Guest op-eds, City Limits bloggers and reaction from readers
‘Conforme avanzamos en la reversión del daño provocado por el gobierno de Trump, y nos aseguramos de que el presidente Biden cumpla con su compromiso a la justicia migratoria, Nueva York necesita responder por su papel en criminalizar y despojar de sus derechos a los inmigrantes en nuestra ciudad.’
‘It’s silly season on the mayoral campaign trail as candidates contort to convert voting blocs to their cause. But the mayor’s duty to assure quality education for all New Yorkers is too serious for this capricious campaign foolery.’
‘Supportive housing has been notably absent from most mayoral candidate housing discussions in spite of the fact that our homelessness crisis is the worst on record – and that it disproportionately impacts Black and brown New Yorkers. It is time for that to change.’
‘Our work here reduces healthcare disparities by providing care to under-resourced communities, but our centers can only operate if we receive necessary funding. As our city continues to confront issues of racism in health care and other aspects of our lives, a pandemic budget cut will cause irreparable harm to those who need the most help.’
‘Our state leaders were handed an incredible opportunity to confront an unprecedented global health crisis that has hit New Yorkers hard. We are calling on them not to squander it but to help us all return to a new New York. They can use the federal funds to cancel rent. They can house all our homeless neighbors.’
‘For decades, criminalized communities have been calling on elected leaders to fund our schools, our parks, our hospitals, our community centers, our access to stable homes and more.’
Adi TalwarThe view of Rikers from the Bronx
This week, after a year-long delay, a commission to make recommendations on reinvestment in communities impacted by Rikers Island will convene for its first meeting. The work of this commission is essential and long overdue. Mass incarceration will not end in New York City without mass investments into impacted communities. This is where social justice and economic justice intersect. Directly impacted people identified this decades ago in order to tackle the root causes of incarceration.Between 1979 and 1980, incarcerated men at Green Haven Correctional Facility conducted research that came to be known as the Seven Neighborhood Study.
‘With my savings gone and just working one day a week, I’m standing in food pantry lines for hours just to get enough to eat. I have to constantly borrow money because I am afraid that if I do not pay my rent, I could lose my home. Each day I worry, how will I ever be able to pay back the money I owe?’
‘At Alliance and community health centers across New York, we use these savings to fund otherwise uncompensated care, ensuring that low-income New Yorkers have consistent access to life-saving medications and treatment adherence support.’
‘During the height of the pandemic, there was an 82 percent decline in Early Intervention referrals compared to prior years, meaning that an estimated 3,000-6,000 young children in New York City with potential disabilities were never even assessed.’
‘The current system is confusing and overly restrictive. A teacher should be allowed to rent out her home for a few days when she’s away for the summer, and a family should be able to rent an apartment for a week so they can stay in the city and take their kids to see Broadway shows and visit museums.’
‘Our state and federal governments have a moral responsibility to go beyond emergency measures and implement systemic, long-term solutions that will direct more public resources to preventing eviction and homelessness.’