Which Way, G.A.?

The 25-person “Occupy Neighborhood” meeting last Sunday (6/9) at Left Forum 2013 included people from New York neighborhood general assemblies in Kensington, Harlem, Astoria/LIC and Sunset Park, and also from OccuEvolve, Granny Peace Brigade, Green Party, “No 7-11″ and La Jornada. Others came from as far away as Syracuse, Vermont, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Spain. Sofya Aptekar has produced a record of it in nine parts on the Occupy Astoria LIC youtube channel. (Further comments, see FB event.)

1) Which New York Occupys Are in the House (0:00)? Opening statement by Nicholas Levis, Occupy Astoria LIC (5:00).

2) …Levis. Nellie Hester Bailey, Harlem General Assembly (2:49).

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Just Another Moral Monday

By Ted Alexandro

Yesterday, I drove down to Raleigh, NC with two friends. What motivated us to hop in the car and drive nine hours was not just a fun road trip, though we did have fun. We wanted to go down to see the growing “Moral Mondays” protests at the NC state capital. Spearheaded by the NAACP and rooted in Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s principles of non-violent civil disobedience, it is a call to North Carolina’s religious leaders and their communities to advocate for the poor and speak out against Governor McCrory’s right wing agenda, which targets the most vulnerable North Carolinians.

Each of the past several Mondays, North Carolinians have flocked to the statehouse to protest a government that they view as failing the needs of the people. In the previous two Mondays alone, two hundred people were arrested for civil disobedience and led out of the statehouse in handcuffs.

As someone involved in the Occupy movement, I was intrigued to see for myself, as were my friends. When we arrived in Raleigh and walked to the great lawn outside the capital, we were impressed by what we saw.

Under a gray, rainy sky, hundreds of people were gathered, many carrying signs advocating for issues of all sorts. I didn’t need to ask “What are their demands?!” I knew damn well…

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Documentaries for the 99%

All Films: Tuesday evenings at the Church of the Redeemer in Astoria. Doors open 6:30. Film starts at 7:00. Lively discussions, usually hosted by the filmmakers or experts on the issue. Light refreshments served. Potluck is invited!

6/18: THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD
(with Comedian Lee Camp)
***
6/25: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE
(with activist and “St. Pat’s For All Parade” founder Brendan Fay)
***
5/7: BROTHER OUTSIDER – LIFE OF BAYARD RUSTIN
5/21: #whilewewatch – #OCCUPYWALLST MEDIA REVOLUTION
5/28: GREEK AMERICAN RADICALS – THE UNTOLD STORY
(with AKNY-Greece Solidarity Movement)
6/4: INCONVENIENT TRUTH BEHIND ‘WAITING FOR SUPERMAN’
(with educator, filmmaker and performer Brian Jones)

By Bill Biniaris

The auditorium at P.S. 122 was filled with over 600 people on March 6, 2013. Parents, teachers, students and neighbors showed up on a cold night, whose forecast called for snow, in order to voice their frustration at the recent Department of Education announcement to phase-out the gifted program at the school. Among the panelists were Costa Constantinides, an alumnus of the coveted Academy for the Intellectually Gifted, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer.

According to the Department, they’ve decided to enforce Chancellor’s regulation A-101 after never having done so in the past. In short, this regulation mandates that any zoned K-8 school allow all students that entered the school in kindergarten to remain in the building through the terminal grade. In order to apply this logic, all students that are admitted to P.S. 122 in September of 2013 will complete their tenure there upon graduating from the eighth grade.

At this point, one might be wondering what all the fuss is about. The problem is that P.S. 122 has never been a zoned K-8 school. The building, located at 21-21 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, has historically been the home of an elementary school until about 1985. At that junction, a very small yet distinct District 30 gifted program, grades 6-8, was opened which eventually grew in size and scope. The specific goal of this new program was to serve the needs of District 30’s gifted middle school students. Such a program did not exist until this one was opened. Over time, “The Academy” expanded to include a strand of gifted classes within the existing elementary school. These changes never constituted the creation of a zoned middle-school at P.S. 122. The neighborhood’s zoned middle-school was and still is I.S. 141. At this point I must add something critical to the conversation. At many schools, similar constructs have been created and staffed by an additional school administration. The cost savings, coupled with stellar academic results, which no one refutes in relation to 122, would be more than enough to characterize the 122 community as successful and innovative.

