After the unexpected resignation of NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in May, this open seat has attracted three dynamite candidates for the Democratic nomination. After having a chance to meet all three, GSD members voted to endorse Letitia James.
James is currently the NYC Public Advocate. Before that she represented parts of Brooklyn in City Council, and has served as Assistant Attorney General under AG Eliot Spitzer. She began her career as a public defender for the Legal Aid Society.
Christopher Marte, born and raised on the Lower East Side, has made his presence felt in downtown Manhattan as a community activist, political candidate, and volunteer. He intends to bring that spirit of public service and activism to the role of Democratic State Committeemember, an unpaid position within the Democratic Party. Marte is currently an Associate at The Arena, a political organization dedicated to encouraging new progressive voices in American politics.
Grand Street Democrats members voted this week to endorse Jenny Lam Low for re-election as female representative to the Democratic State Committee from the 65th Assembly District.
A proud product of New York City’s public schools, Jenny began volunteering as a teenager in activities that encourage Asian American citizens to become registered voters and participate in the electoral process. She is the first Chinese American to be elected as a Democratic District Leader in Lower Manhattan. Jenny serves as a Vice Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee and was elected as delegate to the Democratic National Convention several times, most recently in 2016. Jenny is a Director of the Board and Vice President of the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Committee, a political action committee that trains and supports pro-choice Democratic women running for elected offices across New York State.
Jenny has served for over 30 years on the board of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), one of the largest Asian American non-profit multi-social service agencies in the country. CPC’s programs and services enable immigrant and low-income families to become economically self-sufficient. Jenny previously served as Board Chair, a Vice Chair, and chair of the finance committee. She is currently CPC’s Board Treasurer.
As an advocate for better schools and more equitable education funding all across the state, affordable housing, LGBTQ equality, clean energy, legalizing marijuana, and women’s reproductive rights, Cynthia Nixon is running a grassroots campaign for governor without corporate funding. She is committed to opening up a new anti-corruption commission in Albany to clean up state politics once and for all.
Grand Street Democrats endorsed Cynthia Nixon for Governor at its May 15 meeting. [cynthiafornewyork.com]
As an advocate for affordable housing, anti-gun violence measures, fair policing, equity, and social justice, Jumaane Williams is serving his third term on the NY City Council representing the 45th district in Brooklyn. Williams wants to see the Lt. Governor have a more active role in state policy and advocacy, more like a public advocate at the state level. GSD members endorsed his campaign at their May 15 meeting. [jumaanewilliams.com]
At last night’s regular meeting, Grand Street Democrats voted overwhelmingly in support of Brian Kavanagh’s re-election to the New York State Senate.
At last night’s regular meeting, Grand Street Democrats voted overwhelmingly in support of Yuh-Line Niou’s re-election to the New York State Assembly.
This past year we’ve petitioned for District Leaders, County Committee Members, and been part of the district convention to choose a nominee for our State Senate special election. On a democracy scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is Tammany-style selection by party bosses and 10 is Quaker town-hall consensus, each of these selection procedures gets a different grade somewhere in the middle.
Learning how all that works has been like sitting through Civics 101. And with a year of elections under our belt, we’re ready for Civics 102: electing judges to the New York State Supreme Court.
The NY Supreme Court is the state’s major trial court (not the state’s highest court, which is confusingly called the Court of Appeals). Candidates for Supreme Court appear on the November general election ballot. Before that, in late September, each major party nominates judicial candidates at a party convention. And before that, delegates to that convention are selected by voters on the primary ballot on September 13.
Any New York State resident who is an enrolled member of a political party can run for judicial delegate, but generally district leaders, local political clubs, and even elected officials in each assembly district endorse a slate of delegates and help them qualify for the primary. That’s where Grand Street Democrats — and you — come in. At our May 3 spring meeting we will ask the club to endorse 2 or 3 members who are interested in being judicial delegates and alternate delegates for 2018.
