New York Solidarity Coalition for Katrina/Rita Survivors
Upcoming Events | Meetings | Events Archive
Upcoming Events
Friday January 4, 2008
State of Emergency!!!
26 FEDERAL PLAZA (Worth Street bet Lafayette & Broadway)
at 12:00noon-2:00pm
First it was Hurricane KATRINA…. then Hurricane FEMA… Now it’s Hurricane HUD/HANO!!
Join the NY Solidarity Coalition w/Katrina and Rita Survivors and Councilman Charles Barron & others for a Press conference & rally at the HUD office
Building resistance in New Orleans and across the country with homeless, civic
organizations etc. We must stand together on housing for people!
Say NO to lucrative contracts for the rich!
Say Yes to saving homes for the people!
*Wear a green ribbon in support for Katrina/Rita survivors
Click here to see the Flyer (PDF) and find out how you can help!!
Saturday, January 12 2008
Join New York Solidarity Coalition with Katrina Rita Survivors Gulf Coast Survivors Assembly
at Hunter Collge
68th st & Lexington Ave
( The Sylvia Fishman Student Center)
West Buliding , 4th flr Rm 417
Support Survivors from New York , New Jersey, Connecticut & Pennsylvania for Delagates Survivors Assembly and startegic planning session for the continued fight for
The Right of Return!
Self Determination !
Saving Public Housing!
Buliding stronger Levees!
Government accountability !
Exposing governmental abuse!
Jobs for all
Enjoy Art Exhibits by survivors, Cultural Entertainment % Refreshment
Childcare available
contact us at 212-969-0449
visit us at ww.nykatrinarita.org
www. myspace.com/NYkatrinaRita.org
www. facbook.com
Make a tax deductable donaton to the " Hardship Fund " for survivors , IFCO?NYSCKRS
418 West 135 th street New York , NY 10031
" Nothing About us , Without us, is for us"
--MEETINGS--
NY Solidarity Coalition for Katrina/Rita Survivors
4th Monday of every month: []
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Middle Collegiate Church
50 East 7th Street, off 2nd Avenue.
Katrina/Rita Unity Meetings (with our allies)
2nd Saturday of every month: []
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Middle Collegiate Church
--Events Archive
Monday, DecembeSr 17 th 2007
STATE OF EMERGENCY!
IMMEDIATE HALT DEMOLITIONS OF PUBLIC HOUSING IN NEW ORLEANS!
Join the New York Solidarity Coalition /w
Katrina & Rita Survivors & SUPPORTERS
For Press Conference and Rally to
stop the racists acts toward survivors and put a halt to all demolitions!
12:00 - 12:30PM at City Hall Steps, Manhattan NY ,
Rally and march to NYCHA and HUD at 26 federal plaza
Support Senate bill #SB1668
For more information call 504 520-9521 or contact us at 212 969-0449
Visit us at www.NYKatrinaRita.org or www.myspace.com/NYKatrinaRita .org
You can help by calling and/or faxing the Legislators:
A. senator clinton:212-688-6262;688-7444 (f);202-224-4451;
senator
schumer:212-486-4430;212- 486 -7803(f);202-224-6542
schumer.senate.gove/schumerwebsite/contact/ebform .cfm
B. Your own NYC city council persons:
C. alphonso jackson secy of HUD:202-708-0417
D. NOLA city council persons:
arnie fielkow(pres.)504-658-1060;504 -658-1065(f)
jacquelyn brechtel(vp): 504-658-1070;504-658-1077(f)
shelley midura:504-658-1010;504-658 -1016(f)
james carter:504-658-1030;504-658 -1037(f)
HOUSING & RECOVERY COMMITTEES
cynthia willard-lewis:504-658-1050;504 -658-1058(f)
HOUSING COMMITTEE
stacy S head:504-658-1020;504 658-1025(f)
CHAIR OF HSG COMMITTEE & DISASTOR COMMITTEE
cynthia hedge-morrell:504-658-1040;504 -658-1048(f)
- 5000 affordable housing units in New Orleans slated for demolition
- Replaced with mixed income neigborhoods
- Reduces public housing in New Orleans by 82% at a cost of 762 million dollars
- Culprits: Bush Administration, HUD, HANO (Housing Authority New Orleans
November 29, 2007
FROM FALSE PROMISES TO RESISTANCE: The Truth of Political Resistance to Continued Displacement and Neglect in NYC of Katrina/Rita Survivors
On Thursday, November 29, from 5:30 to 7:30, The Murphy Institute for Worker Education will host the New York Solidarity Committee of Katrina and Rita Survivors (NYSCKRS) who will offer a political analysis of their experiences during and post the US Government's failure to respond to the emergency created by a natural disaster. The injury caused by government neglect continues.