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By Jerry Kann

On Tuesday evening, March 19, I took the 3-train out to the Saratoga Avenue stop in Brooklyn. I was hoping to get to my destination — East 55th Street and Church Avenue in East Flatbush — by 7 o’clock. That was the start-time set for the nightly vigil for 16-year-old Kimani Gray, shot and killed by New York police on March 9. The neighborhood was new to me, so I had no idea if I’d be able to find my way to the vigil by 7:00. I was a little nervous.

I had heard that Jumaane Williams, the City Council member for the area, had angrily demanded that people from outside the neighborhood stay away from the vigils. He was obviously concerned about the violence that had broken out in the neighborhood the night of March 13, when about 40 people were arrested.

Yet OALIC member Jenna Pope, who photographed the protest and march that night, reported to our General Assembly that cops on scooters cut off the marchers, blocking their way. There is nothing illegal, of course, about walking down the sidewalk, even with a large group of people. According to Jenna, this blocking the crosswalk was the NYPD’s way of provoking the marchers and, as it were, inciting the disturbance that followed. I couldn’t help remembering the reports that journalists were arrested at Zuccotti Park on the night of November 15, 2011 — a clear case of City government stomping all over the First Amendment…

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So I’m walking on Steinway earlier and at the corner of Broadway, a man is handing out papers. Someone is always doing that. I generally try to take these off the leafleters’ hands and recycle them. A block later, it was still in my hand, so I had a look. It was not an ad for a gym. – NL

Friends of Eire! Join Occupy Astoria LIC as we march for the second year in

This is a festive, family-friendly event! Look for the big yellow “Occupy Astoria LIC” banner at the 12:30 pm Assembly Point, 47th Street and Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens. The parade begins at 2 and marches to Woodside Ave and 58th Street. Annual post-parade party at Saints & Sinners, 60th Street and Roosevelt Ave. The whole universe is welcome!

The St. Pat’s for All parade celebrates the diversity of the Irish and Irish American communities of New York. First held in 2000, St.Pat’s for All cherishes and celebrates an inclusive St. Patrick’s season. Ours is the first in the 260 years + of Irish parades in New York City to be open and welcoming to all who wish share the spirit of the day. We err on the side of hospitality.

For directions by subway and bus and the full story of St. Pat’s For All, see the St. Pat’s For All site.

“ASTORIA NYC RECOVERS”
community-powered disaster recovery

Members of Occupy Astoria LIC have set up a recovery organizing site for the Astoria-Long Island City neighborhoods in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The site allows people to offer/request assistance, and is coordinated by the folks at Occupy NYC and community organizations on the ground.

Astoria Ready to Go!

From “Astoria Recovers” as of 1 pm / October 30, 2012:

Astoria’s neighborhood recovery site is a resource for residents affected by Hurricane Sandy, and those who wish to help out.

Share the link:
http://astoria.recovers.org

On the Astoria Recovers site, you can:

1.) Request assistance

2.) Offer volunteer skills

3.) Offer donation items

Any church group or community organization also providing assistance and meeting needs in the area can get involved as an administrator. Please email support@recovers.org, or tweet @recovers_org to get set up.

We hope you’re all safe! Be careful!

http://astoria.recovers.org

Not In Our Town! Astoria and New York City
Rally To Reject Neo-Nazi “Golden Dawn”

More than 200 people from Astoria & everywhere at October 9th gathering.
Follow-up Meeting: Tuesday Oct. 16

1: Statement by Occupy Astoria LIC

We, the membership of Occupy Astoria LIC, hereby express our vehement opposition to the attempt of the Greek neo-Nazi “Golden Dawn” Party to establish a presence in New York City… (read more)

2: Report & Video: Meeting Against “Golden Dawn”

A crowd of over 220 people met at the Church of the Redeemer in Astoria, NY to express their opposition to the recent appearance of the neo-Nazi ‘Golden Dawn’ in New York City. The event, which took place in October 9, was organized by Occupy Astoria/LIC, NY Aristeri Kinisi (Left Movement), Strike Debt, Situations: Project of the Radical Imagination and the socialist newspaper ‘Justice’, among others…. (read more)

3: Opening Statement at Meeting

We want to make the most of this evening. We want to leave here with a plan, with a sense of coalition going forward. We want to act together, not just in the struggle against neo-fascists of all varieties, but in the struggle for a different world – the struggle to transform this world – to end the system that produces neo-fascists as only the most horrible of its evils… (read more)

Next “SGD” Meeting: This Tuesday, same time & place.