Guest op-eds, City Limits bloggers and reaction from readers
Democrats won the White House but lost ground in the House and might fall short in the Senate. Is that a repudiation of progressive policies? Evidence of the limits of Joe Biden’s appeal? Or none of the above? City Limits executive editor Jarrett Murphy speaks with journalist and commentator Laura Flanders about how she interprets the results, and what she’s looking for next in Washington and New York’s 2021 mayoral race.
‘I know hunger is not new. But over the last six months in the New York City metro area it has become worse and there are easy ways that those of us with more than we need can move from awareness to action.’
Passing the “Our City Our Vote” bill would allow nearly a million of the city’s legal permanent residents, or green card holders, to vote. What stands in the way of this landmark legislation is political will and a waning window of support.
‘Voters at multiple poll sites across the city reported a higher, more visible police presence, leading to an unnecessarily intimidating voting experience for some. All of these unnecessary—and some illegal—actions by NYPD officers undermine democracy.’
‘If an uninvited kiss or unwanted touching doesn’t lead to a criminal complaint, even if the driver is terminated from the platform under which it occurred, the driver who violated a passenger may continue as a predator behind the wheel for another ridesharing company.’
‘These deleterious media representations, offered with no counterbalance, send Brownsville residents out into the world with a Scarlet Letter on their souls, and this scarlet letter B is one that marks us wherever we go.’
‘While students face different kinds of obstacles in their previous schools, from mental health to family obligations or just a lack of support, they found trusting relationships and a new sense of purpose at their transfer schools.’
‘At current payment levels, the CityFHEPS voucher falls close to $500 below fair market rent, leaving thousands of voucher holders competing with each other for the one or two units available on the market at that price range.’
If New Yorkers are concerned about how their information will be used in contact tracing, they will hesitate to participate. Gov. Cuomo must sign the Contact Tracing Confidentiality Act, which would guarantee that ICE and police do not have access to the collected information.
As sea level rise and extreme rainstorms increase, the impact of flooding will only get worse if we don’t help New York communities become more resilient. One way to do this is to provide potential homeowners and renters with crucial flood risk information on properties they intend to buy or rent.
‘During the three months we set up shop in Harlem every Saturday, we encountered scores of people who thought that because they had a felony conviction and/or they were on parole, they could not vote.’