The survivors and their supporters will also suggest what students and unions can do politically to protect the human rights of persons who are displaced by the tragedy. All students, staff, and faculty of JSM are urged to attend. CWA Local 1180 Urban Leadership students can volunteer to assist the solidarity committee as satisfaction of their semester volunteer requirement.
The solidarity committee presenters will be survivors of Katrina and Rita now living in NYC and local faith leaders who help them. They will also be union activists from DC 37, 1199, and PSC and Sarah Lawrence students.
In addition to a showing of two short DVD's and brief presentations from committee members, the committee will lead us in a substantive q&a that includes how we can assist it with:
Stopping the Demolition of Public Housing in New Orleans;
The Recognition of Survivors as internally displaced persons under international law;
Passing of federal legislation creating a civil works project for the Gulf region, introduced by Cong. Benny Thompson (D. Miss.); and
Lobbying CBC to hold congressional hearings on the management of federal disaster funds by the Red Cross
Date: November 29, 2007; Time: 5:30 to 7:30; Place: JSM 25 w 43 street 18th floor. For more information contact Ajamu Sankofa, JSM Urban Leadership Coordinator at 212-642-2081. Light Refreshments.
November 13, Hold the Date!
National Day of Protest to Stop Demolition of
New Orleans Public Housing
Take Action in Your City
Housing is a Human Right!
Expose HUD and Bush Administration's Corruption!
New Orleans' Public Housing and Right of Return Movement call on supporters around the city, country and world to demonstrate on Tuesday November 13 to show their opposition to the Bush administration's criminal plans to demolish 5,000 viable and badly public housing apartments. We oppose these plans not only because they are a clear violation of Human Rights but also for the corruption involved at every step. Her are a few CORRUPTION HIGHLIGHTS:
- The FBI is now investigating HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson for awarding New Orleans public housing contracts to business friends. For example, Jackson arranged for his golfing buddy, William Harriston, to receive almost $500,000 for ‘consulting' work for New Orleans Housing Authority after Katrina. Columbia Residential, an outfit with an ongoing business relationship with Jackson, was awarded a HUD contract to privatize Public Housing in New Orleans. See National Journal story at:
- The Jackson-led HUD awarded New Orleans School Board member Una Anderson and her so-called ‘Neighborhood Collaborative' a contract to ‘redevelop' New Orleans C.J. Peete development. Anderson, who has led the privatization of local schools, is now under FBI investigation for her role in bribery scandal at the School Board.
- Jimmie Thorns, a businessman and close friend of Judge Ivan LeMelle, the federal judge that approved demolition, recently received a sweetheart $500,000 appraisal consulting contract from the HUD-controlled local housing authority.
New Orleans Rally and Press Conference
Tuesday, November 13
4 PM
Federal Building, @ Camp and Poydras
For more information and to organize an action in your city contact United Front for Affordable Housing. For more information call 504-520-9521
October 13 - NYC
Join the NY Solidarity Coalition w/ Katrina & Rita Survivors
Saturday, October 13, 2007
for a Report back on The International Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina & Rita Held in New Orleans on Aug 29 – Sept 2, 2007 to fully expose to the world the human rights abuses committed by the US government and its agencies and operatives in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina & Rita “Same Struggles/Different Fronts”
Time: 1:30-4:30pm
Place: The Thurgood Marshall Academy, 200 West 135th St, Manhattan, (Adam Clayton Powell Blvd)
Contact us at: 212 969-0449
http://internationaltribunal.org
Donations contributed to the “Hardship Fund” for Survivors living in New York City.
Tax deductible donations can be made at the event or mailed to: IFCO/NYSCKRS ~
418 West 145 St New York NY 10031
The NY Solidarity Coalition w/Katrina & Rita Survivors and Supporters
Invite you to our monthly meeting
To discuss Building Alliances for a “ Housing as a Human Right Campaign ”
Monday, June 25 @6:30pm @ The Middle Collegiate Church
50 E. 7thStreet, (off 2nd Ave, Manhattan)
People's Legislative Town Hall Meeting With Our Federal, State & City Elected Officials
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SATURDAY, June 3, 2006,
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Lincoln Center Campus of Fordham University
113 West 60th Street, Auditorium
Download PDF flier of meeting
Download 11x17 PDF poster
MP3: Invitation from Marc Morial,
President of National Urban Leage and
former Mayor, New Orleans
In this section:
- Agenda (PDF format)
- Statement from Rep. Cynthis McKinney
- Statement from Ivy Parker, on behalf of family, neighbors, friends and volunteers living in New Orleans
Addtional Reports to follow
Statement from Rep. Cynthia McKinney
Dear Katrina Survivors and Supporters,
As all of you know, the tragic saga of many survivors continues to unfold with tears. Recently, Rep. John Lewis, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and I sent a letter to FEMA requesting an extension of the May 31st deadline for those receiving emergency shelter assistance under Section 403 of the Stafford Act, and a review of FEMA's eligibility guidelines. We have yet to receive a reply. Hundreds of thousands of survivor families have been or will be "transitioned" to receiving 18 months of individualized housing assistance under Section 408 of the Stafford Act. But ten thousand families or more are being denied housing assistance as of June 1st, just as an undetermined number of survivors were denied further housing assistance when they were evicted from temporary shelter in hotels between December and March 15th.
