Local
  • Next Meeting: November 15 @ 7pm

    GSD will hold elections for club officers on November 15 via Zoom. The posistions are: President, Vice-President (up to 3), Secretary, and Treasurer. The term is one year. Any member with voting privileges shall be eligible for election to any office, provided that no member shall hold more than one office simultaneously. No person shall be eligible to hold the office of President for more than four full consecutive terms, and will be eligible again for that office after a period of two years. No officer of the Club shall receive any compensation, direct or indirect, for acting in such capacity. District Leaders may not serve as an officer of the Club during their elected term.

    If you are interested in any of these roles please reach out to marion@grandstreetdems.nyc.

    https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89001656185?pwd=SzhKNlQvRU1XOVkxNUwxRkg5eG56dz09#success

  • GSD Fall 2022 Fundraiser-October 18 6PM @Donnybrook

    It’s here! The time to celebrate all the hard work Grand Street Dems has done over the past year has finally arrived. We’ve petitioned, knocked on doors, dropped literature at apartments, introduced candidates around the neighborhood, passed literature out on the street, made phone calls and sent texts. We have all earned a drink! We will also celebrate our sponsors, guests, and honorees.

    To sponsor this event or to attend with a contribution, please RSVP here.

    If you do not want to contribute but still would like to attend, please do! You can RSVP here.

  • GSD General Meeting-September 29 7PM

    Our September General meeting will be on September 29th at 7pm. The primaries are over, allowing us to take a breath and focus on things other than elections. Please bring your ideas and vision with regard to goals for Grand Street Dems in the coming year.

    https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89747622708?pwd=SGNwc04vV2xnbGZjUndRQm94UEd5dz09#success

  • GRAND STREET DEMS RESOLUTION

    On 8/11/22, the Grand Street Dems full membership unanimously voted to support the“No More 24” Home Attendant Bill (Int #0175) introduced to the City Council by CM Christopher Marte. As passed, this will become part of the GSD package of resolutions.
     
    The Maximum Working Hours For Home Care Aides bill would set the maximum working hours that an employer may assign to a home care aide. The hours would be limited to 12 hours for any one shift, or within any 24 hours period, and 50 hours within a week. A home care aide could be assigned additional hours in the event of an
    emergency.

  • It’s official: GSD Members endorsed Mondaire Jones for Congress

    GSD is proud to endorse Mondaire Jones — a true progressive with a proven track record on voting rights, affordable housing, public education, child care, climate change, protecting fundamental rights for women’s health, LGBTQ+ community, affordable healthcare for all.

  • GSD Traffic Committee June 2022 Update

    ACTION ITEM: Call on our state legislators to reauthorize NYC’s speed safety camera program with no restrictions on hours of operation.
    Tell them you want 24/7 speed safety cameras. Here’s what you can say:
    “I want New York City’s streets protected from speeding drivers every hour of every day. Please reauthorize the speed safety camera program without restrictions on times and days of operation.”

    Together, we can push this bill over the finish line — and more than double the hours that New Yorkers are protected from speeding drivers.

    •  Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou (518.455.3640 or 212.312.1420)
    • Senator Brian Kavanagh (518.455.2625 or 212.298.5565)

    Questions? Suggestions? Contact Bill Ferns or join the Traffic Working Group Action Volunteers

  • June 29 & June 30: Downtown Democratic Forum for NY-10 Congressional Candidates

    Grand Street Dems is joining with other Democratic clubs from downtown Manhattan to meet with the candidates for the newly drawn NY-10 Congressional district. The forum will be on Zoom, over two nights to accommodate the large number of candidates.

    RSVP at https://bit.ly/NYCD10Forum.

