Please Join Us For A Fundraiser for Carlina Rivera Wednesday, August 2nd!
Next Wednesday, August 2nd, we're teaming up with East Village activist and major StreetsPAC benefactor Aaron Sosnick to co-host a fundraiser for Carlina Rivera, one of our initial 2017 endorsees for City Council (see below), and an up-and-coming young star in New York City politics. We hope you'll come and meet Carlina in person, enjoy a drink and hors d'oeuvres on us, and make a donation to her campaign for the open seat in the City Council's 2nd District, which extends from Murray Hill through the East Village and Alphabet City.
Here are the details:
An Evening with Carlina Rivera
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Grape and Grain
620 East 6th Street
Suggested Donation $50 to $175
There's more info on our Facebook event page – please share it! And we'd be grateful if you would please RSVP to Tatiana Jorio at [email protected] or (917) 583-0897 so we have a sense of a headcount.
There are only a handful of open seats up for grabs in the City Council this next term, and electing Carlina will ensure that the 2nd District is represented by a safe-streets and pro-transit champ. Please join us Wednesday and help make it happen!
Help Make Brooklyn's Prospect Park Permanently Car-Free!
On July 17, Brooklyn's Prospect Park began a two-month totally car-free trial period, with the full-time closure of the Park's East Drive, which is typically open to motor-vehicle traffic Mondays through Fridays from 7 to 9 a.m. For the Park's thousands of runners, walkers and recreational cyclists, and for everyone else who covets the peace and tranquility of a car-free park, it's a bit of bliss that's been a long-time coming. But it should be permanent.
Thanks to StreetsPAC supporters Michael Drinkard and Stanley Greenberg, there's an easy way for you to help make that happen. They've launched a petition asking that the trial closing of the East Drive be made permanent, mirroring the full closure of the Park's West Drive, which was implemented in 2015. It's a matter of equity, of safety, and frankly, of putting the interests of some 10,000,000 annual visitors above those of a few hundred motorists who use the Park as a shortcut.
Please take just a moment and sign the petition to make Prospect Park permanently car-free!
ICYMI: Initial 2017 City Council Endorsements
On Monday, we announced our first five endorsements in September's City Council primaries. Meet the candidates:
Carlina Rivera, Council District 2, Manhattan (Open Seat) – Rivera, running to replace term-limited Councilmember Rosie Mendez, is a former City Council aide with a strong record of local organizing. She wants to expand Select Bus Service and improve pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure in the district, and supports implementing dedicated bus lanes and protected bike lanes and eliminating curbside parking in favor of loading and pick-up/drop-off zones along 14th Street for the duration of the L train shutdown.
Ben Kallos, Council District 5, Manhattan (Incumbent) – Kallos, who first won his East Side seat in 2013, is a Vice-Chair of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus. He’s committed to filling the gaps in the Second Avenue protected bike lane, and to adding additional crosstown bike lanes in his district. He’s also working to bring Citi Bike to Roosevelt Island, and Select Bus Service to 96th Street, and is dedicated to completion of the East Side Greenway.
Mark Levine, Council District 7, Manhattan (Incumbent) – Levine, who’s running for a second term in the Council, has been a stalwart in advocating for transit improvements and safer streets. He’s committed to making Central Park, once and for all, completely car-free, to advocating for protected bike lanes on Manhattan’s Riverside Drive, and to leading an effort to improve conditions on the city’s greenways, including the Cherry Walk section of the Hudson River Greenway, which is badly in need of safety improvements.
Ydanis Rodriguez, Council District 10, Manhattan (Incumbent) – Rodriguez, who has distinguished himself as the outspoken chair of the City Council’s Committee on Transportation, is running for his third term. He’s a proponent of making portions of Broadway permanently car-free, and is committed to working for implementation of Fair Fares and a five-borough bike-share system. He also plans to advocate for creation of a comprehensive, long-term transportation plan for New York City, along the lines of London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Transportation Manifesto.
Carlos Menchaca, Council District 38, Brooklyn (Incumbent) – Menchaca, running for re-election in his Sunset Park and Red Hook district, was one of the very first candidates endorsed by StreetsPAC in 2013. He’s been the leading champion for the complete-streets redesign of Brooklyn’s 4th Avenue, and is committed to seeing his bill to permit bicyclists to use leading pedestrian interval signals enacted into law. He will also continue his work to ensure that underserved communities have a seat at the table in determining the future of their streets and transportation systems.
Register to Vote!
The deadline for registering to vote in New York City's 2017 primary is fast approaching! To be eligible to cast a vote in the primary, you must be registered with a political party affiliation. If you're not currently registered, you must postmark your application by August 18th.
You can check your registration status, register online or download an application, find your polling site and much more at nycvotes.org. Making New York City's streets safer and our transit system better all starts in the voting booth!