Along with 61 other Members of Congress, I have also signed on to an Amicus Brief in a suit in Texas being filed against FEMA, seeking to halt the denial of housing aid to survivors. This week, Judge Hittner denied a temporary restraining order. The full case will be taken up on June 20th. Meanwhile, even as you are meeting on June 3rd, frustrated survivors plan to retake a damaged public housing complex with an eye to making it habitable for many otherwise homeless citizens of New Orleans, many of whom have returned only to live in their cars, on the street or in homes that remain unsafe or without public services.
My office is involved in the Katrina Working Group, which meets weekly on the Hill, and involves Congressional staff and NGO representatives working for the passage of the CBC's omnibus bill: HR 4197 and to address survivor issues as they arise. On February 7th a "Katrina Emergency Summit" was held on Capitol Hill, bringing together a diverse array of groups working to address the needs of survivors. Out of that meeting, the Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign was formed. If you want more information about this campaign, you can call my office to ask for details.
As I stated at a press conference while visiting New Orleans on a Congressional Delegation in January, the waste of resources in terms of the tens of billions of dollars poured into the coffers of private contractors who by all appearances had accomplished very little by that time was sinful and shameful. We even have reports that some of the more unscrupulous subcontractors have hired immigrant laborers to do the work, and then called the immigration officials just before payday to deport the laborers without pay, thus increasing their profit further. Whilst tens of billions have been wasted paying for the scandalously inadequate performance of contractors in (not) cleaning up or rebuilding the Gulf Coast, over 150 Katrina relief bills in Congress covering a broad range of social needs are stuck in committee, as a recent chart that Barbara Lee's office and my office prepared shows.
When I visited the ravaged city of New Orleans in January, I was shocked to witness that the barrier on the Orleans Parish side of the 17th Street Canal was merely a slab of reinforced concrete, eleven inches this, with no embankment as found on the Jefferson Parish side. It is little wonder that this levee failed. Moreover, the Corps admitted on June 2nd that it had engaged in shoddy work when building the levees. This is simply inexcusable.
The most recent Supplemental Appropriations Bill, HR 4939, is currently in Conference Committee. We expect to see funds for reconstruction of the levee committed with the passage of this bill, if the President doesn't veto it. But I fear the funds will be insufficient to allow for the construction of levees capable of withstanding hurricanes of category 3 or higher. There is no limit to how fast hurricanes winds can blow, so we cannot build against category 5 hurricanes with no limit on windspeed. But if we look to the level of investment and the size and quality of levees in the Netherlands, a simple comparison shows that the old levee system in New Orleans is pathetic by comparison. If oil rigs and not people were situated inside those levees, one suspects that securing the funds to invest in levees the same quality as what they have in Holland would not be such a big problem.
Many Democrats have remarked on how the present Congress will meet less hours on the floor than any previous Congress, and have dubbed it the new "do nothing Congress." What the scandal of contracting in Iraq and for Katrina reconstruction shows is that this is really the "do nothing unless it profits your rich friends" Congress. The callous indifference being shown to the plight of those who have lost everything and are left without governmental assistance, whilst contractors close to the administration pocket billions, is a domestic scandal almost without precedent in American history. Without a citizens' movement determined to expose this scandal of greed and cruel, callous indifference, we can only expect more of the same in future. I expect that is what you will be talking about at your coalition meeting today. I am sad that I cannot be with you, and I hope that your meeting is productive and energizing.
With warmest regards I remain,
Cynthia McKinney
Member of Congress
Statement from Ivy Parker, on behalf of family, neighbors, friends and volunteers living in New Orleans
To: Congress, Secretary of Transportation & FEMA & President Bush
We the people of New Orleans want to make it known that these government offices and Congress need to work on a framework for an evacuation plan , in time of a disaster for ALL of the United States. It should be top on the top of his or her list, because no one is exempt from disaster, no one.
