS Senate elections.
    • Nominate and select delegates to the NYS Democratic judicial convention.
    • Discuss and vote on resolutions regarding the MTA’s current contingency plan for the L Train shutdown.

    The meeting is open to the public. Only members with voting privileges* will be allowed to vote on endorsements and resolutions. (Members with voting privileges who cannot make the meeting may designate in writing any other member to vote on their behalf.)

    * A member has voting privileges if they meet the following conditions:

    1. is a registered Democrat;
    2. has been a member for at least 90 days;
    3. has completed a participation requirement as defined by the Executive Committee.

    If you are unsure if you meet these requirements, please email hello@grandstreetdems.nyc.

  • April 15: Canvass for Shelley Mayer in Westchester

    If Democrats have any hope of gaining control of the New York State Senate this year — gaining an upper hand on progressive priorities like expanding voting rights, campaign finance reform, promoting reproductive justice, affordable housing, criminal justice reform, and gun control — then we have to win the April 24 special election in lower Westchester.

    Volunteer with GSD President Jeremy Sherber in Westchester on Sunday, April 15 to canvass for Shelley Mayer. This will be classic campaign door-knocking: after a brief orientation, volunteers will be sent out in pairs with a list of target voters. (If you’ve never done this before, you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly.)

  • April 12: Cynthia Nixon fundraiser in Seward Park

    Actor and public education advocate Cynthia Nixon is challenging Andrew Cuomo for Governor of New York this year. Grand Street Democrats has not yet had a chance to make an endorsement in this important race, but two GSD members in Seward Park are opening their home for a fundraiser and meet & greet for candidate Nixon this month. If you want to get a head start on understanding the issues and personalities that will dominate this year’s NYS political news, consider coming by.

    Thursday, April 12
    6:30 – 8:00 pm
    at the home of Ella & Brett Leitner
    417 Grand Street, Apt. D1704

    RSVP and donate on ActBlue.

  • GSD rallies to end gun violence in NYC and DC

    Grand Street Democrats made it to rallies in NYC and Washington, DC on Saturday. District Leader Caroline Laskow and her family and GSD President Jeremy Sherber and his family joined other members and neighbors on a bus to Washington. GSD Treasurer Daria Segalini with her family lead locals uptown to join the NYC rally.

  • March with your neighbors for gun safety: March 24

    America, finally, is at a turning point. Large majorities of us favor common-sense gun safety legislation, yet Washington has ignored even the most reasonable regulations because of the outsized influence of the NRA. Now there is a growing movement, inspired and led by the survivors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, strong enough to take on the NRA.

    Join that movement on March 24 for the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, DC. Sign up below for a spot on the Grand Street bus. Space is limited, cost is $50 per seat. (And thank you to East River cooperator Cynthia Pappas for chartering the bus and letting us team up.)

  • March 5 = Pub Night + Civics Trivia

    Let’s celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the start of Grand Street Democrats’ campaign to bring progressive, active, local politics back to the neighborhood! Join us Monday night for a drink at Lucky Jack’s and try your hand at our Civics Trivia Quiz.

    No cover. Cash bar. $10 quiz entry. Kitschy prizes for the trivia-est in the neighborhood. See you there!