The responsibilities of judicial delegates include getting to know the people running for NY Supreme Court and attending the judicial convention (likely this year between September 18-24). At the convention, delegates will cast their votes for those candidates they believe would be the best choices for the Democratic Party’s nominees in the general election.
We’d also like you to commit to getting at least 50 signatures in June on the designating petitions that you (and all candidates for party or public office) need to have to qualify for the primary. Also: you must be a member of Grand Street Democrats to be considered for our endorsement as a judicial delegate.
Please let us know if you have questions about the role. And let us know if you’re interested, so we know before May 3 how much discussion time we need to set aside. And then please prepare a resume we can share and a brief statement about why you are interested in this role.
For more information on this position and process, you can review this helpful guide from the New York City Bar Association (particularly pages 25-27): https://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/uploads/20072672-GuidetoJudicialSelectionMethodsinNewYork.pdf.
Following a letter from local elected officials last week urging NYC DOT to address the ongoing traffic problem in our neighborhood, Grand Street Democrats District Leaders and other community leaders involved in January’s Traffic Town Hall have sent their own letter to DOT Commissioner Trottenberg asking for the release of traffic study data that was promised in 2017 and for the development of a strategy to address the traffic.
With new retail opening this fall at Essex Crossing, and especially the L Train shutdown starting in 2019, we need to develop a better plan to handle cars now so that the problem doesn’t get out of control.
Below is the letter we sent out today:
[View PDF]Commissioner Trottenberg,
We write to you about the intersection of Clinton Street and Grand Street on the Lower East Side. Significant traffic congestion at this intersection continues to impact the surrounding streets and neighborhoods. We urge the Department of Transportation to release data, progress, conclusions, and recommendations from any traffic study at this intersection conducted in 2017 or that is underway, and to commit to developing a comprehensive plan for community review that will route bridge traffic to wider streets with more capacity.
The conditions at this intersection and nearby streets continue to worsen.
• Narrow streets that approach the Williamsburg Bridge here are inadequate for the number of cars leaving Manhattan by this route.
• Gridlock at Clinton and Grand creates a backlog of cars in two directions, impacting East Broadway and extending up the FDR Drive as far as Houston Street.
• This bottleneck creates a safety hazard for pedestrians and bicyclists over several blocks.
• Incessant honking from frustrated drivers, often late at night, is a serious aggravation for residents.
• New construction of several high-rise buildings with active retail will compound the congestion problem within this traffic zone.
• The L Train shutdown starting in 2019 will have a big effect on these same streets, as non-HVO cars are diverted from the Williamsburg Bridge.We must make plans now to help this neighborhood accommodate its rapid growth. It is not appropriate to use this residential area as an on-ramp to the Williamsburg Bridge.
Sincerely,
Caroline Laskow
Lee Berman
Daisy Paez
Democratic District LeadersSandra Strother
President, Grand Street Guild Residents AssociationDoron Stember
President, Seward Park CooperativeVaylateena Jones
Lower East Side Power PartnershipNaama Laufer
President, PS 110 PTAJeremy Sherber
President, Grand Street Democrats
Update: Howard Stern has also signed the letter for the Hillman Board of Directors. [PDF]
Local elected officials this week petitioned DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill about the ongoing traffic problem at Grand and Clinton Streets.
State Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, US Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Carolyn Maloney, Borough President Gale Brewer, and Councilmember Margaret Chin all signed the letter, writing, “It is critical that your agencies work swiftly with the community to find solutions to this ongoing traffic problem.”
The letter indicates that DOT will present findings of its traffic study at a Community Board meeting in May. No date for such a presentation has yet been announced.
Elected officials wrote to Commissioner Trottenberg almost 1 year ago, after a Community Board resolution, to ask for a traffic study of the area. On June 1, 2017, Trottenberg promised the study would begin, but no results have been released.
Earlier this year, Grand Street Democrats convened a Traffic Town Hall with elected officials to help make sure DOT officials understood the seriousness of the growing problem.