FEMA needs to revisit their plan for disaster relief. Some people in NO had more damage than some people, but never the less they had damages. Some people were denied assistance because they went to higher ground in Louisiana; their losses were equal to those who went to other cities. They were not treated fairly or given any assistance that is wrong.
Also FEMA needs to revisit the decision to make to determine who makes up “household dwellers.” FEMA personnel couldn't be that ignorant and insensitive to say that only the head of the household should receive assistance. It is ludicrous. FEMA a household consist of more than one adult. A family with 2 sons, 3 daughters who live in a 2, 3, 4 bedroom house. Kids went off to college, to get married, they graduate, don't have jobs where do they go back home again, married, divorced, Now it is a house hold that has a father, a mother, five children and they are now living in the same house. Adults have come home with their partners, husbands and children. Now a disaster happens and you are saying they don't count. Some share bills some have no means to share, but they are still part of that household, that family and that is their address. But nevertheless when a disaster such as Katrina the family has to evacuate. Then everyone who lived in that home must evacuate or be destroyed. Whether they are adults or children they are all due adequate compensation for shelter wherever they are unfortunate to be living; and since FEMA does not move family members together, they split the family, sometime it isn't possible to keep everyone together, I know, but is truly frustrating hear FEMA say you can get help, but not all your adult children. Will the President said on Tuesday after Katrina,"that every adult and their family who was displaced by Katrina will receive help - he challenged America to reach out and lend a helping hand, to hospitals, to treat people don't worry about the cost you will be compensated. They need our love and our help and I know America will help.” But here comes FEMA giving people pure hell and they know that no one person could even afford rent here in America. Everyone has to sublease, sublet; sub rent any space they have in their home just to be able to pay the rent or mortgage. Most people I spoke to are seeing their [psychologist because of the way FEMA treated them. Some just want to die because of FEMA's abusiveness. Our people deserve better. They (FEMA) rush to hand out checks before evaluating the long-term needs of the people that is no our fault. We need 18 months rental assistance where are presentably living The Stafford Act's assistance should apply to my right o return home and to provide affordable places for me to live where I have been displaced. We want them to honor the Stafford law. It clearly says 18 months, not up to 18 months.
Put disaster evacuation as the top priority with the Armed Forces. Ready to assist. Local buses and bus drivers aren't equipped for highway travel anyway and many bus drivers want to leave for safety themselves. Mr. President is determined to stay the course in Iraq. I have no qualms against that, but he should stay the course in New Orleans, also because hurricane is a gulf coast PROMISE, A SURE THING. So just be smart about the course you want to follow- our tax dollars help support war-so you need us alive, not dead. When there is disaster, Mr. President at your house, you turn around and go home. We want you, Mr. President you need to turn around and send troops to evacuate nursing homes, hospital patients and residents without cars (and there are many of us) all Americans. We are equally important, the working folks, the poor folks, the sick folks and the armed forces. We all make up this great country, we call America, and so treat us all as equal human beings. It is easy to plan for disaster assistance. Hurricane is during the summer – snow is in the winter etc. It isn't hare to handle. Just be aware that it has to be given top priority – war if you insist should come third or fourth, but Americans' lives should come first—God bless America. See that God has blessed all of us with life so let's protect and secure it. Do the right thing Congress, and Mr. President. Our highway wall are taller and well build to keep out sound noise from few peoples' living rooms, why not build our levees to keep our water from our homes and save a whole neighborhood.
From Ivy Parker & Family, Neighbors, friends, and volunteers living in New Orleans.
Thank You,
Ivy Parker
THE PEOPLE OF THE GULF COAST WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT BECOMING THE HOMELESS OF COUNTLESS OTHER CITIES WHILE OUR OWN HOMES ARE RASED TO MAKE WAY FOR MANSIONS, CONDOS, AND CASINOS.
DEFEND OUR RIGHT TO RETURN & DIGNITY WHEREVER WE ARE!!
Hear of our experiences, our goals and our expectations of our government
ON AUGUST 29th THE GREATEST DISPLACEMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS SINCE THE CIVIL WAR OCCURRED!
BREECHED LEVEES, RITA & KATRINA LEFT A PATH OF UNIMAGINABLE DESTRUCTION IN THE LIVES, OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, THE DEATH OF LOVE ONES & THE LOSS OF MEMORIES.
10 MONTHS LATER & BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AWARDED TO CONTRACTORS THOSE WHO SURVIVED ARE STILL TRYING “TO MAKE A WAY OUT OF NO WAY”