Friends, Join us for our first GSD General Meeting of 2022! On Tuesday, January 18th, 7p-9p, we have an exciting agenda. We are hosting a Meet the Candidates from several upcoming elections. We will post candidates for the Assembly and State Committee races closer to the 18th as candidates are still declaring. We will also hear updates from our GSD committees on meetings they have held since last we met. To join this meeting: https://bit.ly/GSDJan18 Meeting ID: 83648108535 Passcode: GSDMeeting In community, Marion Riedel, Grand Street Democrats We will join our other downtown clubs for a series of endorsement meetings:  January 22nd – All downtown clubs, Part 1 Attorney General Lieutenant Governor State Comptroller January 23rd – DID Only US House of Representatives Districts 7 and 12 January 29th – All downtown clubs, Part 2 Governor US Senate

Join us Monday, December 20 via Zoom

• GSD Executive Committee Recaps
• GSD Committee Updates
• NYS Senate Candidate Brian Kavanaugh
• NYS Senate Candidate Illapa Sairitupac
• Chinatown Working Group Plan – City Councilmember-elect Christopher Marte
• 5 World Trade Center proposal for all affordable housing
• New Business

Log in Monday at 7pm via Zoom with this link.

Join us Monday, November 22 via Zoom

• GSD Executive Committee Recaps
• GSD Committee Updates
• NYS Senate Candidate Vittoria Fariello
• NYS Senate Candidate Slana Sivin
• 5 World Trade Center proposal for 100% affordable housing
• Manhattan Borough President-elect Mark Levine
• City Councilmember-elect Christopher Marte
• New Business

Log in Monday at 7pm via Zoom with this link.

Bring your neighborhood safety questions & concerns to the 7th Precinct Community Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 7 pm.

Join the meeting with Zoom.

Your Vote Counts!

Mayor
Eric Adams

Comptroller
Brad Lander

Manhattan Borough President
Mark Levine

Manhattan District Attorney
Alvin Bragg

City Council District 1
Christopher Marte

2021 State Ballot Proposals

Read our summary of the five ballot proposals.

Other references:

• The City: What the Five Ballot Proposal Questions Mean for New Yorkers this November
• Gothamist: A Breakdown Of The Five Proposals Appearing On Your November Ballot

GSD members amended the club bylaws, elected new officers, and got updates on some local issues.

In order to acknowledge GSD’s growth and potential for more growth — and to make sure that the club is prepared for whatever new district lines are drawn in 2022 — we are proposing a few small changes to our bylaws. Essentially, we should make room, as other clubs do, for more than one Vice President, each with a different portfolio. And we also need to strip from our mission statement any reference to “AD65 Part A” which may not exist with these same geographic boundaries after this year.

Amendments can be passed tonight by a vote of 2/3 of the members in attendance.

Article 2, Section a:

[The mission of the Club shall be to] provide a progressive, inclusive, active and transparent Democratic organization in the 65th Assembly District, Part A on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

Article 5, Section 1

The officers of the Club shall consist of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. If nominated and elected as such, the Club may have up to three Vice Presidents with separate responsibilities. They shall each serve for one year. Officer elections shall be held at the Annual Meeting, and officers shall serve until the announcement of the results of the subsequent election.

Article 5, Section 3b

Vice President. The Vice President(s) shall perform such duties as the President or the Executive Committee may direct. If the President is temporarily absent, the Executive Committee will select one Vice President to serve as Acting President.

Article 5, Section 4

Officers shall be elected by secret ballot at the annual meeting by a plurality of those voting. A vacancy in the office of President shall be filled immediately by the Vice President. When there is more than one Vice President, the Executive Committee will select which one will succeed the President by majority vote. All other vacancies of officers shall be filled by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Update: These amendments were passed by 2/3 of voting members present at our 10/13/21 meeting.

On Election Day, there will be five ballot proposals up for a vote across the state. Whichever ones pass will be written into the State Constitution.

Proposal 1: Redistricting

There are a number of changes rolled into one ballot proposal. You must vote “yes” or “no” for all of them together.

• Cap the total number of State Senators at 63. Reduces the ability of a supermajority to extremely gerrymander the minority out of existence.
• Require that incarcerated people be counted at the address where they lived before going to jail or prison for the purposes of redistricting — not where they are being detained. Already part of state law, but not the Constitution, this can increase the counted population of New York City.
• Shorten the timeline. This would accommodate NY’s earlier primaries.
• Change the vote total needed to adopt redistricting plans when one political party controls both legislative houses. Reduces input needed from minority party.
• Remove bipartisan co-executive directors of independent redistricting commission. Could reduce the bipartisan nature of the IRC.
• Count all residents — including non-citizens. Already in state law, but provides more protection to the statute as a Constitutional Amendment.
• Prevent new districts from splitting neighborhoods. Redistricting would have to adhere more to existing neighborhood boundaries.

The full text of Proposal 1 can be found here from the state Board of Election, Ballotpedia’s guide on the proposal is here and this deep-dive on the measure from Spectrum News is a great resource for understanding the issues at play.

Proposal 2: Right to Clean Air and Water

The second ballot measure would add a broad new right to the state constitution: “Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”

Proponents point to states like Pennsylvania and Montana where similar provisions have been used to successfully stop fracking, for example.

Opponents say the new right is too broad and can invite unnecessary lawsuits and judges creating new rules from the bench.

Proposal 3: Voter Registration

This would eliminate a Constitutional rule that you must register to vote at least 10 days before an election. This would give the legislature a chance to pass laws allowing voter registration to take place much closer to the election, up to and including same-day voter registration.

Proposal 4: Absentee Voting

This proposal would allow no-excuse absentee voting, which means anyone could request a ballot by mail even if they are not going to be out of state on election day. (This was temporarily allowed by Executive Action during the pandemic.)

Proposal 5: Increase Civil Court Claim Limit

$25,000 is currently the limit of claims in Civil Court. The last time this was changed was in 1983. This proposal would increase the claims limit to $50,000. Essentially, this shifts some suits from the State Supreme Court to Civil Court.

References:

https://www.thecity.nyc/civic-newsroom/2021/10/5/22711648/what-the-five-ballot-proposal-questions-mean-for-new-yorkers-this-november

https://gothamist.com/news/five-ballot-proposals-breakdown-november-2021