  • Grand Street Dems announces 2022 endorsements

    Grand Street Dems 2022 Endorsements

    Governor: Jumaane Williams
    Lt Governor: Ana María Archila
    US Senate: Chuck Schumer
    NYS Attorney General: Letitia James
    NYS Comptroller: Thomas DiNapoli

    NY State Senate District 29: Vittoria Fariello
    NY State Assembly District 65: Grace Lee
    NY Democratic State Committee AD 65 (F): Kathryn Freed
    NY Democratic State Committee AD 65 (M): Joshua Goodman

  • GSD Traffic Committee May 2022 Update

    The Traffic Committee is looking for people who are willing to mobilize on traffic issues: writing letters to our elected officials, CB3 or call 311. There is power in our voices. Sign up here. GSD plan to have members hold a discussion on congestion pricing in the near future. 

    Traffic Working Group Message – March 29, 2022

    Traffic Working Group (TWG) Colleagues:

    ACTION ITEM: Sign Transportation Alternative’s online petition to our legislators to give NYC ‘home rule’ on traffic control cameras:
    https://p2a.co/ZCLnKkZ
    This will take only a minute…please do it:

    BACKGROUND: Traffic cameras (red light cameras, speed cameras, bus lane cameras) have been shown to reduce accidents, reduce personal injury and property damage, and augment NYPD enforcement. NYS Law, however, limits the number of cameras that NYC can use to only 150 active cameras; this has been the case since 1994 (https://www.transalt.org/home-rule-means-safe-streets-nyc).

    I discovered recently that one of our incumbent legislators was not aware of the traffic camera law nor of the limitation the state has imposed on NYC regarding traffic control cameras (https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/1111-A). With this being a state election year, now is the time to press for changes to this law. This petition will go to Governor Hochul and our state representatives (in our case, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, and State Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou) asking them to work to change the law and allow NYC “home rule” in setting up traffic cameras. 

    So…ACTION ITEM: Sign https://p2a.co/ZCLnKkZ

     If you willing to volunteer to take some action to fix our traffic mess, sign up at: 
    https://forms.gle/mwT2HLB7o7CKwk4F9
    If you have questions, contact me at bill.ferns@gmail.com . 

    Yours, 
    Bill Ferns My pronouns: he / him / his

    Resources:

    NYS Traffic Camera Law: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/1111-A
    Data on Traffic Camera Efficacy:  https://www.transalt.org/home-rule-means-safe-streets-nyc

  • Climate and Sustainability Group Report — March 2022

    ACTION ITEMS: ADVOCATE FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT! At the City level, Chris Marte’s office helped to lead a community meeting with the Department of Sanitation (DOS) regarding composting, or the lack thereof, in our neighborhood. However, Mayor Adams is suspending rollout of the program. Therefore, no more curbside program is in the works which is contradictory to what he campaigned on. Adams claimed it’s to save money. This program is .02% of the city budget. WHAT CAN WE DO?We send a pre-written letter to Mayor Adams and City Council to share our support for the Curbside Composting program  https://act.newmode.net/action/save-our-compost/save-composting-nycAt the State level, the NY State Assembly and Senate are working on the NY State budget. We need to go big and set up funding at the state level that will allow climate justice initiatives to be funded annually. WHAT CAN WE DO?CALL!! This one-click tool will connect you with New York State leadership (the Governor, Speaker, and Majority Leader), so that you can tell your leaders directly: We need to see an immediate, unprecedented commitment to climate justice funding in 2022. Script and Prompts from NY Renews

    Let them know you are part of Grand Street Dems when you call
    At the Federal level, we can contact our Senators to show we support passing major climate and clean energy investments that match the scale of the crisis. Even if our Senators support this, it is important to call so they can log constituents’ interest. Urge them to work with their colleagues. WHAT CAN WE DO?Here is more information and a script to follow  www.call4climate.com Does calling Senators matter?
    Yes. Your representatives use the number of calls they receive for or against a particular topic to decide what to focus on, and what to fight for.

    Should I call even if my Senators are Democrats?
    Yes. Democrats have to follow through on their commitment to pass the bill we need. 50 Democratic Senators say they want Congress to act, it’s up to us to make sure they do. Calling them will encourage them to fight harder.